How Do I Design a Successful Company Presentation?

A company presentation is a great way to introduce your company to customers, partners or stakeholders in the context of a sales or marketing discussion. Making an effort to create the most professional PowerPoint presentation possible really pays off, as it reinforces your audience’s impression of your company as professional and authentic.

Use of company presentations

Company presentations can be used in many situations:

• on your own website
• for training external employees, to explain company values and priorities
• employee onboarding, to inform new colleagues about the company at a glance
• celebrating a company anniversary
• for welcoming customers and suppliers at an open day
• to introduce the company on portals and network pages on the internet
• on social media (e.g. Xing, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook)
• in sales talks during customer visits
• at trade fairs and congresses
• at universities, to inspire potential new employees
• on video portals and platforms such as YouTube

However, there are a few things to consider when creating a company presentation, because it’s alarmingly easy for your well-intentioned presentation to fail.  This can happen if you design your presentation according to a set formula, boring your audience with acres of dry text. Our valuable tips can help you make a success of your company presentation.

1. Show what makes your company special

It is very tempting to simply present data, figures and facts in a company presentation, but too much information of this kind can overwhelm your audience, even turning them off completely. So instead of meticulously regurgitating your entire company history, limit the facts and figures to only the most important, and show your listeners what your company is all about.

It doesn’t matter whether you are acting on behalf of your company or a freelancer presenting your services to a potential customer; it helps if you give your audience the subtle impression that you and your company are already successful. Avoid sentences like “We are the best” or “Our company is great”, though, because such boasts usually leave a bad impression.

2. Keep it simple

Although you need to include the important aspects of your company – locations, customers, company structure, products, competencies, portfolio and certifications – try not to overwhelm your audience with this information. Nobody can remember hundreds of facts about the company anyway, even if you use suitable visual aids (pictures, infographics, etc.). In company presentations, as in so much else, less is sometimes more.

3. Tailor your company presentation to each customer individually

One size definitely doesn’t fit all.  You’re naturally going to present your company to potential employees in a very different way to presenting to external industries, for example.  Each target group and industry has individual needs and makes different demands on a company presentation.

It simply won’t work to create one company presentation and reuse it again and again. Of course it takes time and effort to adapt your presentation to each audience, but it is genuinely worth it, leading as it does to improved success rates.

4. Use pictures, but not necessarily from your brochure

Including pictures or drawings in your presentation can help establish an emotional relationship with your audience. However, these don’t necessarily have to be the high-quality pictures from your brochure; using images of colleagues at their everyday work can come across as more authentic and make you look approachable.

5. Storytelling WORKS – even in company presentations

Storytelling is a great way to capture an audience and hold their attention for as long as possible.  If you’re telling an interesting story, people will listen.  Find something exciting to relate about your company.  It doesn’t have to be a heroic masterpiece; an anecdote involving the daily life of the company can be just as effective.

6. Check your grammar and spelling

Another point that sounds obvious, but is unfortunately often overlooked. When you’re presenting your company, errors in spelling and grammar make a negative impression, and can ruin all your hard work. Get your presentation proofread by an outside person; fresh eyes can spot the errors that are often accidentally overlooked by those familiar with the subject of your presentation.

7. Choose your words well

Sentences that induce curiosity or tension in the listener can be a great way to get your audience’s attention. Starting a phrase with a word such as “Imagine…” involves your audience emotionally in what is happening. It is particularly potent when you sketch an example – for example around your service – and so make it clear to the audience how your company can help them.

8. Introduce your team

Even your products or services are exceptional, it is a good idea to introduce your employees as part of company presentation. Everyone knows that behind a good product or service there is a team of people who develop or produce these products or implement the services.

A team slide is a  great way to present the human side of things, enhanced by an organigram or organizational chart.

9. Include testimonials

Testimonials can add a lot to a successful company presentation. Do you have customers who have something great to say about your work? Wonderful! Use this opportunity to ask the customer if you can use their opinion on your website or for your company presentation as a reference.

For some presentations it can also be worth letting employees have their say. Colleagues can be very effective as advertising ambassadors within a company presentation.

10. Need help? Let a service provider support you

As you can see, creating a successful company presentation can take a lot of time and effort. If you or your employees don’t have the time, then delegating the task to a competent service provider makes sense. We will be happy to create a professional presentation for you – one that meets your requirements in terms of content and optics. Please feel free to contact us for a non-binding quotation!

What should be covered in a company presentation?

These tips are certainly a good start to creating a professional company presentation. It can be a challenge, though, to determine what exactly to include in the presentation. How can you best present the company structure? How to frame your expertise?

– Set out the facts about your company

The most important facts about your company should appear in the first few slides of your presentation.  Company name, type of legal entity, year of foundation, number of employees and product groups all need to appear here. In order not to overload the spectator with numbers, though, this is where it is useful to add striking visuals; for example, flat design icons or striking diagrams.

– Present your company structure with an organizational chart

Instead of presenting each employee on a separate slide, it can be very effective to use an organizational chart. It is a great way to present the hierarchy of a company and show its structure. Should your company be part of a group, you can also show the interrelationships between companies clearly in this way.

– Present your certification

This can be a rather dry topic, but certification is mandatory in many industries. If a company does not have the relevant certification (e.g. safety certification), cooperation is out of the question. Certifications are therefore extremely important, especially in the manufacturing industry. Naturally, the need for certification varies from industry to industry, and you’ll have to assess whether this is relevant your company, but if it is, it is a vital part of your presentation.

– Present key facts and figures

Admittedly, this can also be a double-edged sword. A company naturally wants to present itself in the best light in a company presentation, so (for example) high potential expenses for further development may be best unstated.  Some key figures relating to finance, however, help to create a solid and professional impression.  There are no hard-and-fast rules, as each audience is different, but a lack of financial information could give a negative impression.

– Highlight your expertise

Although it is often included as part of a general introduction to a company, it can be extremely effective to present the particular expertise and competencies of your company as a separate section of your presentation.  Highlighting your strengths as a company can be even more compelling with the addition of striking visuals – graphics, icons and images, for example, which give your audience a strong and clear impression of what you do best.

How do I hold a company presentation?

So, with the help of a few tips above, you’ve created your amazing company presentation. You also need to consider how you present it. The way you present needs to reflect the relationship between you and your audience. 

In an informal, mostly internal meeting, for example, you don’t need to stand and give a “classic” presentation, whereas remaining seated when presenting to a potential new customer would be highly inappropriate.

Giving your company presentation

It’s vital to be 100% certain of your facts when presenting.  If you’re not used to public speaking or are unfamiliar with all the content, it pays to practice the presentation a few times.  Being on top of the facts and figures really boosts the effectiveness of your presentation. 

Practicing also helps you to inject a bit of passion and commitment into your delivery; even if your presentation is wonderful, just standing reading out the contents of your slides in a monotone can alienate your audience.  A bit of practice and you’ll be presenting your company in the best way possible!

Prepare a shorter version of the company presentation

Social media and company portals generally require short and snappy, and are not the place for a comprehensive, all-encompassing company presentation complete with all the facts and figures. It is therefore useful to create a shorter version of your company presentation to promote your company via digital channels or as a basis for your website. 

This gives you an even wider range of options when it comes to tailoring your presentation to get it just right for your audience.

If you need further support in creating the company presentation, we can recommend our toolbox Company Presentation. The slides and graphics contained in this toolbox are completely editable, giving you a clear and efficient way to create a professional company presentation completely in line with your corporate design.