Not every product or service is the same, not every sales presentation is the same. Professional services are different from products that roll of the conveyor belt. They have a high level of (human) customisation. Here are some things to keep in mind when designing a presentation for professional services:

• The look and feel should be serious; think law firm, think management consulting firm
• Since it is all about customisation, the pitch is all about understanding the client's problem, being able to ask intelligent questions about it, hinting at what a solution might look like.
• Clients buy the skills of people. Having the people who will be working on the project in the room will help. The presentation becomes almost an excuse to figure out the people on the team

So, in short, the presentation is more a background for the presentation meeting, not the driver of the meeting itself.

Art: Frans Hals, portrait of an unknown man, 1665. Sign up for SlideMagic. Subscribe to this blog. Follow on Twitter.