Tips for a Successful Tool Talk

How to develop your Tool Talk with a focus on content and structure

Here’s what you can expect in this article👇:

1. The guiding principle: value before sales pitch

2. A structured format for your pitch

3. Why it makes sense to focus your message

4. Criteria for choosing the right speakers

5. Practical tips for slides and time management

A Tool Talk isn’t a traditional sales webinar. Its goal is to give viewers clear guidance and help them make informed decisions. The following tips will help you make your presentation clear, easy to follow, and relevant to your audience.

Content over sales: Be helpful, not promotional

Our experience shows that audiences respond less favorably to traditional sales pitches than to informative content. Put yourself in the shoes of someone looking for a solution. They want to understand how your tool can make a real difference in their day-to-day work.

Please don’t use QR codes, special discount offers, or contact details on your slides. These aren’t part of the format, as we want to ensure a fair comparison and remain neutral.

Your 11-minute pitch: The ideal structure

To make the most of your time, we recommend this structure:

• Presentation, including specific use cases (about 5 min.): Tell a story. Instead of listing features, describe a problem (“Company A has problem X”) and explain how your tool solves it (“With automation Y, we solve the problem”). This helps viewers imagine how the software could work for their own company.
• A live look (about 5 min.): Bring your tool to life by switching to the software and showing it live.

Please don’t include prerecorded videos in your slides, as they often lag during webinars. Live demos work best!

Focus your message: Who is your tool right for?

A tool that claims to do everything for everyone can seem unconvincing. Participants are looking for a solution that’s the right fit for them.

Be transparent: Which company sizes, industries, or use cases is your tool particularly suited to, and where might it have limitations?

A clear explanation of who your tool is for can help set realistic expectations and build trust.

Choosing your speaker: Who should present your tool?

The person on the “digital stage” represents your brand. Choose someone who:

• Knows the subject inside out: Expertise matters more than polished marketing talk.
• Can present in German: Tool Talks are held in German.
• Shows genuine enthusiasm: Viewers can tell whether someone truly believes in the product.

Colleagues in Solution Consulting, Customer Success, or Product Management are often a great fit, as they know the everyday challenges customers face.

Design & time management: Less is more

You have 11 minutes. Here’s how to make the most of them:

• Slide design: Use our Google Slides template. It creates a consistent look and saves you time on layout. Use bullet points rather than paragraphs. Here, you’ll find a great example presentation.
• Timing: Be sure to practice your presentation with a stopwatch beforehand. If you go significantly over time, the moderator will have to interrupt you to keep the schedule on track for everyone.

Interaction: Your question of choice

After your pitch, there’ll be a panel discussion. Here’s a special benefit for you: in advance, you can choose one question for our experts to ask you live right after your pitch. This lets you make sure an aspect that’s important to you comes up naturally.

Looking for visual inspiration?

👉 Watch a best-practice video here

Still have questions?

👉 Find answers to frequently asked questions about Tool Talks here