Executive briefings are where deals get made or lost. And they’re notoriously hard to get right.
The struggle is real: how do you balance sharing enough insight to prove your value without overwhelming busy executives with information they don't need? How do you avoid a heavy-handed product pitch while still positioning your solution? And how do you create genuine engagement when you're essentially presenting to people who've heard every sales story in the book?
Here's the thing — you're in good company. Every seller wrestles with this. But an executive briefing is just a conversation with a little extra structure. Here's the approach I use on my own accounts:
Start at the bottom, not the top.
Book 10- to 15-minute "learn and listen" chats with front-line reps and their managers.
Ask what slows them down, what tools they don't trust, and how that bubbles up.
As patterns appear, ladder those insights up to directors, then VPs. By the time you reach the exec, you're speaking their language because their own people taught it to you.
Pull the "outside-in" facts.
Skim the company's latest earnings call for growth targets, headcount signals, or market pivots.
Drop those nuggets into your briefing so the exec can tell you did more than read their homepage.
Make it a conversation.
Don't dump and present the whole time.
You can share what you've learned, but really use that time to confirm its accuracy with the exec.
It's a time for a lot of question asking and listening vs. immediately selling.
For example: "Hey, I've tried taking time to learn about your organization by having conversations or combing through the X, Y, and Z resources. Here's what I've come to believe are the highest priorities and what you're trying to solve. But what I'm hoping to accomplish today is hearing your perspective on this. Do I have this information correct, or are other things a higher priority?"
Group briefings
If you're planning to brief a group and not just meet an exec one-on-one, the research is the same. But there are some extra tips to keep in mind:
Write it out — literally.
Draft a short script for yourself. Seeing the flow on paper forces you to spot any jargon and trim fluff.
Practice it out loud. If you can't explain a slide in 30 seconds with a question at the end, cut the slide.
Make every slide a two-way door.
Instead of a wall of text, put a single headline and a conversation-starter underneath: "Inbound leads converting at 1.2% — how far off is that from your board's target?"
Executives lean in because you're validating, not lecturing.
Hook them in the first 60 seconds.
Open with a nod to their mission ("You're on pace to hit 25% ARR growth by expanding into healthcare…")
Follow with the "why us, why now" teaser ("I spoke with three of your regional managers. Each called out prospect data gaps that are costing reps 3-4 meetings a week. Let's unpack that.")
Do all of that, and your briefing shifts from "Here's my pitch" to "Here's what your own team and your earnings say is blocking your number — and how we can solve it together." Executives don't just tolerate that story; they ask for part two.