If you spend way too much time making lead gen decks that all look kinda the same, this is for you. You want less copy-paste, more results, and you’d rather not spend your weekend wrangling slides. This guide shows you how to automate lead generation presentations by wiring up data and tools with Slidebeam integrations. No vague promises—just a practical walkthrough, a few “don’t bother” warnings, and some shortcuts I wish someone told me sooner.
Why Automate Lead Gen Decks Anyway?
Lead gen presentations are supposed to be tailored and fast. In reality, most teams slog through the same edits over and over, often pulling from the same spreadsheets and CRMs. Automation means less grunt work, fewer errors, and—let’s be honest—makes you look more professional without the late nights.
But it’s not magic. Automation works best for repeatable, high-volume decks where most content follows a formula. If you’re hand-crafting every slide for every lead, this won’t save you much. But if you’re making dozens of similar decks—think sales, onboarding, or proposals—this will pay off fast.
What You’ll Need (and What You Don’t)
Before diving in, let’s set expectations:
Must-haves: - A Slidebeam account (Pro or higher is best—some integrations are locked for free users). - Some basic comfort with tools like Zapier, Make (formerly Integromat), or native Slidebeam integrations. - Data source: Google Sheets, your CRM, or wherever your lead info lives.
Nice-to-haves: - A Zapier account (or Make, or similar automation tool). - Template decks already set up in Slidebeam.
Don’t Bother (for Now): - Custom code or APIs unless you’ve hit a wall with “no-code” options. - Overcomplicating your data source. Start with a simple spreadsheet.
Step 1: Set Up Your Slidebeam Template
First, don’t start automating until you’ve got a solid template. Automation just makes mistakes faster.
Tips:
- Create a master deck in Slidebeam with all the standard slides you use for leads.
- Use variables or placeholders like {company_name} or {contact_email} in your slides where you want custom info.
- Keep the design simple—automation is less forgiving of wild formatting.
Pro Tip:
Don’t try to automate the “wow” slides you still need to edit by hand. Focus on the boring, repeatable stuff: intro slides, case studies, pricing, etc.
Step 2: Prep Your Data Source
Your automation needs something to fill those placeholders. For most, this means a Google Sheet or data exported from your CRM.
How to Structure It: - Each row = one lead/presentation. - Each column = a variable in your deck (like “Company Name”, “Contact Email”, “Pain Point”, etc.). - Column headers should match the placeholders in your Slidebeam template.
Example:
| company_name | contact_email | pain_point | |--------------|----------------|--------------------| | Acme Corp | bob@acme.com | Too many tools | | Widget Inc | sue@widget.com | Slow onboarding |
Gotcha to Avoid:
Don’t use fancy formatting or merged cells. Automation tools are picky about clean, tabular data.
Step 3: Connect Your Tools
Here’s where the magic happens. You’ll use Zapier, Make, or Slidebeam’s native integrations to pull data from your source and create a new presentation.
Option 1: Zapier
Zapier is the most popular, and it works well for most use cases.
Basic Workflow: 1. Trigger: “New row in Google Sheets” (or “New lead in CRM”). 2. Action: “Create Slidebeam Presentation.”
How To Set It Up: - In Zapier, connect your Google Sheets account and Slidebeam account. - Map the columns from your sheet to the placeholders in your Slidebeam template. - Set up the action to create a new presentation using your selected template. - Test it with a sample row.
Heads Up:
- Zapier’s free plan has limits. If you’re automating at scale, budget for a paid plan.
- Slidebeam’s Zapier integration can be a little slow to sync new templates. Sometimes you need to refresh or reconnect for changes to show up.
Option 2: Native Integrations
Slidebeam offers some built-in integrations with tools like HubSpot or Salesforce. These are more limited than Zapier but can be simpler if you only use those CRMs.
- Check Slidebeam’s “Integrations” tab to see what’s available.
- Usually, you just connect your account and map fields to your template placeholders.
Limitation:
If you want to trigger presentations from anything outside the supported CRMs, you’ll need Zapier or a similar tool.
Option 3: Make (Integromat) or Others
Make is a bit geekier but lets you build more complex flows (like branching logic or heavy data cleaning).
- The setup is similar: trigger on new data, then create a Slidebeam presentation.
- Better for teams that need more than just “plug and play.”
Step 4: Customize, Test, and Refine
Don’t expect perfection on the first try. Automation is all about iteration.
Checklist Before Going Live: - Run a few test leads through your flow—double-check that all placeholders fill correctly. - Check slide formatting. Sometimes long text breaks layouts. - Make sure the output file name and sharing settings are what you want (otherwise, things get messy). - Decide how you’ll notify your team or send the deck to the lead—email, Slack, whatever.
What to Ignore:
- Don’t stress about automating every single field. It’s fine to leave a few blanks for manual edits.
- Skip automating custom graphics or charts unless you have a real need—and the patience to troubleshoot.
Pro Tip:
Set up a “review” step at first. Maybe have presentations delivered to you or a Slack channel, not directly to the lead. Once you trust the automation, you can skip the review.
Step 5: Deliver and Track
Once your flow works, it’s time to actually use it.
Ways to Share: - Automatically send presentations to your sales team. - Email decks directly to leads (if you trust the output). - Store finished decks in a shared folder for quick access.
Tracking?: - Use Google Analytics, Slidebeam’s built-in analytics, or just track open rates if you email decks. - Automation can help here too—log each new deck to a sheet or CRM for follow-up.
What Works, What Doesn’t
What Works Great: - Automating repetitive, “template-driven” presentations. - Pulling info from CRMs or Sheets without manual copy-paste. - Keeping decks consistent and up-to-date.
What’s Overhyped: - “Fully personalized decks at scale” — unless you keep your templates simple, it’s easy for automation to mess up details or layouts, especially with long or weird data inputs. - Integrating with every tool under the sun—pick your must-haves and ignore the rest.
What to Watch Out For: - Data hygiene. If your input data is messy, your decks will be too. - Slide design. Automation can’t fix ugly or confusing templates.
Keep It Simple and Iterate
Automating lead gen presentations with Slidebeam integrations isn’t rocket science, but it does take a little upfront work. Start with one template, one data source, and a basic workflow. Get that working—then improve it.
Don’t chase every integration or try to automate the un-automatable. The goal isn’t “zero effort,” it’s “way less effort on the stuff you do over and over.” Keep it simple, fix problems as you go, and let your automation do the boring stuff while you focus on the leads that actually matter.