If you work in sales or marketing and you're tired of seeing messy, off-brand presentations floating around, this guide’s for you. We’ll walk through setting up and customizing brand templates in Seidat so your team can create polished, consistent sales materials—without micromanagement or endless Slack reminders.
Honestly, template systems can be clunky or ignored, but Seidat’s tools are pretty flexible if you set them up right. Let’s make sure your brand doesn't go off the rails with that one rogue slide deck.
1. Get Clear on What “Consistent” Actually Means
Before you even log into Seidat, define what “consistent” looks like for your brand. This isn’t about making things pretty; it’s about making sure your sales materials actually look like they came from the same company, every time.
Here’s what you need to nail down:
- Colors: Your main brand colors and any secondary tones.
- Fonts: Which fonts (and sizes) are allowed? Is bolding or italics okay?
- Logos: Which version goes where? Horizontal, stacked, icon-only?
- Imagery: What style of photos or illustrations do you use? Stock or custom?
- Voice: Are there phrases or taglines that should always (or never) appear?
Pro Tip: Document this somewhere, even if it’s just a Google Doc. You’ll need it for reference throughout this process.
2. Set Up Your Seidat Workspace Correctly
Seidat makes it easy to jump in and start making slides, but if you don’t set up your workspace with an eye to branding, you’ll have a mess on your hands later.
- Use teams and access controls: Limit who can edit templates. Not everyone needs edit rights—trust me.
- Organize by brand or region if needed: If you’ve got more than one brand, or multiple sales territories, create folders or teams accordingly.
- Review default permissions: Make sure only the right people can publish or modify master templates.
Don’t skip this step. A little time here saves headaches when someone “accidentally” changes your primary color to neon green.
3. Build Master Slides (Templates) That Set the Rules
This is where the real work happens. In Seidat, “Master slides” are your templates. They control layouts, colors, logos, and text styles. The more you set here, the less you’ll have to fix later.
How to Create a Master Slide in Seidat
- Open your Seidat workspace.
- Navigate to Slides > Masters.
- Click “Create new master.”
- Set your background color, logo placement, and footer/header elements.
- Choose your default text boxes: Set font, size, and color to match your guidelines.
- Lock down key elements: Don’t just hope people won’t move the logo—lock it in place.
- Add placeholder content: Use sample headlines and body text, so users see what “right” looks like.
What works:
- Locking items is a lifesaver. Salespeople are creative, but not always in a good way.
- Using multiple masters for different slide types (title, content, section break) keeps things clean.
What doesn’t:
- Don’t create a master for every possible need. Too many templates, and people just pick whatever’s closest—consistency goes out the window.
4. Set Up Brand Colors, Fonts, and Image Styles
Seidat lets you define default colors and fonts for your templates. Use this—don’t leave it to chance.
Setting Brand Colors
- In the master editor, look for the color palette or theme settings.
- Set your primary, secondary, and accent colors.
- Save these as defaults, so they’re always available in the editor.
Setting Fonts
- In the same area, pick your brand font(s) for headings and body text.
- Set the sizes. Don’t go crazy—one or two sizes should cover most needs.
- Avoid custom fonts unless you’re sure everyone has access to them. If a font doesn’t render, your slides will look broken.
Image Guidelines
- Add sample images on masters, or link to a gallery of approved brand images.
- If you use icons, save a set in a shared folder everyone can access.
- Avoid allowing uploads from random sources unless you want to play “guess the copyright status.”
Pro Tip: Stick to the essentials. The more choices you give, the more likely someone goes off-brand.
5. Add and Lock Reusable Elements
Every sales presentation needs certain things: logo, contact info, maybe a disclaimer or footer. Set these up once on your master slides and lock them down.
- Logos: Place in the same spot on every master. Lock in place.
- Contact info: If it changes by region or salesperson, leave a placeholder and spell out what goes there.
- Legal disclaimers: If you have to include these, set them up as locked text boxes.
What to ignore:
- Fussy micro-adjustments. Get things aligned, but don’t waste time on pixel-perfect unless you’re in design. Salespeople won’t notice, and neither will your customers.
6. Create a Template Library for Slide Reuse
One of Seidat’s strengths is slide libraries. You can create libraries of pre-approved slides—like case studies, product overviews, or pricing tables—so people can grab what they need instead of starting from scratch (or, worse, from an old deck).
- Organize by topic: E.g., “About Us,” “Product Features,” “Customer Stories.”
- Limit editing: Make sure people can use these slides, but not change the fundamentals.
- Update regularly: Rotate out old slides, update stats, and keep visuals fresh.
Pro Tip: If a slide is out of date, archive it—don’t just hope people stop using it.
7. Train (and Police) Your Team
Templates only work if people know how—and are told—to use them.
- Do a quick walkthrough: Show where templates live and how to use them.
- Share “before and after” examples: People learn faster when they see what good vs. bad looks like.
- Set rules: Make it clear what’s not allowed, like uploading random GIFs or using Comic Sans.
- Spot check regularly: Every so often, review a handful of decks. If things are drifting, course-correct early.
What works:
- Recognition. Shout out people who stick to the templates.
- Make templates the path of least resistance. If the brand templates save time, people will use them.
8. Iterate and Fix What Isn’t Working
No template system is perfect out of the gate. Watch how people use (or ignore) the templates and tweak as needed.
- Collect feedback: Ask the team what’s missing or annoying.
- Update masters when your brand changes: Don’t let old logos or colors linger.
- Trim unused templates: If no one uses a slide master, kill it. Less clutter means more consistency.
Honest Take: What to Skip
- Overcomplicating layouts: Fancy animations or slide gimmicks usually slow everyone down.
- Too many options: The more master slides and color choices, the more likely someone picks the wrong one.
- Expecting 100% perfection: Someone will always find a way to add a sparkle effect or a weird font. Just keep nudging things back on track.
Keep It Simple, Review Often
Consistent branding in sales decks isn’t about rules for the sake of rules—it’s so your team looks professional and your message lands. Set up your Seidat templates with just enough guardrails, show people how to use them, and check in now and then. If you keep things simple and update your templates as you go, you’ll spend way less time fixing rogue slides and way more time closing deals.