Good Design in Sales Presentations

The dreaded bullet-pointed sales presentation: we’ve all
seen it, and we’re all bored to tears by it. After all the hard work you went
through to get the opportunity to give a sales presentation, doesn’t it sadden
you to think that you might not make the sale simply because it’s boring? When
you’re standing in front of the potential buyers, and you’re flipping through a
PowerPoint with a plain background, bullet points, and boring text, it might
not matter how lively you are. As it turns out, though, implementing some good
design in your sales presentation can make a lot of things work in your favor.

Power of PowerPoint

We’re not necessarily saying that PowerPoint is a bad thing.
Quite the opposite: it’s put the power of presentations into everyone’s hands.
Anyone can make a PowerPoint presentation—it’s simple and straightforward to
build one, and simple to use when you’re presenting. But that’s part of the
problem. When anyone can make a PowerPoint, they do. And everyone’s idea of
what makes a good-looking presentation differs, and ultimately none of them end
up looking all that great, and not a single one is true to the company’s brand.
In a presentation, your audience picks up on that. Plus, without access to good
visuals, you run the risk of it looking childish, which isn’t something you
want to convey (unless you’re a toy company).

Life as an
Infographic

Infographics are changing the way we market things. Really,
they’re changing the way we make sales. Think of your sales presentation as an
infographic, just through a series of slides instead of a giant scrolling
window. Incorporating design into your presentation means you can keep people
engaged for longer than you would if you were just flipping through bullet
points. Not only do bullet points make people yawn, but they also mean people
read ahead and stop listening to you. Incorporating information directly into
the visuals in your presentation will keep people engaged and listening
throughout your presentation.

Fluid Movement

Design isn’t just about making the presentation look good.
It’s also about making sure it flows well. That starts in piecing together the
content of the presentation and determining where your transitions really fit.
You don’t want to cram too much information onto one slide and lose the
listeners’ attention, or flip too quickly through slides. It’s about balance,
and finding an intriguing way of getting from Point A to Point B while keeping
all your riders with you until the last stop. Be open to moving slide
transitions, but don’t go over the top. You still want the focus on to be on
the content you’re presenting, and not on the way the slides change.