Power Points: 8 Tips for Creating Presentations That Sell

If the word “presentation” conjures thoughts of droning speeches and dreadful slideshows, you’re doing it wrong – and worse yet, wasting valuable opportunities to engage, convince and convert new customers. By following these eight tips, you can deliver more powerful, more memorable presentations that give your audience what they want in order to ultimately achieve the outcome you want.

1. Good tools do not good presentations make.

Today’s sophisticated presentation tools – from PowerPoint to Keynote to Google Docs – offer lots of bells and whistles. But don’t get so caught up in playing with all of the available options that you lose sight of your purpose. Whatever software or format you choose, slides are not a dumping ground for data or talking points. You don’t want your visual presentation competing with you for the attention of your audience. It’s there simply to amplify your key points, not duplicate them, so limit each slide to one single image or thought that reinforces what you’re saying. If you’re displaying a chart, graph or table, don’t leave it up to your audience to interpret the meaning of the numbers. Instead do the work of analyzing this data for them by making the title of your slide the main idea that you want them to take away (e.g., “Southeastern Region Exceeds Sales Goals” rather than “2012 Sales by Region”).

2. Don’t save the best for last.

In today’s digital age, attention spans are short. We’ve all been programmed to skim, scan, parse and move on. That’s why you can’t afford a long, drawn-out wind-up to ease into your presentation. Within the first three slides, you must convey to your audience what’s in it for them so they’re motivated to stay engaged with you. If you don’t come out swinging for the fences, they’ll quickly check out as their minds wander to something that’s more urgent in their own world, like their own list of impending to-dos and deadlines.

3. Know and serve your audience.

Let’s be clear: your presentation is not about you. It’s about your audience. You’re there to serve their needs, answer their questions and address their concerns. Because no two audiences are exactly alike, there truly is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all presentation. While the core of your presentation may remain relatively unchanged from one speaking engagement to the next, if you’re not shaping, tailoring and refining your message and delivery for the particular needs and interests of the audience in front of you, you’re doing a disservice to both them and you. That being said, the benefit of having a strong foundation in place and well-rehearsed is that you’ll be prepared to respond quickly to any opportunity that arises – no matter how tight the timeframe. For example, let’s say a conference planner calls you with a last-minute opening in their programming line-up. If you have your key points memorized and visual supports in place, an hour or so is all you’ll need to tweak your presentation, and you’ll be ready to take advantage of the chance to engage with a new audience without wrecking your nerves in the process.

4. Build trust first, last and always.

You can’t expect to convince anyone to do anything if they don’t believe in you. As a result, building trust with your audience is your first and most important objective. The task of establishing your credibility has much more to do with the intangibles of your presentation that what you say or what you put on screen.You must instill confidence with your visual presence, your body language and your demeanor. Be polished and professional from head to toe. Talk slowly and clearly, and don’t forget to breathe. Avoid mental placeholders like “um,” “uh” and “you know,” but don’t be afraid to pause when needed to transition between thoughts. No matter how nervous you might be on the inside, maintain good posture and steady eye contact with your audience from beginning to end. Always keep your composure even if things don’t go exactly as planned. Show that you respect attendees’ time and intelligence by providing real value and useful takeaway messages. Never, ever use jargon as a crutch to create the illusion of expertise. It’s much more important to be relatable to and easily understood by your audience.

5. Practice, practice, practice.

The art of public speaking is not one that comes naturally for most of us. That’s why preparedness is the key to being able to deliver your presentation with the polish and confidence you need to establish that all-important foundation of trust with your audience. Rehearse your presentation as much as possible, doing so in front of colleagues or other members of your team so they can offer feedback. Walk through every step from start to finish, just as you would on the day of, including setting up and using your digital presentation tools. Videotape your practice session. When you play it back, watch for any red flags that will undermine your credibility like verbal stumbling blocks, lack of eye contact, stiff body language, nervous fidgeting or lagging energy. Don’t forget to make contingency plans in case the situation throws you for a loop. For example, what if you arrive and there’s no way to project your presentation or your equipment malfunctions? Make sure you’re equally comfortable delivering your presentation with and without your visual aides.

6. Engage and energize.

Every presentation has the same core purpose: to motivate the audience to take a desired action. Just as with building trust, the secret of motivating an audience lies in the intangibles. Your PowerPoint presentation – no matter how beautiful and well-crafted it may be – is not going to inspire someone to take action. That’s your job. You must be energetic in your delivery. Passion is contagious, so make sure you let yours shine. If your audience senses that you are genuinely enthusiastic about your subject matter, they’ll be more invested in hearing what you have to say. This is another reason that practicing your presentation is so critical. You need to be able to feed off of and react to your audience. If your focus is wrapped up in the mechanics of your delivery, you won’t have the mental agility to be able to think on your feet. If your audience appears to be bored or confused, you must be able to shift gears to recapture their attention or deepen their understanding. Shake things up by giving them opportunities to interact with you and each other during your presentation. And don’t be afraid to take questions. If someone wants to know more, feed their curiosity!

7. Make it easy to take action.

You wouldn’t design an ad or a landing page or a direct mail campaign without a call to action. The same goes for your presentation. If the goal of your presentation is to motivate your audience to take action, make it clear what that action should be. Think carefully, though, about how you frame your request. The next step should be commensurate with the level of engagement and trust you’ve established with them. Will your audience be ready to sign on the dotted line and fork over their money to you at the end of your presentation? Probably not. So instead, focus your call to action on furthering your relationship with them. Encourage them to sign up for your e-newsletter or follow you on Twitter. Or invite them to schedule a complimentary one-on-one consultation session with you. As long as you can keep the conversation going, you’ll keep the door to future sales opportunities wide open.

8. Maximize your mileage.

No lie: creating a great presentation is a lot of work. The good news is that once you’ve honed and refined your presentation, there are lots of opportunities to get more mileage from it. First, it’s always a good idea to make your presentation available online. Sites like SlideShare, Prezi and SlideRocket allow you to create and host interactive presentations in the cloud and then embed them on your website or share via social media. You will need to create a version of your presentation specifically for this purpose, as your slides will need to be more content-rich in order to be able to stand on their own and convey your key points without the benefit of your verbal delivery. Second, if you’ve mastered your in-person presentation delivery, you can just as easily lead a webinar. All you need are a few additional technical elements such as a webcam and an account with a webinar hosting provider like GoToMeeting or WebEx, and you can expanded your reach from a room full of people to a limitless online auditorium. Here's one key difference to keep in mind, though. In a live presentation, you want to keep your audience focused on you and your words, so your slide content should be minimal. However, with webinars, your presence is limited to a disembodied voice coming through phone or computer speakers. To provide the best audience experience, you must design your slides and content in a way that is not only visually interesting but also helps attendees stay in sync with what you’re saying. Finally, keep your sales pitch in your pocket. Keep a core version of your presentation at the ready on your tablet and smartphone. That way, if an unexpected networking opportunity arises, you’ll be at the ready with good visual aides to complement your conversation. Your new acquaintance is more likely to remember the details having heard and seen your message, and you may improve your chances of gaining a new customer in the process.

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The Anti-Super Bowl Ad: How to Be a World-Champion Marketer Every Day of the Year

So you don’t have the budget for a major celebrity endorsement from the likes of Pierce Brosnan or Brett Favre or even Kim Kardashian. And you don’t have the creative firepower to produce the heart-tugging epic of an adventurous puppy and his friends the Clydesdales. Lucky you.

Why? Because you have something far greater at your disposal.

Super Bowl ads and super-sized budgets: Who needs ‘em?

The Super Bowl might be the most-talked about moment in marketing every year. But that’s just it: after a week of speculation leading up to the big game and a couple of days of chatter after, all of those big-budget blockbusters quickly fade away into yesterday’s news.

Ultimately, Super Bowl ads fail the test of good modern marketing.

Think about the one quality almost all Super Bowl ads have in common: They may be funny. They may be sexy. They may be clever. They may be controversial. But at the end of the day, they are all designed to entertain. The Super Bowl – and everything surrounding it – is about over-the-top, in-your-face, entertainment. And therefore, the commercials that air in between plays in the NFL’s ultimate game and the pyrotechnics-infused half-time show have a lot to compete with to win our attention. Therefore, their only hope is to grab us and keep us entertained for 30 seconds.

While surely many of these spots will succeed in making us laugh or awww or even roll our eyes, that’s where their impact ends. They are too far removed from the products they are meant to promote to make any real connection with the audience. They don’t tell us anything meaningful about the brand. They don’t make a promise that we can evaluate to gauge the company’s merits against its competitors’. They don’t provide any content of substance to solidify our trust in the name behind the hoopla. Therefore, ultimately, they fail the test of good modern marketing.

The anti-Super Bowl advertiser’s playbook

For those of us mere mortals who are tasked with growing a brand without the coins to drop $4.5 million for the privilege of being adjacent to a mega moment in pop culture for 30 seconds, there’s no need to bemoan our lack of deep pockets. Why? Because we have a much more powerful set of weaponry in our arsenal.

In today's marketplace, the only valid currency is trust.

In today’s marketplace, which is one founded by, built by and existing for the people, trust is the only valid currency. And trust isn’t built through entertainment. Trust is built brick by brick, day by day, by companies that work hard, communicate honestly, deliver reliably and provide value beyond expectation.

Here are the seven commandments of trust-building that you must practice 365 days a year to conquer your market:

1. Have a purpose.

Your products are not your purpose. No matter what you sell, you have a greater reason for being than completing transactions and making the cash register ring.

Your company exists because you provide a product or service that meets a need or solves a problem. Focus on what it is about your offering that makes your customers’ lives easier, better or more fulfilled. Center everything you are, everything you do and everything you say around serving that purpose.

2. Build a relatable personality.

Stop trying to be a capital-B Brand. The capital-B Brands of the world are the Nikes, the Coca-Colas, the McDonald’s and the Apples of the world: instantly recognizable with a mere glance at their logo – or even their signature colors.

Your brand is more than your icon. Your brand is shaped by the values that define every interaction you have with your customers. Your brand is a mosaic of your people, and as such, it should be inherently human with genuine human qualities.

Don’t approach your customers as a Brand. Approach them from the perspective of someone who understands their needs and wants to solve their problems and make their life easier.

3. Communicate value.

Less than half of consumers trust paid advertising (down about 25% since 2009, according to Nielsen), which just goes to prove that useless, empty marketing content is useless, no matter how comedically, sexily or outrageously it’s dressed.

Today’s consumers are starved for meaning, transparency and utility. So when you communicate with them, forget the flash and focus on the substance. Create content that stands the test of time and provides genuine value, not just a lot of noise.

4. Be present – on every screen, not just the big one.

Wherever it is that your customers live, that’s where you should be. If they’re on Facebook, be on Facebook. If they’re on Twitter, start tweeting.

Listen. Contribute to the conversation – and not just when it serves your needs. Be helpful.

Above all else, be real. Don’t approach the conversation as a self-motivated, faceless corporate salesperson. Come to serve the community and its goals. Be yourself – a person with a budget, family, needs, problems and passions just like everyone else.

Read more: Mastering Tribe Marketing

5. Invest in your existing customers as much as you invest in acquiring new ones.

Never underestimate the value of loyalty. It costs much less to keep a customer than to win over a new one. And if you’re really good, you can turn your customers into fans that will serve as evangelists for your brand and do your marketing for you.

6. Make waves.

Commit to your story. Own your point of view. Don’t be afraid to risk alienating a few people in exchange for being loved by your core customers.

Doing things as they’ve always been done is comfortable and safe. You’re not going to offend anyone. But you’re not going to inspire anyone, either. Everyone who likes you one day can be gone the next. But people who love you stand by you.

In every industry and in every market, there is the opportunity to be revolutionary. Give the tribe of people who share a passion for what you do something meaningful to rally around. Show them that you understand them and you care about meeting their needs.

Draw a line in the sand. Demonstrate what you stand for. Be equally proud of what you are and what you are not.

Be bold. Be unapologetic. Be arrogant if that’s what it takes.

It shows passion. It shows conviction. It’s better than being imminently forgettable.

Let go of the safety net of liking. Make waves of love and hate. You’ll make the choice for your customers an easy one every time.

Read more: Death by Liking

7. Deliver.

To borrow the words of Steve Jobs, “Real artists ship.” At the end of the day, action is your best advertising. Every interaction you have with your customers is a chance to move the chains – either to advance toward the goal line of winning their trust or to lose yardage in the fight.

Action is your best advertising.

Don’t go over the top with your advertising. Do go above and beyond in delivering on your promises – every single time without fail.

It all comes down to this: You may never be a Super Bowl advertiser. But you can most certainly become a world-champion trust-builder. And that’s a title that pays dividends 365 days a year.

Read more: What Are You Doing to Move the Chains?

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