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Put some real power in your PowerPoint presentation

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In a hotel lobby, I passed a seller and a buyer involved in a sales presentation.

The seller was deeply engrossed in “making the sale.” He was intensely looking at his laptop computer as he methodically clicked through his PowerPoint presentation.

The prospective buyer was not paying attention. Actually, he seemed to be staring off into space, completely detached from the presentation.

I went over to these two strangers and said to the seller: “What are you doing? This guy’s not paying attention to you.”

Then I turned to the prospect and said, “Are you buying or not?” The prospect, somewhat startled, said, “Yeah, I am.”

I said, “Great! Finish this transaction right this minute,” then I walked away grinning.

This encounter reminded me of the old sales joke: “Don’t buy yet. I’m not finished with my presentation.” If you use PowerPoint during a sales presentation, you — yes, you — have been in the same situation.

Most PowerPoint sales presentations I see are somewhere between boring and pathetic. Oh, they can provide the message, but in the least engaging way possible: We do this…we do that…we, we, we. Most sales presentations are framed in terms of the product, the company and the salesperson. They are not presented in terms of the only person that matters, the person making the purchase.

The most regrettable thing about PowerPoint sales presentations is that they are NOT prepared by the salesperson. They are usually prepared by the company’s PowerPoint “expert.” Maybe it’s the “expert” in the graphics department or the “expert” in the marketing department, but almost never by the “expert” in the sales department.

Now the poor salesperson (that would be you) is forced to use something that could hamper the sale.

Well, enough of my rant. Here’s the solution:

Here’s a list of 16.5 elements to look for, look out for, include and exclude:

1. Don’t even think about using stupid clip art that any 12-year-old could find. Makes you look like a rank amateur. Use your own clip art, or use none.

2. Add an unexpected, personal, FUNNY photograph.

3. Make a verbal point and reinforce it with a slide, not the other way around.

4. Don’t EVER say, “This one’s a little hard to read.” Slides are free. Make a better one.

5. Don’t have your slides spin around or have moving text. Total waste of time.

6. Don’t put more than one point on a slide.

7. Count the laughs. At least one for every five slides.

8. Use a white background. The fancy ones are distracting and serve no purpose.

9. Include a logo. I put a bug-size logo in the lower right corner of every slide. I figure if it’s good enough for MTV, it’s good enough for me.

10. Use the font IMPACT. Set the master screen for 44 point and shadow the type.

11. Emphasize words by blowing them up a few point sizes. Make them a different color. I use red.

12. If you’re laboring over a slide because you are trying to “make it work,” delete it. It was probably a weak point.

13. Use slides that tell a story rather than relate a fact. Facts and figures are forgotten; stories are remembered and retold.

14. Are your slides engaging? There are two kinds of slides: engaging and distracting. Review each slide; if it’s not engaging, why are you using it?

15. Are your slides asking questions or making statements? Questions will promote conversation and engage.

16. How many of the claims that you make in your presentation are backed up with proof? Which brings me to my final point …

16.5. Incorporate video testimonial clips throughout your slide presentation to prove that your claims are real, transferable and acceptable to the customer.

By now you’re probably totally disheartened about your PowerPoint presentation because I’ve exposed it for the powerless “point” it is. But take heart. Your competition’s slide presentation is equally pathetic.

Here is the solution: Convert the time you’re wasting watching television reruns and use it to develop your own PowerPoint presentation that is 100 percent in terms of the customer’s needs and desires. Your presentation should engage the prospective customer by asking questions and promoting dialogue, include a little humor to keep the sales presentation alive and support every fact and claim with testimonials.

By the way, there’s one question that you better make certain appears toward the end of your PowerPoint presentation: a question that asks for the sale.

Want to learn more ways of getting others to see it your way? Go to www.gitomer.com, register if you’re a first-time user, and enter PERSUADE in the GitBit box.

Jeffrey Gitomer can be reached by phone at (704) 333-1112 or by e-mail at salesman@gitomer.com.