Three Good Reasons to Outsource PowerPoint Design

When it comes right down to it, we have three good reasons to outsource PowerPoint design.

1. So you look like a pro

There's more to PowerPoint design than choosing a slide design and inserting animation effects. It doesn’t take a design procession to tell the difference between a professional design and an amateur design. They may not know why one looks better than the other, but they do notice the difference. You have to ask yourself how you want to appear when you present to clients, investors, and others. We know that appearance leaves a huge impression; you wouldn't walk into a meeting with a tank top and shorts, so why would you present something that doesn't look professional? PowerPoint design affects non-verbal communication, which carries most of your message.

2. So you can focus on your business

You will make far better use of your time focusing on the message you want to deliver, than sweating the details of getting the latest version of PowerPoint to do what you want. By leaving the design and implementation to the experts, you can stop worrying about the graphic design, image selection, typography, and animation. You can leave all of that behind and still have a killer deck on presentation day.

3. So you can save money

Some businesses hire an in-house team to build their presentations, but unless you have a great deal of PowerPointing to do, this can be much more expensive than outsourcing. Depending on the amount and type of presentations design needed, it may be more cost effective to rely on a marketing agency. That way, you can be confident and proud of your presentation when you walk into a meeting, and happy you didn’t have to pay an exorbitant price for it.

To talk more about this, or any of your marketing needs, please contact us. Thanks.

Your Designer PowerPoint Presentation Is Like a Business Card on Steroids

In the days when beepers and business cards were the main connectors between the sales force and future sales, beepers were hit and miss, and business cards were informational without adding much to your presentation resources.

Along came the smartphone and digitized business cards. Smartphones now have the computing capacity many thousands of times in excess of what NASA used to go to the Moon and back, and you can dispatch a personal and company business card at the speed of light via e-mail. You can also launch an online link to your professionally-designed PowerPoint presentation via Twitter, Linked-In and Facebook -- a business card on steroids.

Out with the clunky 

In fact, your business presentation tools -- a PowerPoint deck of professionally engineered slides, for example -- have matured from the clunky carousel projector to a totally portable, scalable and shareable resource.  

The connection between the seller and the customer

Your sales rep might have picked up on the customer’s good, neutral or negative vibes during a PowerPoint sales presentation. However, even the most experienced sales rep is no mind reader, all that smartphone and sales presentation technology notwithstanding. Badly designed presentations cluttered with too much of everything reflect poorly on you and your product and could be a tie-breaker when the customer has a tough choice between you and a competitor.

PowerPoint is still a player

PowerPoint may be the platform that people love to hate, but it remains an important and accessible tool in your marketing tactics. Visuals and content are key and can be the difference between a glassy-eyed, no-sale stare and a successful sale.

Contact us and we’ll show you how to leverage all your great marketing and sales presentation work into a PowerPoint presentation that will you and your customers will actually love.

Build Dynamic Presentations Using PowerPoint

A dynamic speaker does not need a tool to get his point across. Yet, the right tool can engage his audience with images illustrated by stories that create a longer lasting impact.  

How do you make this happen? Build a strong, professional PowerPoint design that include personal tales as part of the message. PowerPoint is a device to illustrate and provoke thoughtful ideas. 

PowerPoint As A Story Teller

Taking a cue from the TED Talk expert, Carmine Gallo, in his Forbes article, Gallo advises speakers to use PowerPoint to tell stories with pictures and possibly even a small bit of animation. Facts go down easier with entertainment and humor. Unleash the inner Mark Twain when creating your PowerPoint design.

Ask Questions

Dynamic speakers engage the audience, not just by "speaking at them," but by bringing the audience into the presentation. To accomplish--or breach--the gap between the audience and speaker, reach out. Ask a question or two that will grab the audience.  Use PowerPoint slides to enlist participation. This will strengthen the relationship between the speaker and attendees. 

Create Alternative Conclusion Slide

Create a "What if?" slide.  The wonder of an unexpected conclusion is just too delicious to ignore. Elicit opinions from the audience. 

Make It Personal

Insert a personal story that relates to the subject matter. Nothing connects so well with an audience as an intimate anecdote. A slide from the speaker's home library brings the audience closer still. 

The power of a visual aide to illustrate a message is an excellent opportunity make an impact. Take advantage of the moment to reach into the hearts and minds of your audience. 

Be sure to contact us about how we can help you get your message across. 

Has Presentation Design Passed You By?

Presentation design has changed a lot over the past few years. We think it's important that businesses stay updated about new trends and developments pertaining to the topic. Here's one that's sure to have affected many businesses.

Every few years, Microsoft Office rolls out a new update or version of Office. Sometimes the changes are minor and sometimes they're extreme. They often deal with the layout and usability of Office programs.

PowerPoint has probably changed more than any other Microsoft Office program. It all really depends on which version you're upgrading to and which version you're leaving. If there are a few updates in between, the transition will likely be more difficult. 

Remember all the commotion that the end support of Windows XP caused? A lot of those businesses who never upgraded from XP were probably still working with Microsoft Office 2003. The 2003 programs were fine, but they had a much different layout in comparison to the new ones. 

A recent Business Management Daily article describes the transition from older vision of Microsoft Office to newer versions. The article suggests that businesses inform themselves about the new programs before they actually use them:

"If you missed transitioning through Office 2007 or Office 2010, Office 2013 may be a culture shock. Before embarking on PowerPoint particulars, it’s best to become familiar with the new geography and vernacular of all your Office 2013 applications, namely: tab, group, and button."

Presentation design is different on PowerPoint 2013 than it was on PowerPoint 2003. Especially when users are actually creating and editing the presentation. 

It's important that businesses learn about the new versions of office before significant presentations or meetings. The last thing they want is a malfunction due to a different feature or new keyboard shortcut. 

If you would like to talk to us about presentation design, contact us today. Thanks.