Are your presentations winning over your clients and prospects? Columnist Matt Umbro shares tips for crafting presentations that truly connect with your audience.
Creating client presentations is widely considered to play a decisive role for a company. It was even proved by some marketing agencies reports. Although necessary, the process might be complicated and demand a great deal of time and effort. The only problem is how to make it win?
It should be attractive, impressive, and remarkable, by any means. It has to showcase your work, your ideas, the firm’s perspective, and so on everything that may cultivate the desire to purchase or invest. The first stage is to dive into pieces of research. The given article will be a perfect start!
This article will inform you about the 5 ways of improving your performance. To make it easier, it is also possible to apply for help with ready-to-use google slides themes.
1. Ask the Client for Input Before Beginning
The main goal of the presentation is to reach a potential client. Therefore, first things first, one has to get to know who they are and what are their thoughts about the forthcoming presentation. What, in their opinion, should be included in it?
This might sound pretty obvious to ask a client for input, but anyway is frequently forgotten or ignored, which happens to be a huge mistake to make. Haven’t you ever observed a performance that was quite alright yet still, was not it? Everything is beautiful, deliberately prepared, and so on, but still, something is wrong, something is lacking: that is simply not what is needed at the moment. The audiences are not impressed or encouraged and, consequently, although as a whole the presentation is great, it still is a total failure.
In such a way, to circumvent similar difficulties, it is crucial to get some insights into what exactly a customer prefers and expects to see. Probably it will be necessary to run through the general moments, and probably it would be required to be narrowly focused this particular time.
2. List the Key Takeaways at the Beginning
The second tip to take in mind when creating an engaging client presentation is to provide key takeaways at the beginning. Think of them as a plot with listed chapters’ headings in a book. Such summarized points will serve as navigation as well as a very convenient moment for those who run out of time or just do not want all of them being showcased. The listed keys allow skipping unwanted slides and straightforward proceeding to the most important ones for a separate client exclusively.
It is highly recommended to cling to the following pieces of advice when writing down your takeaways.
- Try to gather all of the takeaways on one slide with no extra elements.
- Use bold font to magnify an impact.
- Use bullet points or numbered list adjustments.
- Use icons throughout the sub-points.
- Do not include too many headers in one presentation. It is reasonable to include from 3 to 6.
- Make sure your statements are made clear and loud.
As the written information has been delivered it is also advisable to add some oral accompaniment, yet it must be kept short as well. Further explanation will follow with the slide devoted to this or that specific point.
3. Ensure Your Slides Aren’t Too Busy
It is extremely important not to make your slides overfilled. Although it is one more trick that seems way too obvious, you would be surprised to know how many times such “crowded” slides occur in presentations. And not only it concerns client-orientated ones, but others as well. It is a quite common mistake.
So, to make the presented information more catchy and engaging, avoid adding large amounts of graphic elements in one space. Bullet points, illustrations, graphs, and charts, etc. – all these have to be attached little by little throughout the presentation. Otherwise, they are going to form strata on each other, which will not only look unattractive to the eye but also totally erase balance and emphasis.
Here the less would mean the better. Add no more than 3 bullet points or images and no more than one graph to one slide. It is much more rational to break elements into several parts. In such a way, your presentation may have 10 more slides, yet will be kept laconic and easy to pay attention to details.
4. Include Only the Data That Matters, and Put Everything Else in the Appendix
There, of course, exists a lot of data about the company/product/or service you may desire to showcase. Still, it is principal to include key aspects of it solely. The question arises, what data really matters?
Regardless of the kind of data – be it past productivity, statistics, or new ideas, – the one that truly matters will affect a client directly. This brings us back to the very first tip: insight into clients’ opinions. What data does the customer need to see?
Including the most valuable information does not necessarily mean simply skipping everything else. All the other data can be gathered in the additional file or appendix. Such an approach gives the opportunity to briefly state key points and still provide all the essential moments. Plus, it saves the time of the performance and makes it more advantageous for clients. They, if needed, can familiarize themselves with further evidence later and in a more careful and comfortable form.
5. Encourage Your Client to Speak
Our final recommendation concerns customers’ feedback. Nevertheless, you have already created a clear presentation with relevant information, the client might require some more accurate definition or have an additional inquiry about specific sections. Not only is it normal, but it is also a good sign. If questions arise the interest in the presentation equally arises.
Therefore, take care to make pauses from time to time and even encourage your client:
- Is everything clear here?
- Do you have any questions?
- What do you think about it?
Once you make a client involved in the processes, you increase a good impression of the company. Such interaction with the audiences creates more close and trustful relationships, which in its turn inspires potential customers to become actual ones and maybe even on an ongoing basis. And that would not only mean you have found a wonderful product or service but a certain value as well.
Final Thoughts
To sum up all aforementioned, we can say that it is understandable why people think making this kind of presentation tedious and time-consuming. Yet, it is worth it. Think of it as a chance to demonstrate the company’s experience, knowledge, skills, and advantages.
Let us go through five principal rules when creating an engaging client presentation once again:
- The presentation has to address the specific demands of a client.
- Always list all headers in one of the introductory slides.
- Make sure your slides are not “overcrowded”.
- Only the data that are considered most necessary to a client should be presented.
- Pause to get feedback from a client.
Apply those tips, design catchy presentations, and prosper!Pictures.
Also Read- Tips for Better Academic Presentations