Seven Sins of PowerPoint Presentations

Gregg Murray for Radio Ink Magazine

Today you may be at the NAB Radio Show, comfortably listening a speaker share their wisdom with the support of an overhead PowerPoint slideshow. Tomorrow, you may be back in the office, whipping up your own PowerPoint that needs to be pitched to dozens of business owners. Did we miss a memo? How in the world has PowerPoint become so prevalent in our professional lives?

In today’s business climate of, “impress me…don’t sell me,” PowerPoint presentations are a visual representation that makes the process of marketing Radio more tangible. Question is, what are the PowerPoint’s that your staff presents…saying about you and your organization?

Imagine yourself in the seat of an advertising decision-maker. A sales rep comes into your business, goes through a needs analysis, and returns a week later with an anticipated sales/solution presentation. But, when you’re handed the presentation, it looks like a sixth-grader put it together. The result is an advertiser that’s thinking, “they want me to trust them with all this money to market my business, and this is how they market their business…no thanks.” Amateurish presentations won’t cost you every deal, but it certainly is costing you more large-dollar deals, and long-term contracts than you realize.

So, what to do?

Start here. Tear out this page, make copies, and put them on every seat in your sales office. Be sure your sellers avoid the following “7 Sins of PowerPoint Presentations.” Stay away from these 7 Sins and you can rest assured that advertisers will gain a much more favorable impression of your sales team.

Sin #1: Center Spacing
While using center spacing for the headline and the subheadline is OK, it should never be used on body copy as it can be too difficult to read and can create an unattractive presentation that does not “invite the viewer in” to read it. Keep the body of your work flush left to ensure ease of reading and to create consistency throughout your presentation.

Sin #2: Colored Text
You have enough color in your station logos for any presentation to pop. Not only can colored text look unprofessional, it can often be more difficult to read.

Sin #3: Too Many Fonts
Using too many fonts will make your presentation unattractive and uninviting to the viewer. Pick one easy-to-read font and use it consistently throughout your presentation. I am a fan of “Arial” for presentations. It’s simple, effective, and works well in all sales situations.

Sin #4: Too Much Text
Don’t cram your pages full of text. Use bullet points and short sentences only. Your slides should only help you get your message across; they shouldn’t tell the whole story. Complicated, crowded, hard-to-read pages compete with you for your prospect’s attention. Besides, if only the main points are covered in your presentation, the decision-maker will be more apt to realize their importance. Don’t overwhelm them with fluff. Keep it simple and they’ll grasp your most important selling points.

Sin #5: Not Staying Client/Prospect Focused
Remember that it’s about them, not us. Make sure that your presentation includes WIIFM – “what’s in it for me.” This is the important facts of your presentation that all clients/prospects desperately want to know. A good idea is before you finish your presentation, take a couple of mental steps back, and think about who you will be meeting with, and what they might be expecting from you. Use this time to make sure that your presentation is sharply focused on the needs and expectations of the advertiser. Also, use this time to make sure that your presentation is laid out in a logical structure. Meandering from point to point can be very frustrating to a decision-maker.

Sin #6: Word Art
There’s no room for negotiation on this one. PowerPoint’s Word Art doesn’t have a place in a professional sales presentation (though it looks great on a kid’s birthday invitation).

Sin #7: Cheesy Clip Art

There is a difference between “clip art,” “illustrations,” and “photos.” Feel free to use one photo or illustration per page of your presentation (along with your logos and your client’s logo). But, avoid the cheesy clip art that comes with PowerPoint. Again, good for an eight year old birthday invitation…not so good when you’re hoping to create a professional sales image.

So there you have it, “The 7 Sins of PowerPoint Presentations.” Follow the tips on this page, and I can ensure that advertisers will see you as more professional, which will result in larger deals, and more long-term contracts.

Receive free etips from Gregg Murray at www.salesimaging.com. Gregg is a CRMC Diamond, PowerPoint Certified Specialist, and RAB/NAB Speaker. He can be reached at gmurray@salesimaging.com or 304.43.RADIO (304.437.2346).

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