1. Structure the Presentation based on the Goal
Most sales presentations are persuasive presentations trying to persuade the prospect to purchase. But early in the sales process, you may be making an informative presentation simply educating the prospect on your product or service. Structure what you say and your supporting slides based on your goal for that presentation and how you will move the prospect from where they are now to where you want them to be.
2. Select Colors & Fonts that Can Be Seen
When you are designing your slide look, pick colors that have high contrast so that the text and graphics can be easily seen when shown. Use either a light background with dark text or a dark background with
light text. Use fonts that are large enough to be seen by the prospect. rule is that you should never use a font below 24 point size, with the preference being 28 to 32 point size. For titles or headings, use 36 to 44 point size fonts and use 28 to 32 point size for body text.
3. Build Slides Using Bullet Points
Instead of full sentences, use bullet points to deliver the key ideas on your slides. When using bullet points, make sure not to put too much information on a slide. Use the 6 by 6 guideline each bullet should have no more than 6 words and each slide should have no more than 6 bullet points. Build bullet points one by one on the slide so you can speak to each point individually and the prospect will know which idea you are expanding upon.
4. Avoid Movement of Slide Elements
While moving text or graphics around the slide may look like fun, it is very distracting to the prospect. Avoid the build animation effects where movement is outside the boundaries of the text or graphic. The
preferred build effect is the Appear effect where the text just appears in the correct spot on the slide.
5. Select Graphics Carefully
Only use graphics diagrams, clip art, photographs or charts if they will add to the message of that slide. Select the correct graph type based on the data you want to show (time-sequenced, number of data sets, etc.). For complex ideas, splitting a graphic up into smaller amounts of data tied together in an overall graphic may be the best way to go.
