Keryl Holman addresses some of the more frequent questions the company receives. Submit your own question and if we feature it here, you’ll become eligible to win one of our free extreme slide makeovers. Keryl Holman President Hawthorne Visual ____________________________________________________________________ Q. My company has a suite of ten (and growing) inter-related products that we currently sell using individual presentations. To put them all into one presentation would be overwhelming; but to show them individually I currently have to open separate presentations. This makes cross selling and up selling difficult and often breaks the flow. What do you suggest? ____________________________________________________________________ A. You aren’t alone, many of our clients have come to us with the same issue; they’re faced with using one large linear presentation or multiple stand-alone decks. Neither is effective in the scenario you describe. We use several different approaches depending on needs and budget. In the right hands, with the right advance planning, and content editing skills, PowerPoint can be designed and built with navigation and hyperlink capabilities that allow you to launch different content paths. More robust applications that offer full multimedia navigation, interactive capabilities and stability are yet another approach, but often have limited shelf lives because of hard- coded content. The solution we most often provide to our clients is a blend of the two. A multimedia- based application with the ability to customize pre-designated areas. This gives the user the powerful interactive features they desire with the editing capabilities they need. Built correctly, this puts your desired content at your fingertips no matter where you are in the presentation. ____________________________________________________________________ Q. We love what you did with our presentation. Can you use the same graphics to design our print piece? ____________________________________________________________________ A. Actually, it is much easier to do the reverse. We often start with high-resolution graphics to design our clients’ printed material – and then save them to a screen resolution and modify them to be used for electronic mediums. This method saves time and money in the end. But don’t worry, we usually ask that question in our first meeting. ____________________________________________________________________ Q. Which comes first, content or design? ____________________________________________________________________ A. No matter the medium – print, html email blast, multimedia, or a simple PowerPoint - we clearly see tremendous value in having customer-facing materials that are attractive, pleasing to the eye and enhance your brand. However, the development of key content and messaging is and must always be foremost. In fact, we often tell our clients that they are not allowed to see a hint of color in the content drafts we provide until we get close to final. That said, in tandem, the design team is usually hard at work on conceptualizing a design to wrap the content in as soon as it is approved. ____________________________________________________________________ Q. Why is it that when I email a presentation with inserted video, we can see the video on our computers, but the recipient only sees a black screen where the video should be? ____________________________________________________________________ A. The reason is this: although the menu pull downs say INSERT MOVIE, what you are really doing is LINKING [the] MOVIE to play within a window in your presentation. In order for the recipient to see the video, they must be given the source video file as well as the PowerPoint file. They will also need to place it within the same folder structure as exists on the computer from which it was linked. Finally, even with the advancements in video encoding and third-party compression software, it is unlikely that you will be able to email a source video file due to incoming email size restrictions. ____________________________________________________________________ Q. I always use the notes section to prepare my speaking points and then print them out as a guide. Is it possible to view them onscreen while I’m delivering my presentation so I save paper, reduce my fumbling and appear more professional? ____________________________________________________________________ A. Yes, if you are using two monitors (for example, a laptop and an external monitor) or a monitor (laptop) and a projector. This feature is available in Microsoft PowerPoint 2002 and beyond. To take advantage of this: – Click “Slide Show” – Click “Set Up Show” – Select “Presented by a speaker (full screen)” – Select “Monitor 2 Default Monitor” under “Display slide show on: – Click the box next to “Show Presenter View” – Click OK ____________________________________________________________________ Q. Do you have any simple, but key rules for making a successful sales pitch? ____________________________________________________________________ A. 1. Don’t bury the lead. Tell your audience at the onset what your company or product does. Be concise and get right to the point 2. KNOW your audience. Find out in advance what key information they are seeking from you. 3. Make it relevant to their unique needs. Deliver every key point as if it were about them. 4. The primary goal of your presentation is to generate further discussion with your prospect or audience. Do not try to cram everything onto your screens. It will be more memorable if you keep the information high-level (but compelling). A good way to determine if your screens are overcluttered is to simply ask yourself this: Will this make sense without my verbal delivery? If the answer is ‘yes’ – then there is too much information on your screens. 5. When delivering key points, try to also deliver examples: follow your key point with a “for example” 6. Practice your presentation numerous times. If you are able to – record yourself at least once. Watch your body language to be sure you appear natural. Avoid fidgeting or rocking, do not lean on the podium, [gentlemen] remove all change from your pockets, [ladies] leave the jingling bracelets at home and above all be sure you are not reading your presentation from your screen. 7. Anticipate the worst. Bring back up materials to your meeting in electronic and print format. ____________________________________________________________________ Q. Most of my presentations are delivered in large group settings, auditoriums or large rooms. As a result, the audience enters over a period of time; 10 – 15 minutes. I’d like to take advantage of this time and reach my audience with my key messages and brand. Any suggestions besides the static welcome/title page I’m currently using? ____________________________________________________________________ A. First off, we like the way you think – taking advantage of every opportunity you have with prospective customers and clients is vital. Many of our clients present in similar situations and an effective and easy solution we provide for them is a custom-designed animation loop, or as we call them a “Meet n Greet.” These introductions not only take your presentation up a notch by making it more like a show, but they ensure that you are reaching and communicating with your audience from the second they walk in the room. And if they are developed in a program like Flash, they can be easily repurposed – trade show booth monitors, corporate lobby kiosks or on your web site. ____________________________________________________________________ Q. On more than one occasion, I’ve been trapped in the lobby watching the minutes of my scheduled appointment tick away as the person I’m meeting runs late. When we finally get started, they still want to “see something” even though we have a lot less time than originally anticipated as we developed our presentation was developed. Reluctantly, I pull out the laptop and proceed to jump, stumble and rush through a 30-minute presentation in half the time or less – and it shows. How can I avoid getting trapped by the clock and deliver a thorough message no matter how much time I have? ____________________________________________________________________ A. Whether you’re using PowerPoint, Flash or Director as your presentation platform, the key to avoiding this unpleasant scenario lies in properly structuring your content and building in intuitive navigation. Meetings are dynamic and it’s rare, if not completely unknown, for one to go exactly as you planned. Therefore, we urge our clients to build an overview section into their presentation that will allow them to remain in control, meet the demands of the client or prospect in the time they’re given. If you perform well under challenging circumstances like you described by delivering something of value, you’re more likely to secure a follow up meeting.