Stacking the (slide) deck

Business development projects are built on PowerPoint, right? Well yes, and no, unless you want to kill the deal before you start. Let me explain.

The Goods –

• PowerPoint helps you organize, re-organize and refine your pitch.
• PowerPoint forces you to be parsimonious with your words (if you expect anyone to be able to read them).
• PowerPoint creates a nice handout / leave behind – I prefer two slides per page, readable while reducing the paper poundage.
• I also like to send the slide deck in advance of the meeting – some people actually read them! More time for conversation and less time for sitting in a circle while reading the slides.

The Bads –

• When under pressure / on deadline, the technology will defeat you every time; take handouts for everyone.
• Too much pressure to put more stuff on each slide or, worse yet, increase the number of slides. 20 slides should be the max – at two minutes per page if you actually present them formally, that’s 40 MINUTES!
• If you can’t cover your idea in 20 minutes or less, think about going back to the drawing board before your prospect sends you involuntarily.

The truly Ugly –

• Contrary to popular belief, PowerPoint will not, and cannot, close the deal for you. Only you can connect with your prospect, communicate your value proposition, answer their objections and close the sale.
• The profit is in the preparation, not in the presentation. In numerous recent pitch meetings, I have yet to complete even an informal presentation of “the slide deck.” Every meeting has turned into a whirling, spinning conversation about the value proposition and how it can help the prospect get to where they want to go. [1] That should be your objective – to engage your prospect in a fruitful conversation. The slides are props and nothing more.
• If you cannot tell your story without a slide deck, the slide deck will not save you. I have watched people practically drooling (not salivating) when forced to sit through a very smart person reading his/her slides.

Now if I can just find that cord for my projector…

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[1] This outcome presumes that you are speaking with a qualified prospect to whom you have been properly introduced.