Of course, there are always times when a “traditional” Powerpoint presentation — a linear series of slides supported by a script — is perfect. If done well, it can be a great way to deliver information to a group of people or to support one-on-one sales conversations.

However, it’s not the ONLY way to package sales support content today.

Check out these five ideas on how you can make your presentations more compelling — and drive higher engagement and sales.

1. Give viewers more control over the flow of information

With all the content available online — and the freedom the web provides to explore it — people are used to being in control of the information they receive.

Address this by developing interactive one-on-one and group presentations that let viewers to take charge over how and when information is delivered. Allow them to dive deeper into areas they care about and to spend less time on those they don’t have as much interest in. Create decision points throughout your presentations that let viewers decide whether they want to move forward, jump ahead or pause to explore topics more deeply.

Make it easy for intermediaries to access support materials including charts, graphs and other tools that can help answer questions.

Doing these things will provide a more meaningful consumer experience, and avoid overloading people with unnecessary information they don’t care about — or that could turn them away from doing business with your firm.

Tip: Train your intermediaries to send out — and align on — an agenda prior to a sales call. It will help them prepare for a conversation that will meet the expectations of their prospects.

Idea: If your firm has information about how the prospective client originally engaged with it — specific marketing campaign, ad, social post, web pages visited — share it with the intermediary. It will provide important information about what attracted the prospect to your firm and the solutions they care about.

2. Don’t wait until the end to answer questions

Consider this: When you have a question in your head, are you able to think about anything else? 

The same is true during sales meetings. When people have questions, they aren’t able to hear a thing being said. It’s important to provide regular opportunities for them to get their concerns addressed throughout the sales process. It will keep them focused and get them the information they need to seal the deal.

3. Turn to an expert

Some financial and professional services concepts are simply too complex for the typical intermediary to present clearly. It’s a good idea to let experts explain these topics during sales meetings.

While it may be impossible to have an expert available at every sales opportunity, you can provide intermediaries with educational videos embedded within sales presentations. Depending on the situation and subject matter, they could take the form of simple conversations or interviews or animated videos with voiceovers. Whiteboard style videos are also a dynamic way to make complex concepts clear.

Give the intermediary a chance to demonstrate their expertise and build credibility by bookending the videos with talking points that allow them to intelligently introduce the topic and close the sale.

4. Don’t say it. Show it.

People don’t like to be ”sold”. They prefer hearing stories.

In addition to providing facts and figures about products and their benefits, share stories about clients who benefitted from the solutions. They can take the form of videos, photos with an audio voiceover or simple images supported by scripting. This is a great way to incorporate storytelling into a presentation and make static financial products and services come to life.

5. Make it a game.

Most people love playing games. This may be push the limit for certain firms, but adding some element of gamification to your presentations will encourage learning. People are more likely to deepen their understanding of your offerings if they have to answer questions about them or solve problems.

Tip: Insert game elements throughout your sales presentation. Structure them so they make the people engaging with them come to the conclusion that the product or service you offer is the best one for them.

Interested in updating your sales messaging, collateral and presentations? Carpenter Group can help. We’ve developed marketing and sales support materials for leading financial and professional services companies. Check out samples of our recent work, then contact us to find out how we can help you.