How to Make a PowerPoint Presentation & Impress Clients

So, should you create a PowerPoint? PowerPoint presentations are a great way to communicate your ideas to clients in a visual, engaging format.

You can send as many emails to your clients as you want, and you may even build the occasional newsletter. However, customers may be intimidated by a wall of text and may not necessarily want to read in order to obtain vital information.

Instead, they may prefer if you put together a presentation with clean, easy-to-understand visuals. That way, they can quickly digest the most important information while deciding whether your products and services are right for their needs.

How to make a PowerPoint presentation

Before diving into a few PowerPoint presentation tips, it's important to understand how to make one. Here are some of the most critical steps you need to follow:

1. Launch the PowerPoint program

First, you need to open PowerPoint. If you have Microsoft Office Suite installed on your computer, it should include PowerPoint. All you need to do is double-click the icon to open it, or you can find it from the start menu.

PowerPoint is also accessible via your computer's browser.

2. Create a blank presentation

If you decide to create a new presentation, you'll have plenty of options to pick from.

You can also use a blank presentation to start from scratch on an empty canvas. This will give you the most freedom to control what goes into each new slide, allowing you to add a text box, bullet points, and more.

3. Choose a design

Or, you may decide to select a pre-made template. Various professional PowerPoint templates are available to fit your needs.

However, make sure the theme you choose fits your company's branding. Brand consistency is vital as you put together your entire presentation.

If you want to create a PowerPoint presentation that's on brand, you can make a custom template using your own design. Not only is this helpful for external presentations with clients but also internal communications.

4. Add content to each slide

You must make sure to add content to each slide. Here are a few elements to include in your PowerPoint:

• Title slide
• Agenda
• Key takeaways
• Call to action
• Text
• Graphics Some slides may have more text, while others may have more graphics. Ensure the presentation flows well from one slide to the next.

5. Incorporate visual elements

Don't forget to incorporate some visual elements. Multimedia can communicate your most important ideas faster and keep your audience engaged. This is why learning how to make a graph in PowerPoint is helpful.

Additionally, you don’t need to be an expert in graphic design to add visual elements to your presentation. There are many easy-to-use tools within PowerPoint that can help you get started.

6. Review presentation

Finally, you need to review your presentation before you finalize it. Ensure all buttons work and the images are clear. You might even want someone else to look at the file before you send it to clients.

If you follow these steps, you should be able to put together a great PowerPoint presentation that will impress clients.

Note: Remember to regularly save your PowerPoint so you don't lose your progress. You may also want to check if the auto-save feature is turned on.

PowerPoint do's and don'ts

Now that you know how to put together a PowerPoint, here are a few essential do's and don'ts to keep in mind as you build your presentation.

PowerPoint do's

Add valuable content

Make sure to add content that your clients find valuable. This is going to be the backbone of your presentation. Before you start working on your PowerPoint, list the most important things you need to include in the presentation. Then, ensure all that information makes it into your slides.

Keep it simple

There are plenty of ways to separate yourself from the crowd, but always keep it simple when in doubt. If you make your presentation too busy, your audience will have difficulty figuring out what they should pay attention to. They might concentrate on all the flashy elements instead of focusing on your main ideas.

Stay consistent

It's best to stay consistent throughout your presentation. You have a specific brand voice you want to strike, so it's a good idea not to stray too far from it. If you don't focus on consistency when you put together your presentation, your audience may find it challenging to follow you from slide to slide.

Ask for feedback

Your presentation is your idea, so you're in control of it. However, it's helpful to get an outside perspective as you build the presentation. For example, you may want to have a few of your colleagues review your PowerPoint ideas to see what they think. You can also ask for feedback from customers and potential clients.

Use high-quality images

There's a saying that a picture is worth a thousand words, which is true when it comes to a PowerPoint presentation. At the same time, your images will only be compelling if you use quality pictures. Always review the photos before you finalize the presentation, and ensure they're easy to see from the back of the room.

Take advantage of white space

You don't want to intimidate your audience. Even though you want to take advantage of every square inch available to you, having some white space can be valuable. It gives your audience a chance to relax and decompress as you go from slide to slide. So, try to fight the urge to fill up every single inch of white space with content.

PowerPoint Don'ts

There are a few common mistakes you need to stay away from. Some of the most common mistakes include:

• Don’t use flashy transitions: One of the major benefits of using PowerPoint is that you can add transitions to the presentation. However, even though you might want to play around with them, it's best to avoid special effects and transitions in your presentation. Including special effects and flashy transitions may come off as unprofessional.
• Don’t saturate the slide with text: Don't put too much text on the slide. If you have more information to include, consider adding it on a separate slide. If you add too much text in one area, your audience will have difficulty reading everything. They may also spend all of their time reading instead of listening to you.
• Don’t use more than two colors: Changing one or two colors is okay, and you may want to use your company colors if you have them. However, using too many colors in one PowerPoint slide can distract from your main points and make it challenging for your audience to read the text.
• Don’t be careless with your graphs: It's always a great idea to learn how to make a timeline in PowerPoint. However, you don't want to rush through the process when creating graphics, such as charts and diagrams. Ensure all the information is accurate and correctly displayed. It's also good practice to provide a key for clients to follow.

If you can avoid these common mistakes, you can make the most out of your PowerPoint presentation.

Land the sale with impressive PowerPoint presentations

Learning how to make a good PowerPoint presentation can go a long way in helping you land the sale. However, it's not enough to simply know how to create this type of presentation. If you want to impress clients and land the sale, you must know how to build presentations that are engaging and worthwhile. As long as you put in the necessary work, you can develop a strong presentation that can help you maximize conversions.

Once you complete your PowerPoint presentation, use Mailchimp to deliver it to your contacts. Whether you want to include it in your sales email or create a custom landing page for it, we're here to help.