This is part of my Presentation Power Tools Series. Stay tuned as I I test drive some of the hottest new tools for creating and delivering powerful presentations and demos!
Habits are tough to break. Like a lot of salespeople, I’ve had a long, love/hate relationship with PowerPoint. Despite the many frustrations — limited graphics and designs, clunky files, and a propensity toward text boxes and bullet points — it’s been the vehicle of choice for presenters for the past few decades. And while features have been added over the years, like cloud access and better collaboration tools, PowerPoint’s inventor summed up both the tool’s strength and it’s fatal flaw in one sentence:
“PowerPoint itself has probably changed less than the world around it has changed in twenty-five years.” Robert Gaskin, PowerPoint inventor
Let’s face it, a heck of a lot has changed in the world around us, especially when it comes to how we share and consume information. Adapting to these changes is critical in order to keep today’s busy business audiences tuned in to your message. Fortunately, there are viable alternatives to PowerPoint that can address some of these changes and make it easier to break the PowerPoint habit. One great alternative that I was recently introduced to is called Visme.
Presentation Power Tools : Visme
Visme is a simple, drag-and-drop, presentation tool. It’s completely online and and allows you to create, share, and download unique interactive presentations and even infographics. And, for those of you who didn’t minor in Art, you don’t need any design experience to use it!
Here are some features that make Visme an interesting alternative
to PowerPoint for salespeople:
Easy collaboration:
If you’re part of a team, passing back and forth a PowerPoint is often clunky and time-consuming. Confusion abounds: “Are you working with the right version? Where is the file? Do I have access?” As an online-based presentation tool, Visme eliminates many of those frustrations. You simply share the URL with others without having to upload content first to your file-hosting service. Your presentations stay organized all in one place and you decide who has access to view or edit.
Access to analytics:
Have you ever shared a presentation with prospects and wondered who looked at it? For how long? And what caught their interest? Visme allows you to collect insights like these and then import all that information into your CRM so you can take some informed next steps.
Fresh graphics and icons
An estimated thirty million PowerPoints are created every day. Most people are quick to recognize PowerPoint’s familiar templates, graphics and “smart art.” Visme has a library of fresh, high-quality graphics and icons that can really make your presentation stand out. (And unlike Canva who charges for many of the premium graphics, with Visme, they’re included.)
Animated charts and graphs
Visme has a variety of fun chart and graph styles, but the real beauty is that each bar or segment can be animated so you can really make your story come to life for your audience.
Audience Interaction
Making presentations interactive is crucial today to maintain the attention of busy prospects. Visme offers a variety of call-to-action buttons with hyperlinks. You can even create a compelling interactive piece, like a map with hotspots.
Infographics
Good infographics are hard to resist, so why not incorporate one into your presentation? Visme makes it easy with a great selection of styles and options that will make you look like a pro.
Editable PowerPoints
Habits are tough to break, but luckily you don’t have to go cold turkey on PowerPoint. Import your PowerPoint into Visme and you can immediately start to edit it using Visme’s tools and extensive library of charts, icons, and infographics. While your PowerPoint animations will be lost and some elements may shift around on slides, the fact that you can actually edit your slides, as opposed to just importing screenshots, really sets Visme apart from other tools.
If you’re looking for a great alternative to PowerPoint, give Visme a try. The basic program is free, although most of the features you’ll want, like analytics, full library of charts and infographics, and the ability to upload/edit PowerPoint require one of the Premium versions (reasonably priced at $7-$16/month.)
REMINDER:
Presentation power tools are only helpful if you know how to apply them. They can’t mask a fault structure or lackluster delivery. For help in those areas, check out my blog, workshops or resource page for free tools.
