In the past few months, I’ve had to sit through more Microsoft PowerPoint presentations than I care to admit. One set of mindless, preformatted, attractive slides after another. More form than content, I’m sorry to say.

It appears to me that these types of canned presentations do little to move the customer closer to making a purchase. So, if you spend more time speaking to sales prospects about the connection between your laptop and their projector than you do about the reason for your visit, you may be trapped in the world of PowerPointless presentations. Fortunately, help is on the way.

By its very design, PowerPoint makes it easy to prepare and present dull, ineffective presentations. Presentations with Power- Point are like paint-by-number kits: No talent required, just follow the format provided with the application. In fact, PowerPoint presentations have become as common as billboards on the roadside: slide after slide of pointless information frequently presented in disorganized and diffi cult-to-decipher bullet points.

If you’re using PowerPoint as a key component of your sales call and your audience members aren’t asking questions during your presentation, then you’ve dulled them into submission. Without questions or people throwing shoes at you, you may think you’ve done a good job conveying information. Think again. It’s more likely that your presentation doesn’t contain the information they need – or worse: It’s there, but it’s hard to find.

THINK OUTSIDE THE CAN
If you’re going to be a successful communicator, then you’ll have to start communicating without the PowerPoint crutch. After all, if you know your customer and your product, you shouldn’t need PowerPoint anyway. Changing the dynamic of the sales call is a great way to get to a successful close. Rather than the usual “Here’s my pitch,” courtesy of PowerPoint, how about simply asking, “How can we help you?”

That one question can throw a potential customer because they are ready for the canned presentation. But soon after you’ve asked this provocative question, someone will say, “Let me tell you what we’re trying to accomplish.” Now, you’re on the way to becoming an important part of your customer’s team. And this happens with the window shades open and the lights turned on. If you’re listening carefully during one of these sessions, you’ll frequently fi nd that the buyer will tell you what you need to do to advance your business relationship.

How do you transition from PowerPointless presentations to powerful presentations? The fi rst thing you should do is abandon the PowerPoint your company gave you. If all they need you to do is deliver a canned message, then they don’t really need you. Instead, they need to simply run webinars. Go fi nd a company that needs you and your experience.

KNOW THY PRODUCT
Being knowledgeable about what your company offers is a good starting point for moving beyond PowerPointless presentations. I know this may sound obvious. You may think you know the products, but remember: Most likely, your company taught you about the product line using PowerPoint. See what I mean? It’s a vicious cycle.

Once you’ve put the PowerPointless presentation where it belongs and learned the important facts about your company’s offering, you can approach your sales prospects with a new face: the face of experience and expertise. Now you have a chance to differentiate your offering from all the others.

Think about it: An unscripted, albeit prepared, sales call from a knowledgeable salesperson is far more effective than a canned PowerPoint presentation. If you become an active participant in the buyer and seller exchange, your success rate will be higher and the rewards far greater for you and your customer.