Line after line, slide after slide, the Power Point presentation goes on and on, the monotonous tone of the presenter begins to make your eyelids feel heavy… Death by power point. We’ve all been there, and probably all vowed to never be the ones causing our prospective audiences to fall asleep. But how do you really ensure that you are maximising on the use of visual material when selling to prospects?

It is first important to understand why Visual aids can make such a difference when selling. You’d think if a topic was interesting enough and the presenter had managed to avoid drifting into the monosyllabic tone- that would be enough to keep your prospect’s attention for the duration. But the fact of the matter is that a whopping 83% of human learning occurs visually. So, if you fall short here, the outcome is simple- you are not going to maximize on your sales results.

Research into learning is huge- Jerome Bruner, Psychologist of New York University described studies showing that people only remember 10% of what they hear and 20% of what they read, but about 80% of what they see and do. Furthermore, training materials used by the federal government cite studies indicating that the retention of information three days after a meeting (or other event) is six times greater when information is presented by visual and oral means than when the information is presented by the spoken word alone.

So, it’s imperative you get this right. Three Core Principles to remember when using Visual Material to help Sell your Product or Service;

1)   Use your visual aids to ENHANCE your presentation, not govern it. Visual material should be used to aid your messages, and provide further emphasis on your points. Decide the core messages you want to get across, and develop visuals to multiply the level of understanding around these.

2)   Keep it INTERESTING. Use your visual aids to create impact, not just to fill a slide. Use images, graphics and drawings as well as bullet points and tables. Think outside the box and find ways to keep your prospects attention. If you’d be bored by the presentation, there’s a good chance they will be too.

3)   Keep it SIMPLE- Using visual material helps people to remember what’s been said when they access their visual cortex. It’s no good if what you’re showing is so complex that people can’t understand it without a ‘how to’ manual. Keep your bullet points brief and ensure you are giving your audience one message at a time- If messages become mixed or too complex, this will increase distraction and- simply put- will not produce the best results. Influence your Customers the easy way. Use Visual Material right.

Happy Presenting!