power point sales slide improvement
DESCRIPTION
Bar charts appear frequently in PowerPoint based corporate presentations. However most of these are boring and are difficult for the viewer to comprehend. Here are a few techniques and guidelines to follow to improve a sales slide during your next company or investor presentation.TRANSCRIPT
Make thisSales Chart
Rock
Use owl wisdom:
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YoY GROWTH IN SALES
A VP of Sales wants management to back his sales plan. He presents a chart that shows an expected increase in revenue.
Picture by Engin Erdogan
Generally, he would show something like this:
A VP of Sales wants management to back his sales plan. He presents a chart that shows an expected increase in revenue.
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YoY GROWTH IN SALES
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Not too inspiring, is it?
Allow me and my buddies to explain how to improve this slide. We are that clever!
Let’s break it down to three points:
TitleLayou
tColor
s
Title
The title shouldn’t describe what the viewer sees on the slide; it should reflect the main takeaway.
This would be the point you want the audience to remember the most.
YoY GROWTH IN SALES
Perhaps an annual change in sales can represent a roadmap to success?
YoY GROWTH IN SALES
Now that’s powerful!(ah…and enlarge the fonts of course).
The road to $20M (in $M)
Layout
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Simplicity contributes
to engagement
Make charts that are easy to understand by eliminating clutter and reducing noise
So…
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Remove GridlinesGridlines are a nuisance. They create a “dirty” and distracting background making information more difficult to comprehend.
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Ditch 3D!3D is proven to be less effective and more difficult to read than 2D.
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Put Data Next to Bar ChartThe eye needs to shift back and forth to associate the axis with the chart’s height. Now that’s annoying!
Drag picture to placeholder or click icon to add
Drag picture to placeholder or click icon to add
1 - Remove Gridlines
Drag picture to placeholder or click icon to add
1 - Remove Gridlines
2 - Ditch 3D!
1 - Remove Gridlines
2 - Ditch 3D!
3 – Place Data Near Bars
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The road to $20M (in $M)
Color
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The road to $20M (in $M)Create Good Contrast!
The chart and background are not sufficiently contrasted causing poor readability.
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The road to $20M (in $M)
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The road to $20M (in $M)Separate Past and
FutureActual sales figures and the projected ones should be colored differently.
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The road to $20M (in $M)
Now if you really want to WOW them
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The road to $20M (in $M)
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The road to $20M (in $M)
Before After
See the difference?
Before After
Thank you!
Chen Sirkis
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