Picking the right presentation software can pose a daunting task for creative directors and sales managers looking to empower their teams and differentiate their graphics and sales solutions.  There remains so many options to choose from and when comparing different presentation programs, it becomes a bit cumbersome in how to compare them to one another.  Many sales managers will choose their sales enablement solution not factoring in the cost benefit analysis.  Well we have five factors to consider when shopping around for presentation software and how best to quantify its potential impact versus considering the cost of the software.

Winning More Business

Clearly when searching for presentation software, we want something that will help lead to more sales.  Better graphics and more customization can wow your clients and give them a glimpse into te sophistication and level of excellence that is regularly on display by your team.  But in the back of your mind while you’re shopping around for that presentation software, you’re thinking..”is it worth the $5,000?”  Well, if your average customer value is $20,000, and you quantify that the software can improve your conversions by 10%, then we can see the value in the software.  If you give only 10 presentations a year, an additional sale means the software has been paid for.  But we know sales teams give many more presentations that simply 10.

Productivity & Efficiency

We want something that will improve efficiency and productivity amongst our sales teams.  The right effective presentation software is suppose to save each person working on the presentation(s) 30 minutes to 1 hour a week…or atleast that’s what CustomShow can do.  Lets go back to our original example and assume your software costs $5,000.  If you have a total of 20 salaried employees each making $100,000 per year, that translates into $50/hour.  If all 20 employees saved an hour each, that translates into $1,000 in savings the first week of usage of the software.  Now, we do understanding there is an initial learning curve but the collaboration and efficiencies achieved will only bode well from a cost perspective.

Value Of Collaboration

We want to find ways to foster collaboration and discussion amongst sales teams and other teams as well.  Without placing a monetary value on it, corporate culture and invoking collaboration amongst teams usually fosters stronger communication, better connections, and higher employee morale.  We’re not suggesting your presentation software can boost corporate culture.   But we are suggesting choosing a software that fosters cross team collaboration.

Branded Assets

Cloud based solutions that store branded assets will only amplify and increase the likelihood of brand consistency.  No longer will teams have to go out and search for inconsistent pictures, images, videos, vectors, and logos that do not suit the brand.  This not only impacts the time lost performing these functions, but having a cloud-based presentation software that houses all of your favorite branded assets will ensure your team is using nothing but the best when pitching to prospects.

Tracking Results & Analytics

Measuring results so we can improve performance is key.  For that reason, a presentation software that will track your analytics and results will keep your sales teams honest and give key insights into what is and is not working.  Which of your team members had the most success with what presentation?  When you forwarded the presentation link to a prospect, how long did he stay on presentation?  When did he close it?

Analytics and measurement in any presentation software can only make your team more effective in developing improving their presentations and even their messaging to prospects.

We believe that choosing your next presentation software in a vacuum and only looking at the benefits and features versus the individual price tag is not enough.  We must consider the potential newly won business and the cost savings that can be achieved as a result of the presentation software.  The 5 areas we listed above are what we consider critical, but we understand you may have additional areas and reasons for choosing your next presentation software.