When should I hire a presentation design agency?
Presentations are where business gets done. Whether you’re seeking your first Series A funding or rolling out the latest and greatest additions to your product line, presentations are the one of the few tools that will be with you every step of the way.
That presentations are part of so many major milestones is a testament to the approachability of form. Unlike, say, building a website or designing a brochure, anyone can open up PowerPoint and get started right away, without any technical skills or extensive experience.
But when you’re building a presentation, a D.I.Y. job can quickly become a D.I.Why???. There are countless decisions to be made, best practices to consider and challenges to overcome, and that’s not counting creating the content itself.
From some presentations, this may not matter. If the stakes are low, or the content fairly light (for example, an internal presentation about an upcoming office event might be pretty informal), then it’s generally fine to turn to free resources and do it all on your own.
But for certain types of presentations, there’s a lot you can get out of working with an agency to create your presentation. Let’s take a look at the types of presentations where a partner can give you the biggest boost, and a few reasons why you should consider one for your next presentation.
Pitch decks
No presentation type is more central to growing a business than the pitch deck. From wooing investors to winning new business, the pitch deck is as high-stakes as they come. And with so much on the line, it’s not uncommon for founders to flounder on pitch decks, going through endless iterations trying to get everything just right, or for new biz teams to sink long hours into lengthy RFP responses.
Pitch decks are your first impression, so you need to make it count. That means slides that grab attention, a story that speaks to your audience, and all of it done in as few slides as possible.
One unique benefit of working with a presentation design partner is that they know pitch decks in the same way that you know your business. Just like you know the ins and outs of how you work and what you can offer, they know how to help you communicate those things most effectively. And that same experience can save you from spending all your time trying to figure out how to get the design of your deck right, rather than focusing on the pitch itself.
Sales presentations
Sales is part logic and part emotion, and the best sales presentations deliver on both. It’s not just about telling them why to choose you, it’s about inspiring them to believe that you can help them reach their goals.
In a crowded and competitive market, a presentation design partner is like a salesperson’s secret weapon. A sharp, engaging, and audience-focused design can help bolster your story, and give you the extra edge to stand out from the rest of the pack.
There’s more to it than well-designed slides, though. Part of the value of working with an outside partner is actually getting a more personalized presentation. Each salesperson has their own unique approach to selling, but the challenge can come in building a presentation that brings that vision to life. A presentation design agency can help you craft your story and hone your slides in just the right way, so they are uniquely suited to your style.
Investor presentations
The problem with many investor presentations is that they focus too much on the numbers. Yes, that may be controversial, but what we mean is that numbers alone aren’t enough. What matters to investor audiences is the story those numbers tell.
It’s common to see dense charts and multi-layered infographics in an investor presentation. But these can be confusing and force the reader to spend more time analyzing the slide and less focusing on the presenter. By applying data storytelling techniques and focusing on the key insights in the data, a presentation design agency can help you paint a clear picture from complex data.
Executive presentations
Whether you are presenting up to the board or a new CMO preparing to run your first All Hands, executive presentations come with as many opportunities as they do challenges. They can set the tone for a brand’s future, launch (or sink) new initiatives, and inspire entire enterprises to act as one. They need to speak to a unique audience, and embody the presenters own style and approach.
A presentation design agency can work with executives to bring their unique vision and story to life. Or if you’re presenting from the other side of the table, they can help you to hone your story for the particular demands of an executive audience.
When all eyes are on your slides, there’s no room for error. The right partner can help you leave nothing to chance, so you can reach even the most demanding audience.
Keynote presentations
Taking the stage at a conference, Town Hall, or any large event can be intimidating. With high expectations and tons of attention, keynote presentations can be a challenge. But with support from a presentation design agency, there’s no stage too big.
More than any other presentation type, the keynote presentation has to seamlessly weave together visuals and story to create a memorable and engaging presentation that can hold the attention of an entire room. But there are less obvious things to consider as well, like how the images will look on a projector screen or how readable the text is from the back row.
A presentation design agency can help you craft a powerful presentation, and optimize it for the setting so you can take the stage with confidence.
Learning and development presentations (L&D)
Teaching a group of people can be incredibly challenging. You need to reach diverse groups of people, with varying levels of knowledge and interest, and get them all on the same page. Oh, and it needs to be engaging enough to keep them actually paying attention and not thinking about what time lunch starts.
That’s why L&D presentations need to be so focused on the audience: you aren’t trying to tell them, you’re trying to persuade them. That means they need to consider more than what the content is saying, they also need to focus on how the content is presented. That includes pacing, visual storytelling, planning for summaries and recaps, and all the other techniques that add up to an effective learning and development presentation.
And most folks are experts in their topic, not necessarily the ins and outs of teaching it. A presentation design partner that has experience crafting L&D presentations with the audience in mind can be an invaluable asset to any presenter who wants to use presentations to get results.
Conclusion
A presentation design partner isn’t just there for sprucing up your slides (although that’s part of it). Instead, they can be a comprehensive resource for helping you plan, create, and deliver effective presentations. That includes slide design, presentation storytelling, templates, and even production considerations like embedding fonts.
Whether you’re pitching investors, inspiring an audience, or closing a big deal, a presentation design partner can help your presentation reach its full potential.
About the author
Kyle Kartz is the Creative Director of Storytelling at VerdanaBold. He is an expert copywriter and strategist, with experience driving major campaigns for global brands in multiple industries. He is passionate about communications, the outdoors, and cooking.