Sales Graphics Blog

Earlier this week we started the CustomShow Usability Tips series based on Chris Brodeck’s expertise helping clients navigate presentation software CustomShow. Last week we covered features like Presentation File Management, Save As Archive, Print to PDF, and more.

Now we’ll deliver a few additional tips that explain presentation notes, slide favorites, and more. Let’s jump right to it.

 

 

Favorite Slides or Presentations

It’s fairly common for sales team members to have a few favorite go-to slides or presentations. Users can add these favorites to the library with two clicks.

1. Open any presentation in the Library and right-click on the slide you want to favorite.
2. Choose “Add to Favorites” to add the selected content to the “My Favorites” in the Library drop-down menu.

 

Presentation Updates

While most organizations struggle with presentation versioning, CustomShow keeps everything straight with up to the minute updates. Notifications make users aware of new versions of presentations, but the presentation never updates without approval.

To remove updates from the Updates window, click on the Trash Can icon next to any of the specified updates. To avoid mistakes, CustomShow confirms the desired action.

 

Notes

Users can add Notes to any slide in CustomShow. To add Notes to a presentation:

1. Select the slide where notes will be added and click on the “Notes” icon in the Main Menu.
2. Go to View >> Notes. These Notes can be used in printed and PDF versions of all CustomShow presentations.

 

Edit Preferences

CustomShow offers a number of options to stylize and create sets of Font Families, Bullet Types, Backgrounds, and Header Fonts. To modify, create or delete Preferences:

1. Go to Edit >> Preferences and select the style options you wish to save.
2. Click the + Symbol next to the “Current Style” and give the style a name to save preferences.

 

The Help Button

Still looking for something? The CustomShow “Help” button is an excellent resource for more information. In the help menu you can access the following:

• A ReadMe file for the CustomShow presentation software.
• CustomShow Help details.
• Usage information for the CustomShow iPad Application.
• Tips for utilizing CustomShow Meetings.
• Users with access to Administration Modes can also find information on how additional Admin functions work.

At Sales Graphics we specialize in the business of improving presentation delivery and ROI for the enterprise. When presenters switch from PowerPoint to our CustomShow platform they report saving an average of 30 minutes per presentation. According to the VP of Marketing-Media at Johnson Publishing Company, using CustomShow translates to “more presentations and more effective sales calls.”

Clients report very little learning curve when it comes to our software, but every technology requires a bit of “how to” so we present you with a series of posts called CustomShow Usability Tips. Developed with inspiration from our very own Chris Brodeck from Quality Assurance & Technical Support at Sales Graphics, these tips help sales and marketing teams navigate CustomShow’s easy-to-use software.

In our first few installations of CustomShow Usability Tips we will provide helpful hints for navigating the Home / Overview Screen. Then stay tuned, as we reveal pointers on the Page >> Edit interface for CustomShow.

 

Presentation Management

Menus in CustomShow are designed to make organizing presentations easy. With File >> Manage Presentations users can:

1. Organize presentations in a file structure that makes sense. It’s also possible to use this feature to create new folders and sub-folders.
2. Rename presentations.
3. Modify presentations on a local machine (works on both Macs and PCs).

 

Create Presentation PDF

While PC Users do not have native PDF Printing abilities, most Windows installations have Adobe’s PDF Conversion firmware available. To create a PDF version of a CustomShow presentation on a PC:

1. Go to File >> Print >> Page Setup and click on the “Printer” button.
2. A window will pop up with a list of available printers. Select the “Adobe PDF” option.
3. Follow the prompts to print as you normally would to turn your presentation slides into a PDF file.

 

Save As Archive

File >> Save As Archive packs entire presentations into large, robust files that can be viewed in other installations of CustomShow even if the slide library differs from the original. This is powerful in situations where clients wish to view or share presentations with other publications.

 

Specify Presentation Save Location

CustomShow presentations are saved by default into (…/My Documents/CustomShow/), but users can always modify where presentations are saved. To do this:

1. Go to Edit >> Preferences and select the “Pathnames” tab.
2. Use the second “Browse” button visible in this window to find and select the desired file path where the presentation will be stored.

When EBONY was born in the 1950s women were romping around in poodle skirts, but today heritage only gets a media brand so far. That’s why new management introduced a revolutionary set of tools to position the JPC brand (EBONY & JET) with the likes of Hearst, Condé Nast, and other major players on the media stage.

Rather than rely on old presentation tools with steep learning curves, EBONY & JET called on our design team to breathe new energy and life into the brand. Then they took the visual refresh a step further and moved the sales team over to our presentation software, CustomShow.

The new design and presentation tools were a perfect match for the brand’s fresh energy, evolving image and new leadership. Video and animations brought EBONY & JET’s allure to life while the presentation tool ramped up productivity and gave the sales team control over the brand’s new and evolving message.

EBONY & JET’s crisp new design and bleeding-edge corporate presentation tools are now the engine for a newly defined, progressive media company. The company’s new presentations didn’t just increase performance and productivity, it started a movement and propelled the media conglomerate into a new generation.

As the VP of Marketing-Media at JCP says:

“When it came time to refresh our brand and reintroduce ourselves to the ad world, we turned to the responsive team at Sales Graphics. They make it easy for us to succeed by helping us appear cutting-edge and vibrant. Our sales team is excited about the new slides, and that has already started to translate into more presentations and more effective sales calls.”

Almost every company can celebrate an instance of innovation, but when it comes down to it few businesses sit at the bleeding edge of their industry for decades at a time. Sales Graphics has pushed to be one of those few.

Fifty years ago we brought Mad Men to the top of their game with fuse-lit pyrotechnic bar charts so big they required their own carrying case. This was the front lines of innovation at the time, but as a family-owned business that expects to live on for generations, the world didn’t stop at fireworks.

We were one of the first presentation agencies to blaze trails on laptops and today we’re an industry leader of iPad presentations. As new technologies emerge we’ll be at the front-lines there as well, insofar as these technologies make sense for the businesses that use them.

So what kind of technologies could affect the future of presentations? Here are five innovations that could change the future of our industry:

Presentation Technology #1. Motion Gesture Technology – Kinect

Microsoft aims to bring motion gestures into every aspect of our lives, but in a world so motivated by tactile feedback, it’s hard to envision that we’ll see Kinect-type technology replacing much of what we do. There are some industries that could see dramatic change with motion gestures and presentations is one of them. Goodbye dead batteries and half-functioning clickers. Hello switching slides with the swipe of your hand.

Presentation Technology #2: The Anywhere (and Anything) Screen – Microsoft LightSpace Technology

We don’t mean to give Microsoft preferential treatment on this list, but it doesn’t take long to see the power of the technologies demonstrated in the Microsoft LightSpace demo above. This R & D project aims to bring the kind of multi-touch interactions we’re used to experiencing with LCD devices onto every surface. Need to present but don’t have a screen? Use the table, hand someone a video. Anything’s possible here.

Presentation Technology #3: New Concepts of Presentation Management

Marketers in the industry would have us believe that the future of presentation management lives in the cloud, but until the Internet is ubiquitous and fail-proof, this browser-based presentation approach is far from perfect. Expect to lose those long cable transfers and super-sized emails, but don’t rest in the cloud because the real future is much more versatile than that.

Presentation Technology #4: Li-Fi and Other Forms of Data Transfer & Interaction

Researchers have been increasingly keen on a new form of data transfer called Li-fi. Li-fi uses a flickering light to transfer bits of data with a few attractive benefits. Harald Haas from the University of Edinburgh, UK says of the technology:

“There are around 14 billion light bulbs worldwide, they just need to be replaced with LED ones that transmit data. We reckon VLC is a factor of ten cheaper than Wi-Fi.” Because it uses light rather than radio-frequency signals, VLC could be used safely in aircraft, integrated into medical devices and hospitals where Wi-Fi is banned, or even underwater, where Wi-Fi doesn’t work at all.

Perhaps this is the answer to our cloud-based presentation problem, but this kind of ubiquitous data transfer technology coupled with the mobile explosion could also give rise to more than a few forms of interaction. Live-polling, more engagement and audience feedback. This could give rise to an entirely new dimension in the world of presentations.

Presentation Technology #5: Feedback and Metrics

As more of what we do becomes wired to data streams, presenters will have access to unimaginable sets of data. Our clients who use CustomShow can already see data points like how long recipients are spending with each slide, but this is just the beginning. As presentation-related data becomes ubiquitous, the ones who can make meaning of it will change the industry.

Conclusion

Back in the days of pyrotechnic bar charts none of this was possible, but as cars learn to drive themselves the industry is fast-evolving. Here at Sales Graphics technology may be our platform, but stories and design are our language. That, we’re sure, will always be the same.

As tablets fly off the shelves businesses are rushing to put iPads into the hands of sales and marketing teams. 80 percent of Fortune 100 companies are now testing or utilizing the iPad, but when it comes to security many businesses may be putting trade secrets at risk.

A recent infographic by Confident Technologies explains tablet users’ most common vulnerabilities, including most people’s decision not to password protect their device and the fact that 66 percent of users keep themselves perpetually logged into applications.

Most app developers look at these vulnerabilities and blame the user, but we have a different perspective. At Sales Graphics we look beyond security ideals to examine exactly how people actually use their devices.  This closes the gap between perception and reality, allowing us to create a presentation software that doesn’t leave presentations vulnerable, even when devices are left unlocked.

How Sales Graphics Keeps Your Presentations Secure

When teams send presentations over the Internet they often deal in clunky files or cloud-only services. Both mediums are only as secure as the passwords that protect them, but in the world of iPads where more than half of users are always logged in, this could create significant vulnerabilities. Sales Graphics solves this problem with secure URLs.

These URLs create weightless sharing for intended recipients, feedback showing how engaged users are with specific presentation slides, and security by changing every five minutes. Even if an employee’s iPad is left unlocked and unprotected, presentations won’t end up in unwanted hands.

1. Physicians Prefer Pharma Reps Present via iPad
2. The Best iPad Presentation Apps for Business
3. CustomShow: Now Playing on the iPad
4. Sales Graphics Provides Powerful Tool For Pharma Marketers
5. Vanity Fair’s iPad Presentations Mark the Future of Sales for the Industry
6. WeTV and AMC: United By Presentation Software CustomShow
7. NBC Increases Advertising Revenue $100mm at 2011-2012 Upfronts
8. What’s Wrong with Keynote for iPad? Almost Everything
9. 5 Reasons Why Good Presentation Design Can Drive Your Point Home
10. Telemundo Presentations From IMAX to iPad

This year Proximo (the brand behind 1800 Tequila, Three Olives Vodka, Hangar One Vodka, and more) made a huge splash at their annual sales meeting. The privately-owned spirits company called on Sales Graphics to take their presentations to the next level with a solution that looks phenomenal and works great.

We responded with a product that brought the audience to their feet. Statistics based video animations built substance for the spirits brand while graphics referencing the brand’s advertising campaigns provided pop and personality with special appearances from the Three Olives animated cowboy, and much more.

The life of Proximo’s newfound presentation design coupled with high-performance presentation technology created the perfect recipe for Proximo’s presentation’s in 2012. Since CustomShow software works across sales teams and operating systems, our presentation software helped put iPads into the hands of Proximo’s entire marketing team. Pre-loaded presentations gave every iPad holder instantaneous access to presentation creative, providing consistency for sales reps across the country. Updates are simple on iOS and Windows, meaning the days of hard-to-transfer presentations that don’t render right are over. In fact, in CustomShow version control is automatic and updating to new iterations is as simple as a single click.

This new convenience and portability lets Proximo’s sales team present instantly, on demand, and regardless of whether or not they have an Internet connection. 2012 is sure to be a good year for Proximo, as they propel ahead with effective presentations crafted at the intersection of technology and design.

To read more about the Proximo case study and view a snippet of the animated presentation we created for the spirits brand, check out their spot in the Sales Graphics Presentation Portfolio.

Each year at DIRECTV, employees from the broadcast satellite service gather by the hundreds to train the company’s retail sales force at locations including Denver’s Invesco Field. The purpose of these events is to equip key employees with the tools they need to communicate precise messaging for the upcoming year, so DIRECTV relies on Sales Graphics to help train trainers by the hundreds.

The standard presentation tools can create hours of slide searching and unmanageable oceans of corporate content. By contrast, our design services and presentation software bring simplicity to stadium-sized events like the ones DIRECTV holds. Animated videos bring the broadcast company to life while legally vetted, lockable content gives DIRECTV sales trainers the assurance they’ll never slip up. To give attendees an active voice through the sessions, we built live interactive text voting into the slides. The result is a lean-forward environment where everyone is engaged.

This year DIRECTV readied their training presentation near the strike of midnight before delivery day, and as soon as the team hit “save” everyone across the company had immediate access to the next day’s presentations. When the trainers at Salt Lake City’s event had an edit they were able to make the change for the next presentation in Raleigh, NC within the hour.

After the fact, DIRECTV’s Sr. Manager of Sales Training said:

“Sales Graphics does a terrific job of helping us successfully train our national sales teams each year. It’s a challenge for us because we have so many people to educate. The Sales Graphics team is our trusted source for helping us deliver our materials in a creative, informative , consistent way. They also help us push the technology to rapidly update information across the country and include cutting-edge features such as polling slides that automatically tally text votes from the audience.”

When analysts talk about the explosion of online video viewership, they’re not just referring to YouTube, Netflix and Hulu. Video consumption is growing across industries, and if you’re an online retailer or B2B manufacturer without video you’re already in the minority.

A recent Cisco report estimates video will jump from 30 percent of Internet traffic at present to 90 percent by 2013. The rush for video has just begun, leaving this space ripe with emerging opportunity.

Still struggling with how to incorporate video into your marketing mix or online strategy? Here are a few statistics showcasing the results of tried and true tactics across industries.

• Email Marketing: According to Implix, the use of video in emails can increase click through rates up to 96 percent.
• Targeting the Corner Office: 75 percent of C-Suite Executives said in a Forbes survey that they watch work-related online video at least weekly. 65 percent of those executives reported visiting a vendor website after viewing a video.
• E-Commerce: At this year’s  Internet Retailer Conference & Exhibition 2011, vice president of sales and marketing at Treepodia Melody King, reported a 25 percent increase in conversion rates when video was employed on product pages.

As video’s reach expands and viewership grows, the question is, how will your company take advantage? At Sales Graphics we specialize in the business of creating compelling corporate messaging through videos and animations. Take a look at our gallery and let us know in the comments section how you plan to employ corporate video in the future.

We spend a lot of time talking about the aesthetic gains clients get when they work with Sales Graphics, but there’s more to this story than engaging video and presentations that sell. We also spend a lot of time thinking about optimizing our product for performance and reliability.

When it comes down to crunch time confidence in your presentation software means everything. That’s why we worked with the team at a premium-subscription channel to get their feedback on their transition from PowerPoint to CustomShow.

The graph above represents how presenters allocate their time using PowerPoint. As you can tell, they spend lots of time customizing slides, finding approved videos, and collaborating with co-workers.

The average person spent 72 minutes on every PowerPoint presentation, but when the team switched to CustomShow that number dropped to 40 minutes. That’s a savings in excess of 30 minutes per presentation, but we also saw some other interesting statistics.

When people switched to CustomShow they spent much less time finding the latest versions of slides and worrying about design. Instead 92% of time was spent tailoring slides to the sales prospect. This represents not only time gained, but also significant revenue savings.

Let’s take a step back and quantify this. If 100 people in a sales team give five presentations per month (a little more than one per week), then that team can save 3,000 hours per year. If each of these account executives earns $50 per hour in salary and benefits, the time saved on presentations can equate to a $150,000 savings. In other words, we’re not all about aesthetics and design, but we do think about that too.