To be or not to be….

Well, we don’t really think PowerPoint (or even Keynote) has all the answers.  We have not bowed to Nancy Duarte‘s work for no reason… but somehow some of us can get stuck with PowerPoint. In that case though you have to remember that switching to iPad-based communication can still be done. Easily and quickly.

Anyways…. we still like to hang out with the pro-PowerPoint crowd, if only to try to convert them   After all, we’ve all been there. One of the great references for PowerPoint-stuck presenters is: http://newsalespresentation.com/sales-presentations-ipad-tablet-mirage

Quite an interesting blog!  Great articles (we especially enjoyed those on design and cognitive load) but somehow we sometimes disagree with them. Of course we are biased; we design salesforce aids for iPads!  We cannot ignore our clients and the numerous successes they have had with our products.

First, using the iPad allows for far superior design and allows for full integration into a transmedia strategy with websites, social media and touch screens. So basically you get much more bang for your buck.

Second, Keynote and PowerPoint have serious limitations including linearity, which clients want to move away from.  With iOS apps you can use gamification to add value to any content and create a real experience.  We did have hope for Prezi but, let’s face it, it is so darn cumbersome.

Moreover with an iOS app you can push automated updates quickly at anytime to/from anywhere in the world.  If you have 20 sales people in the field and you want to change one comma in one module, you can do it from your bed in the middle of the night (all that is required is an internet connection) and push the updated content automatically so when your sales force rise and shines they have the latest info.  No more outdated stuff or lost emails.  No more salespeople stranded with a client with an outdated price list (yeah, it has happened to us, we remember how that feels).  Yes, they can be distributed and as remote as needed, yet be synced with the home office.

Of course this comes with a price tag that is higher than PowerPoint licenses but right in line with web presence. So the only question you should ask is: should all my distributed salesforce BE synced?