5 Ways That PowerPoint Presentations Improve Your Sales Process

When business professionals prepare sales presentations, there are certain common elements that they all use to help close the deal. When it comes to critical parts of sales pitches, few things are more important than custom PowerPoint presentations. Since your competition is also using PowerPoint presentations to motivate the same customers, you want to have a professional service such as eSlide create your presentations to help set you apart. There are many ways that good PowerPoint presentations enhance your sales efforts and a professional presentation developer can increase your results.

Visuals Are Very Powerful

A good visual element to your presentation can help your customer to envision your product in action and bring you closer to making the sale. PowerPoint presentations can contain helpful diagrams and images that will help you to close the deal.

Visuals Break Up The Presentation

A professional presentation company will include stunning visuals in your pitch that can help to keep your audience engaged. When you have good images in your presentation, you can help to break up the verbal part of the presentation and make it easier for your audience to pay attention.

Answer Questions Before They Are Asked 

When you can show your audience what you are talking about, then you can eliminate the need for questions that can slow your presentation down and make it less effective. By developing a synergy between your verbal and visual presentations, you can answer questions before they are asked and maintain the flow of your sales pitch.

Reinforce Your Brand

There are subconscious benefits to a good PowerPoint presentation that you can use to your advantage. When your customer sees your company logo and name on every presentation slide, that logo and name become hard for the customer to forget. When you have a professional organization develop your presentations for you, the experts can place your logo and name in such a way that it will constantly reinforce your brand to your clients.

Stay On Track

It is inevitable that your audience will blurt out questions during your presentation and that can become distracting. But with the help of a well-organized PowerPoint presentation, you can stay on track and make the most of your time.

The sales process starts with a successful sales pitch using a well-designed PowerPoint presentation designed by experts. With the right slideshow at your disposal, you will significantly increase your chances of making the sale.

5 Minute DIY: Recycled Watering Jug

Today's 5 Minute DIY really is super simple. The Mr is a genius and came up with this because none of the watering cans we could find were big enough and the water hose doesn't reach to all of our plants. He needed something larger to water the plants further away with and just couldn't find what would work. Necessity really is the mother of invention! 

We always have these kitty litter jugs from Diva's litter box and I just hate throwing them away. Whenever I know someone could use one, I wash it and send it to them. For instance, the Mr's grandmother uses them to water her dog with, so he has plenty of water and she only makes one trip. I kept telling the MR, there had to be something we could use them for. Well, he found the solution! 

He took a kitty litter jug (it really doesn't matter what kind), and turned it into a watering jug for the plants, When I saw what he was doing, I stopped him, forced him to let me take pictures, and begged him to let me put it on the blog. Well, he was happy to help me and all of you out. 

Here's what he did (seriously- super simple): Take your jug and using an icepick (or screwdriver), poke holes in the upper part of the front [photo below], fill it up with water, put the lid on, and water away. See, isn't he awesome!!! 

What would you like to see recycled?

Press Release: Belk and Tiki Hut Partner for “Be Inspired” Fashion Show to Benefit Susan G. Komen

CHARLOTTE, N.C., August 4, 2015 – Belk of Seneca, S.C. will host its fifth annual “Be Inspired” fashion show, featuring breast cancer survivors from the community, and brunch to benefit Susan G. Komen For the Cure. The event will be held September 19 from 10 a.m. to noon at the Tiki Hut Lakeside Grill.

This year’s event features an inspiring group of breast cancer survivors from the community, sharing their stories as they model Belk fashions on the catwalk. Each model is being escorted by a member of Clemson’s Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity. There will also be a line-up of guest speakers and local performers.

Tickets for the event are $10 and include a mimosa, brunch on the shores of Lake Keowee provided by the Tiki Hut and the chance to win a variety of door prizes. Participants can purchase raffle tickets for $1 each and enter to win prizes such as a boating package from Keowee Marina and Belk, various Belk kitchen appliances, a special Biltmore getaway package including a two night stay at a Hampton Inn in Asheville, Biltmore Tickets and more. All ticket proceeds will be donated to Susan G. Komen For the Cure.

“We are thrilled to be a part of an event that celebrates local breast cancer survivors and their stories,” said Belk store manager Heather Trevino. “The Oconee community has fully supported this event, from the models and guests participating in the event, to those sharing their time and talents to entertain, to the dozens of local businesses, like the Tiki Hut, that have generously contributed.”

This event is held in conjunction with Belk’s company-wide Susan G. Komen For the Cure fundraising event. In the past four years the “Be Inspired” event alone has contributed over $10,900 locally to raising breast cancer awareness and finding a cure. Belk contributed $411,854 company-wide to Susan G. Komen For the Cure in 2014.

Event and prize tickets are now being sold at the Belk store of Seneca, the Tiki Hut and by community volunteers. For more information or to purchase tickets, contact Karen Howlett or Amanda Higginbotham at 864-882-2431.

About Belk, Inc.

Charlotte, N.C.-based Belk, Inc. (www.belk.com) is the nation's largest family owned and operated department store company with 297 Belk stores located in 16 Southern states and a growing digital presence.  Its belk.com website offers a wide assortment of national brands and private label fashion apparel, shoes and accessories for the entire family along with top name cosmetics, a wedding registry and a large selection of quality merchandise for the home. Founded in 1888 by William Henry Belk in Monroe, N.C., the company is in the third generation of Belk family leadership and has been committed to community involvement since its inception. In the fiscal year ended January 31, 2015, the company and its associates, customers and vendors donated more than $21.5 million to communities within Belk market areas.

Belk offers many ways to connect via digital and social media, including Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Google Plus, and provides exclusive offers, fashion updates, sales notifications and coupons via email or mobile phone text messages. Customers can also download the latest Belk mobile apps for the iPad, iPhone or Android.

10 Uses For Old Tablets and Smartphones

We have a couple old tablets and more than a couple old smartphones lying around and I decided there had to be a use for them, so I started brainstorming. I came up with a few ideas and now I want to share them with you.

1. Keep it for a backup- you never know when one is going to stop working, a cat will land on it, or it will fly out of someone's hand and shatter (yes, they have all happened in my house). Hold on to those old tablets to use if one breaks until you can get your hands on a new one.

2. Give it to a kid- There are plenty of kid apps and app blockers out there that will allow you to set it up for a child to use. My son got a tablet for his 4th birthday and can already work it better than most adults.

3. Use it as a media player- This can be for travel, quiet time, camping, or any other purpose. Use a media converter to convert your movies to mp4 and you are good to go to load them.

4. Use it as a music player- You can get awesome speakers to go with a tablet- load that thing up with as much music as will fit, put it on play, and have a party. There are even apps to allow you to sync an android tablet with iTunes!

5. Calendar/ Shopping list- If you are not a fan of paper planners, but strive to get organized, this may be your solution. With Google Calendar, a third party calendar (Sunrise is great), lists, Google Keep, and other apps, you could have the ultimate digital calendar. You can still sync with other devices, send invites, etc.

6. Dedicated Reader- Dying for a Kindle, just for reading? Download the app, adjust your screen brightness, and read away.

7. Homeschool- There are a ton of educational apps out there. Not ready to give your kid their own tablet or computer? Use an old one to set it up for homeschool. There is handwriting practice, math, bible stories, history, and more. Just give them a stylus, block apps you don't want them to have access to and hand them the world.

8. Kitchen- Turn your old tablet into a recipe book. There are interactive recipe book apps that allow you to add your own, create shopping lists, and more. Then, you could send your shopping list to your main device. You can even get tablet holders to go on a cabinet door, or use a recipe book stand.

9. Use it as a dedicated device for a hobby. I have an old phone that I use for paranormal investigations. That way, I don't have to carry in my main one and risk a call contaminating evidence. It has a great camera, and I've added some awesome apps to add to the ghost hunting experience- I've also added some bigfoot calls for call blasting. I have another tablet that I use sometimes that is perfect or documenting and leaving in a stationary position and measuring vibrations, etc. Do you like photography, DIY projects, or another hobby? I bet you can turn your old phone or tablet into a supplemental device for that.

10. Donate. If you don't like those ideas or jsut don't want to fool with multiple devices, consider donating your phone to domestic violence victims or your tablet to schools or after school programs, I'm sure they can find a use for them.

How I Plan My Week

I have been posting different shots of my planner and elements in it to Instagram lately, I have had people ask (On Instagram and Facebook) how I go about planning my week, so here goes...

Did somebody say productive day? I did #carionmedia #organizedmom #planneraddict

A photo posted by cari (@cari_on) on Jul 27, 2015 at 11:17am PDT

1. I have a weekly guide that I use. This is just a week print out on one page that I list the things I do weekly on. For instance, on Mondays, I plan my clients' social media, on Wednesdays I do blog maintenance, and on Thursdays, I do computer maintenance. I have about 5 tasks each day on this. When I plan my week each Sunday, I write these items in.

2. I use Google Calendar to keep up with monthly, yearly, and quarterly tasks- I also keep track of Social Media and blog tasks/ posts here. I use my paper planner to keep track of important things like appointments (these also go in my Google Calendar). While I am planning my week, I transfer items to my week (and stay a month ahead in my paper planner- so I can schedule important things quickly).

3. Then, I fill in the blog posts I want to do (some are already in there from transferring from Google Calendar). I have certain types of posts I do on each day, plus certain days to post on The Paranormal Sass and Cari On Media.

4. Schedule tasks and specifics for clients (this is a whole different post)

5. I then choose 10-15 things from my master to-do list to work on that week. If I don't finish all of these, it is okay, but limiting the number I look at will help me stay focused.

TIP: if it does not fit in the day's slot- don't schedule it. I learned that lesson the hard way and was perpetually behind.

That is the basics of how I go about scheduling my week. I will post another day about the week's layout and how I organize my planner (In the meantime, I am desperately searching for a different weekly layout)

Happy National Girlfriend's Day!

Did you know that August 1st (today) is National Girlfriend's Day? Well, you do now and I want to do my part. This day is all about encouraging each other and part of encouraging each other is making sure we are each taking the time to take care of ourselves. The biggest part of taking care of ourselves is staying safe and living a healthy life.

I wanted to share this infographic by Oscar Insurance with you today and hope you take to heart the importance of this and encourage your friends to do the same. I know I am severely lacking in this area- but I'm trying to make improvements so I can continue to be around for my beautiful kids. For more information and tips, check out the National Girlfriend's Day site. I wrote this post as part of Oscar Insurance's awareness campaign. They are a new tech-based health insurance company in NJ and NY focusing on incorporating technology into healthcare to help their members get better care.

Although it is not sponsored, I wrote this post for Oscar Insurance, a new company focusing on incorporating technology into healthcare to help their members get better care.