When making a professional impression counts, be careful where you cut corners. In the sales world presentation is everything. Whether you are selling the boss or the boardroom on a new concept, or formally engaging a client to evaluate your product or service, you will be judged not only by your appearance and demeanor, but also by the attention to detail devoted to your literature and media.
There are many intangibles related to how people "buy" you. Some would call it shallow, but with two otherwise equally qualified candidates side-by-side, one dressed in a well-fitted suit and the other in casual clothes, the odds are in favor that the professionally dressed person will be better received than the casually dressed one, based on nothing more than perceptions and impressions. Although many decision makers may feel that they typically remain impartial to "superficiality", they will concede that they are impressed with employees who predictably (consistently and reliably) add finishing touches to fine tune presentations. Those employees are often the "go to" people in the company. They are also the ones who dress one notch above their peers, use a color copier rather than a black and white one, bind their reports rather than staple them, and add animations to their Microsoft PowerPoint presentations, rather than use static screens of boring text.
To tie it all together, a successful presentation with handouts provided in a multimedia format, whether CD-Rom or DVD, is a nice touch. But it is also where most people, even the best prepared, fail to make their mark. True, including a digital copy of your report and slide show is a cut above the norm. In most cases, however, the discs end up being hand labeled with a marker or affixed with stickers, giving the feel of it being an afterthought rather than an integral component of the agenda. In short, it misses the "Wow" factor.
Consequently, the attempt to include a "bonus" to heighten the value of your presentation ends up having the exact opposite effect, devaluing the delivery by conveying a homemade appearance rather than a polished one. It is unfortunate that most short-order office supply stores do not offer professional disc production along with their printing and binding services. The successful person usually gets their act together in advance, so why not prepare your media in like-fashion?
The solution is simple and readily available, professionally called "short-run disc duplication". Technology has made it possible to produce small quantities of discs (and professionally label them) for delivery within a matter of a few days at economical prices. In fact, the cost of producing a CD or DVD-ROM is often less than the cost of producing a small full-color report, and it can usually be delivered in about the same amount of time.
What does this mean for your presentation? It gives you the professional edge over other presenters. It captures the "Wow" factor. Specific comments may not be made by the decision makers on the spot, but eyebrows will raise and your "above-and-beyond" professionalism will be mentally noted by all. You will read it in people's faces as you stand before them, making your presentation. It's high-impact.
Your goal is not necessarily to make your competition look bad, but when you look great by adding finishing touches to your presentation that are conspicuously absent from theirs, the end result is what you want to achieve; yours shines and is remembered, while the rest are generically forgotten. The next time you need to make your mark in the boardroom in short order, consider a quick batch of short-run discs.
There are many companies that specialize in disc duplication, replication, and authoring. From a consumer standpoint, it would seem simple enough to expect your multimedia project to be defined by "copy a quantity of 100 CDs", or something as succinct. Unfortunately, with all of the options for inserts, cases, covers, media types, and labels, it can become confusing when actually placing an order. To make the process as simple as it SHOULD be, you will find answers to the most commonly asked disc- related questions at http://www.benchmarkmultimedia.com/faq.html .
Benchmark Multimedia is unique (
http://www.benchmarkmultimedia.com). They focus on multimedia projects from the customer's perspective, knowing that clients want the confidence of knowing the product will be perfect, and produced using cutting edge software and equipment. Benchmark provides a turnkey solution for your multimedia needs, delivering on time and on budget. Benchmark Multimedia stakes its reputation on delivering, accordingly. (Website built and optimized by
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