How to Make a Stylish, Effective Consultancy Deck: Part 1
In the consultancy industry, competition is fierce. The market is dominated by big players like PwC, EY, Deloitte and KPMG: well-known, cutting-edge outfits that attract (and keep) talented people and powerful clients. This makes it even more important to have an effective consultancy deck.
The ‘Big Four’ and their nearest rivals aren’t just rich in resources. They’re also brand-forward, investing heavily in marketing and branding to create a compelling professional presence. This can make it very challenging for smaller, more niche consulting firms to stand out in comparison.
Maybe prospective clients like the look of what you offer, but don’t feel quite ready to invest yet. Perhaps active clients are wondering if they made the right decision in a market full of enticing choices. You may be worried that your firm’s branding and presentation are secretly undermining you – or, at least, not helping in getting your message across. So how do you make sure that your branding really is working for you, and not against you?
Consistency builds trust
Your USP, your niche offering, your specialist services – whatever term you choose, you’ve invested time and work in determining what makes your consultancy firm unique. But how do you make that clear to your ideal customer?
The key is consistency. Include a strong, coherent visual component in your communication, and you’ll capture your audience from the start, projecting professionalism and trustworthiness with every interaction.
And yes, this also applies to your consultancy decks – even if you don’t have a design department and your team creates them from scratch. A 2021 study by Lucidpress (now Marq) demonstrated that consistent visual branding across all platforms can create a revenue increase of between 10% and 20%. In contrast, inconsistent branding can prevent you from building trust with your audience. A messy deck might just be the thing that trips you up.
In a crowded and confusing marketplace, it can be hard for people to understand exactly what services you’re offering, and how your firm is different from every other one that’s fighting to get their attention. Under this kind of pressure, a couple of unclear, clunky decks can easily sabotage a promising client relationship. If you can’t get your own decks in order, how can they trust you to deliver the business-crucial changes you’re recommending?
Look good, feel better
It’s not just the client you need to think about. A sloppy or substandard consultancy deck can also undercut your confidence, depriving you of your winning edge. If you cringe a little inside whenever you have to present or share your slides, people pick up on that. You’re uncomfortable, they’re uncomfortable, and building trust is just that bit harder.
Of course, there are plenty of techniques to help you get over that discomfort. You could even present in person without a deck at all, or just with photos. But sometimes you can’t get away from using a deck, especially if you’re presenting a lot of data. Imagine trying to describe the sales figures for the past quarter without any visuals!
Learning to create stylish, compelling, branded decks in-house benefits everyone involved. It might seem like a daunting task, but don’t worry. A few simple steps will make all the difference.
Keep it on brand
If you’ve worked with a designer in the past, chances are that they delivered a branding deck with every aspect of your company’s visual brand included. These aren’t always optimised for use with MS Office applications such as PowerPoint, which can complicate the process of producing your own branded decks.
If this is the case, the first thing you need to do is create templates that work with your branding. This might take a little effort, but it will save a huge amount of time and work going forward.
Keep it tidy
Alignment makes a huge difference when it comes to visual coherence. Make sure everything’s correctly lined up, and if you have a set of elements (such as different points), make sure the spacing is consistent. You don’t have to do this manually – you can use the native PowerPoint alignment tools.
Keep it clear
When you’re creating a presentation deck on your computer, it can be easy to forget about legibility. But presenting to an audience means reaching every single person in the room. In other words, you’re designing your deck for the people at the back. If you’re not sure that your slides are clear enough at that distance, test them out on your colleagues.
If you’re making a deck for someone to read on their device, then the legibility requirements are a bit different.
Clarify your charts
A great visualisation, like a chart or graph, can grab your audience’s attention and get the data across – making it an effective consultancy deck. But a poorly designed one will only confuse the viewer and obfuscate your point.
An effective visualisation draws the viewer’s eye and highlights the main takeaway. If there’s a particular aspect you want your audience to focus on, use a standout colour from your brand palette for that section. Or you can use the title area of the slide for a call to action or key recommendation, and put your descriptive chart title in a less prominent area. If you have multiple charts, separate them out into different slides rather than make them compete for attention, unless the comparison is essential.
For further insight, this Miro songbook by Lisa Charlotte Muth is a great resource on creating effective charts. And you’ll find plenty of ideas for data visualisations and infographics at the Data Viz Project.
Think about impact
Not every slide needs to take your audience’s breath away. If you’ve got a high-impact visual or a persuasive turn of phrase, save it for the moment when it will hit hardest: a call to action, for example, or a description of the transformative experience you’re promising your clients. Keep the other slides consistent and simple, and those standout ones will create an even bigger splash – making your argument even easier to convey.
But what about the time it takes?
By now, you might be thinking that putting together a really slick, effective consultancy deck is a lot of work. After all, you’re a consultant, not a designer. Making slides isn’t essential business; client relationships are. And how will you know if you get it right?
There’s an easy solution. Just get in touch, and we can work together to create reusable PowerPoint templates that are perfectly set up for your future decks. That way, you’ll never have to worry about how you come over to your prospects and clients … and you can focus on what you do best.
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