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Yes, there are ancient PowerPoint secrets...secrets your grandmother knows and is probably willing to pass down to you.

But what's this you say? Your grandmother has never even heard of Microsoft PowerPoint?

No matter. If your grandma was like mine, she knew something about the power of an effective presentation.

Ancient PowerPoint Secret #1: A little treat. My grandmother was the master of what you might call a coffee klatsch...getting people together to talk and tell stories under the guise of having some sort of treat. In my grandmothers day, the treat would usually involve meeting over coffee or tea, and some sort of wonderful, home-baked sweet. And with these coffee klatsches, Grandma would inform and entertain while developing or maintaining treasured relationships.

If youre in sales, you can learn a lot about PowerPoint presentations from your grandma. Chances are, her coffee klatsch objectives probably arent that much different than your PowerPoint presentation objectives. Like Grandma, you want to inform and entertain your audienceand youll want to develop and maintain valuable long-term relationships, as well.

Ive given lots of PowerPoint presentations in my day. And Ive probably closed more sales over a box of doughnuts than with any single presentation! How can it be any wonder that many coffee shops today offer free, open wireless connections? Coffee shop owners know that during the day, business people often close deals over coffee and treats. The free wireless access that coffee shops offer is an inexpensive, effective lure to attract business people. In the same way, offering your prospects a tasty treat is a friendly, low-cost way to begin a sales relationship.

Ancient PowerPoint Secret #2: A little conversation. In the past six weeks, I closed three deals in coffee shops. I bought coffee and offered treats to my prospects, popped open my notebook computer, and had a conversation (not a presentation!) about my prospects needs. Yes, I developed PowerPoint slides for all three meetings. But I didnt use PowerPoint to present: I used PowerPoint to guide a conversation.

Now, you know that conversations are two-way, interactive forms of personal communication. But what did your grandmother know? She knew that conversations can be downright entertaining! And thats yet another ancient PowerPoint secret: a series of conversations are much more effective than any single presentation when it comes to building relationships. So instead of building a massive PowerPoint presentation, why not build a PowerPoint conversation?

Heres how: start by listening to your prospect. Conversations are all about give-and-take, which involves listening, not just talking. Avoid storming into your first client meeting with an All About Us PowerPoint presentation. Your grandma wouldnt blab her life story to someone she just met: and neither should you!

Instead, ask questions. Find out about your potential clients business and what challenges they might be facing. Have a conversation, not a presentation.

Ancient PowerPoint Secret #3: A little more conversation. If you think your or your company can help your new prospect, ask them if theyd like to meet you in a few daysfor coffee and treats, of course! Tell your prospect youve generated some good ideas for their business based on your conversation, but youd like a little time to give a little more thought to what theyve said.

At this point, many sales people give a yelp of protest at this advice. They want to dive right into their product and services, and fire up their All About Us presentations right away!

But if you want to develop a long-term relationship, slow down! Give it some thought! By telling a new prospect that youve listened to what they said and that you want to think about it, youre showing them that you respect their ideas. Thats flattering stuff. And by asking for a second meeting, youve also assumed the close. In this case, the close is simply a second meeting.

And of course, your prospects will definitely want to talk to you again! Everyone loves a good listener. Plus, your new prospects will want to hear the big payoff from investing in their first meeting with you. And guess what? By slowing things down, youve favorably predisposed your prospects into liking what you have to say. Why? Because if theyre busy, theyre thinking subconsciously, Now, why am I meeting with this person again? I know, the pastries are good, but thats not the real reason, although I sure would like another one sometime soon. Oh, I know why -- its probably because I like this person. Im sure Ill like her products, too. Otherwise, I wouldnt have agreed to meet with her again!

So ask for a second meeting and go home. Go back to your office. Armed with the information youve gleaned from careful questioning and listening to your prospects concerns, you can custom-build a PowerPoint conversation thats All About Them. This is way more effective than the typical All About Us presentation.

And remember, Grandma didnt have any use for bullet points! Bullets are for shooting people, and pointing is bad manners! So when you develop your PowerPoint conversation, remember what Grandma really loved: relevant, entertaining, illustrative stories. Make sure you tell a few good stories to your client in every conversation. Bullets can injure and kill: but a good story can really help you sell!

Put it all together... A little coffee, a little treat, a little conversation: thats the essence of beginning and developing an ongoing customer connection. A series of conversations over delightful treats can set a beautiful stage for building a long-term business or personal relationship. This approach is much better than plunking down a notebook computer filled with fancy graphics, animations, and sound effects. You may kid yourself that PowerPoints technical eye candy can take the place of Grandmas penchant for telling entertaining stories over coffee and cake but it isnt. You only get to build strong relationships over time, so put away your hard-sell PowerPoint presentation slides...and grab a cookie!

Laura Bergells is a writer and internet marketing consultant from Grand Rapids, Michigan. You can read her blog and hear her podcasts at A PowerPoint Blog by Maniactive. You can also download free PowerPoint templates at http://www.maniactive.com.