When you think about it, PowerPoint sales presentations are actually more interesting when read as a form of free-verse poetry. It's not like the slides lose any of their impact when read this way. Sales execs have force-fed these presentations to audiences since trade shows began. Two days ago, most made sense. Sales remains the black art of the high technology world, the embarrassing yet necessary wing of the industry without which everything else would collapse.
Nobody respects sales reps.
Derided as dopes by developers and annoyances by potential clients, salespeople travel the world like the plague in sport coats. One day, it's a Marriott in New Orleans with a bunch of mid-level bureaucrats. The next, it's another pink room and another platter of shiny pastries. Pop up a few bar graphs and don't forget to remember everyone's first name. It's like a folk song with commission checks.