A pitch deck, also known as a slide deck or start-up deck, is a presentation that provides a brief but informative overview of your business. It should cover the key points of your business plan, the products and services you provide, high-level financial projections, and funding needs. Your pitch deck should work well on its own as a visual document, but it will primarily be used as a tool to tell the story of your business.
What is the purpose of a pitch deck?
The goal of your pitch deck is not to raise money. This doesn’t sound right. But the real goal of your pitch deck is to get to the next meeting.
Remember, your pitch deck and pitch presentation are probably some of the first things that an investor will see to learn more about your company. And because investments rarely are made after just one meeting, your goal is to spark interest in your company. You want investors to ask for more after they hear your pitch and not just show you to the door.
So, while a solid pitch deck is critical to raising money, the key goal of the deck is to get to the next step, another meeting, and a request for more information.
Pitch Deck Examples
There are many real-life pitch examples, many of which are for established B2B brands such as Salesforce, Microsoft, and LeadCrunch.
Taking a look at some of these presentations can be beneficial, as you can identify common themes and get an idea of what generally works and what doesn’t. You can then apply these observations to your pitch deck.
To give you an idea, we have highlighted two sample pitch decks that are worth paying attention to.
1. Snapchat Ad Sales
Snapchat — a social media platform aimed at Gen Z and millennial users — is a perfect advertising medium for brands that target these demographics, yet it struggled to generate media buying attention in its early years.
As a result, when pitching to advertisers, it decided to break things down and present its key benefits and figures in a way that was highly visual and easily digestible, much like Snapchat itself. It also places particular emphasis on the future spending power of these demographics, positioning itself as an early access point to a lucrative long-term audience.
https://www.slideshare.net/ryangum/snapchat-advertising-sales-deck: Want to Boost Your Business? Get the Best Pitch Deck2. Reddit Ad Sales
Reddit’s ad sales pitch deck is living proof that pitchers don’t need to be conventional; in fact, it illustrates that it’s often better to be more closely aligned with your brand’s identity. For context, Reddit’s pitch begins with a picture of a cat riding a unicorn and doesn’t deviate far for the remainder of its 69 slides.
That’s not to say there is nothing of substance here, though. It highlights a wealth of valuable data for interested brands in a visually impressive way and communicates how an advertising partnership with Reddit could be beneficial. It even gives use cases of how other brands have successfully used Reddit in promotion campaigns.
When do you need a pitch deck?
Your business or your personal life can call for a pitch deck in a wide range of scenarios. Most commonly, you would need a pitch deck when you are trying to get funded or even just a meeting with a new investor. Or when you are n an accelerator program’s demo day, for instance, in which case you would be presenting it in front of a stage.
Either case would serve the same purpose. The goal is to draw investors to your business, whether for funding or other stakeholder interests that can mean tons of financial or business opportunities for a company.
Pitch Deck Writing
Now that you know what your pitch deck should consist of, how do you structure it? What order should everything go in? To help you answer these questions, here’s a basic pitch deck writing outline that you can follow.
Opening slide: Depending on your target client, these opening slides can be as formal or informal as you want. Either way, they should be attention-grabbing and immediately engage your audience. An eye-catching statistic or visual that highlights your prospect’s primary pain point is often a good idea.
Table of contents: It’s always a good idea to outline what’s to come, as this gives the pitch deck a sense of narrative and direction. If you are sending the pitch deck digitally, it also allows the viewer to find their way around easily.
About us: This is where you can offer up your agency’s USP and a brief background of your achievements and/or capabilities. This is also where you should introduce your team members, as discussed.
Social proof: On this slide, you should highlight some of the positive feedback you’ve received online or through external review sites such as G2. You can also list any media publications that you have been featured in. Either way, if you have been associated with some recognizable brands, this is the place to show that off.
Services explained: As discussed, this is where you should focus on describing in detail the services that you offer. The bulk of this section should involve the services that meet the client’s immediate problems.
Pricing information: Talking about cold, hard figures can often be discomforting, but the reality is that budget availability is likely to play a big role in the prospect’s final decision — especially for smaller businesses. Therefore, there is little point in skirting around the topic. Make sure you clarify your preferred pricing model (i.e. retainer, project-based, hourly, commission-based, or value/performance-based).
The benefits of your organisation: As mentioned, it’s crucial to convey to prospects why they should work with you and not a competitor. Lay this out in compelling terms and support it with figures and visuals if need be.
Case studies: Discuss at least one case study that applies to the prospect; if possible, try to include two.
Your process: Depending on the service you are offering, layout how you like to work. In reality, there will undoubtedly be varying levels of wiggle room for each client, but if you explain that you will send weekly reports every Tuesday, update calls every 2 weeks, and schedule calendar reviews once a month, this gives the prospect a firm idea of what kind of relationship they are going to have with your agency.
Thank you / for your contact information: When you deliver the pitch, you will likely conduct your summary verbally. It’s important to include a slide that contains key contact information, though, as this can be used for reference.
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