Five essential components of a winning pitch deck
What makes a successful pitch that crushes the competition and seals the deal? If you’ve been dragging your feet about the predictable structure and repetitive messaging you've drafted for your upcoming pitch, say goodbye to random images and bone-dry bullet points, and read on for five things to keep in mind when pitching for success.
1. Tailoring the pitch deck to your target audience
One of the most common mistakes we see at Presentation Studio is companies that make their presentations about themselves. A pitch deck should never be a recycled version of your “about us” page. Even if you are selling one solution or offering one service, it’s crucial to put yourself in your audience’s shoes and ensure that how you are framing your offer is tailored to them.
When you start a pitch presentation by acknowledging your audience’s situation or unique needs, you are signalling that you understand exactly how to help them. Remember: while your service or solution may stay the same, how you talk about its benefits can—and should—change, depending on who you are speaking to.
2. Harnessing the impact of values-aligned design
Most people put a pitch deck together using a two-step process: drafting written content for slides, and then embellishing it with relevant graphics and imagery. This DIY approach might work for low-stakes or internal documents, but leaves a lot to be desired when it comes to pitching for six-figure contracts and presenting yourself as an industry leader.
The missing element of this approach is functional design that speaks for itself, magnifies your impact, and supports your delivery. Considered design cements your brand reputation in the minds of your audience members, and acts as the thread that ties the elements of your pitch together in a cohesive and memorable way.
“Values-aligned design isn’t about putting your logo on each slide and formatting the presentation in your brand colours,”
Says Presentation Studio CEO Emma Bannister.
“It’s about ensuring the structure of your presentation contributes to the impact of your pitch, creating functional designs that integrate with your messaging, and tailoring your visual assets to tell a wider story about who you are.”
3. Considering delivery dynamics
Pitching for new business isn’t just about having the best slides or the slickest transitions. If your team hasn’t practised their verbal delivery and transitions between sections, the pitch risks coming across clunky and unprepared.
A slide deck only gets you part of the way there: presenters should know exactly what they intend to share (and it shouldn’t be what’s already written on the slides: your audience can read!), and how they want to bring their section of the presentation to life. If multiple speakers are presenting, rehearsing transitions and handovers—as well as who is in charge of advancing slides—will help everyone execute a seamless presentation.
If your team could use some further support on how to present with confidence and articulate your message, Presentation Studio’s speaker trainers are here to help build your executive presence and help you speak with impact.
4. Creating “white space” in your presentation
Pitching often makes people think of how they can cram as much information as possible into a presentation. The result can look like information overload, or presenters speaking at a hundred miles an hour and trying to cover every point.
This is a key point of difference between well-designed pitches that win, and DIY decks that often fall flat: an innovative presentation that sparks curiosity and leads an audience through your winning offering isn’t overloaded with information.
Instead, winning pitches create moments of impact through slides with five words or less, letting a speaker land a point with clarity and conviction. They don’t cover every square inch of slide real-estate with imagery and bullet points, but instead embrace the dynamics of information and white space, acknowledging that this balance creates harmony and momentum in a presentation.
Beyond design, white space also means leaving room for audience participation or interaction. Ask yourself: have you built in opportunities to interact with your audience for feedback?
The harsh truth is that potential investors and prospective clients are probably bored by dozens of dull slideshows every day. To avoid your pitch falling into this pile, why not do things differently and engage your audience throughout your pitch?
5. Leaving behind a memorable story or statistic
Yes, a call-to-action (CTA) is important, but a memorable story is more likely to linger in the minds of your audience members for longer.
Is there a number that quantifies the baffling size of the problem you are trying to solve? Or a percentage figure that shows just how needed your solution is? Perhaps there’s a funny anecdote about a customer who has benefitted from what you have to offer, or a story about how others in your industry have been trying to crack the code of your unique selling point (USP), but ultimately can’t.
This can be done in two ways:
Opening (or concluding) with an anecdote or story is an easy way to hold your audience’s attention and build rapport without making them feel like they are getting the hard sell. If you’re starting with a little “storytime,” it warms them up, and if you’re closing with one, it puts them at ease.
Including a memorable statistic or figure in the middle of your presentation that illustrates a point you are making (for example, showing the scale of a problem or how many other people face a certain challenge). Refer back to it at least one other time in the presentation to help the audience remember it.
While presentation conclusions should include signposting for contact details and next steps, softening this with compelling storytelling is an effective strategy to stay top-of-mind long after the pitch is over.
To upgrade your pitch decks and tap into the power of design, reach out to our team to discuss more at hello@presentationstudio.com.