We have all heard the folklore and tales from Silicon Valley about super human entrepreneurs dazzling an audience of investors, convincing them to fork over a large sum of money. Shortly after, a pitch deck gets circulated on the internet, and it is heralded as the magic bullet. The truth is, sourcing investment takes time. Loads of time and energy. More importantly, every pitch deck needs to be crafted for a specific audience with a specific purpose. Pitch decks are not just for securing funding, they are also essential to an organization’s sales toolkit.
There are a handful of essential components that should be present in a Pitch (or Sales) deck that we’ll take you through to help shed some light on how to show up to your next prospective meeting with a set of winning slides.
Before crafting a narrative, identifying the audience is vital. Establishing the “Who”, “What”, “How” and “Why” as well as the objective will set the tone for all future work.
The most impactful slide decks typically run approximately 10-15 slides, and can flex depending on how much time you have to show and articulate. Timing is key, because no one should spend anymore than 2-3 minutes per slide. When factoring in pleasantries and banter, a 10-15 slide presentation takes you to approximately 35 minutes.
Q & A should be the largest part of the meeting if you’re sitting with a prospect.
Pitch Decks are never final. The document would be a working document, in that it will certainly evolve.