You’ve got one shot to impress that potential investor or client. And everything’s riding on your pitch deck. But how can you create a slide deck that will stand out from the competition and clinch the deal? Simple. You design a presentation that answers the right questions.
Before you ever start designing your slides, you need to get inside the mind of your potential investors. You need to know their questions and concerns. And then you need to design with those in mind. If you answer these 5 questions, you can elevate your pitch deck above the competition.
1. Does this product/company solve a current problem or meet a current demand?
When you are trying to get funded or build clientele, you need to design your pitch deck with a problem/solution mindset. Here’s why. First, it’s how humans learn and experience the world. So when you couple a problem with a solution, it feels familiar and that’s attractive to your audience. Second, it points to progress and to making things better. This makes investors feel like they are part of something that is moving forward and something that matters in the big picture. The bottom line is this: if your pitch deck doesn’t convince potential investors that a problem exists, or that your company or product can solve it, you’ve lost them.
2. Is there space in the market for this product/company and is this product/company equipped to deliver better results than their competitors?
Although it seems counterintuitive, you need to talk about your competitors in your pitch deck. TechCrunch+ found that one big difference between successful and unsuccessful pitch decks is that successful decks cover “the competitive landscape.” They interviewed Justin Izzo, research lead for DropBox DocSend, who said that he always recommends including “some kind of analysis of other players in the field.” This shows potential investors that you know the market. In an article for Forbes, author of The Art of Startup Fundraising, Alejandro Cremades says, “Avoid statements referencing you being the only one doing this, you being the clear leader, etc.” Be honest about the market and where you fall.
3. Is this a winning team?
Investors know they aren’t just investing in a company or product, they are investing in people. So a winning pitch deck includes information on the team, and it highlights what sets them apart. It could be years of experience, special training, or diverse backgrounds. For example, if we were pitching our Ethos3 presentation design agency, we’d make sure you know we have dedicated experts in content development, presentation design, and delivery coaching. That means we can help with every single part of your presentation, not just the design.
4. Do they have a winning strategy?
The pitch deck should also include the team’s strategy for succeeding. This includes your business model, marketing plan, sales strategy, and scalability. Your pitch deck should make investors feel confident in your team’s ability to execute and succeed. And in order to do that, they need a clear explanation of your plan and your financials. The team slide in your pitch deck tells the potential investor they can trust you. The strategy slide(s) tells them they can trust your plan, as well.
5. Can I clearly understand their purpose?
My high school English teacher told me that the difference between prose and poetry is that they both use words but that poetry only uses the best words. Pitch decks are the poetry of the presentation world. Every single image counts. Every single word matters. Cluttered, unclear slides won’t cut it. Neither will heavy handed jargon. Simplify your language. Boil it down and use as few words as possible to state your purpose. This is often more difficult than it sounds. You are pitching something you are invested in and passion about. It’s tempting to want to tell your audience everything—but a sea of words can drown them. Edit out anything that doesn’t serve a clear purpose.
Plan your pitch deck around these 5 questions your potential investors and clients have about the problem/solution, space in the market, team, strategy, and purpose. We’d also recommend getting some input on your deck from experts. Cremades says, “If you are serious about your pitch deck, it is not a bad idea to ask someone with a high level of understanding of sales psychology to take a look at your deck. A couple of tweaks to images, placement, and words could make a multi-million-dollar difference.”
At Ethos 3, we have over 15 years of experience helping some of the world’s most trusted brands design and deliver presentations. Find out how we can help you create a winning pitch deck.
