7 Things You Must Include In A Pitch Deck

WHAT IS A PITCH DECK?

A pitch deck, often created using PowerPoint, Keynote or Prezi is a brief presentation that summarily explains your business plan without leaving out relevant details. A pitch deck is usually used when pitching to investors, or meetings with customers, partners, and co-founders.

When crafting a pitch deck worthy of attention and investment from potential investors, two factors must be considered. The first factor, which is design, means your pitch deck must be appealing as well as have the right number of slides. The second factor, which is the most important as well as difficult, is what should be included in your pitch deck.

So, don’t hit send or climb that stage to pitch your business if your pitch deck lacks the following items.

Slide 1: Vision and value proposition

This slide tells potential investors (which should be a brief one-sentence) what your business does and the value it would provide to customers. The rule of thumb here is to keep this slide “Short and Sweet!” 

Think of this section as a short tweet or an Instagram bio. You should be able to describe your business in 140 characters.

Slide 2: The problem

If your business isn’t solving one, there’s something wrong somewhere. Use this slide to talk about the problem your business has identified and is solving, and who has the problem (target market). I’d advise that you try and tell a relatable story your potential investors can easily relate to when defining the problem. This will help them understand your business and its goals. Additionally, don’t spend too much time droning about your competition. You’ll have the opportunity to do that on another slide.

Slide 3: Target market and opportunity

Use this slide to explain more about whom your ideal target market (customer) is and their numbers (how many they are). Let your investors know the total market size as well as how you’ll position your business in the marketplace. 

If possible, get the necessary data to let them know how much people or businesses currently spend in the market to get a sense of the total market size. If applicable, divide your market into segments that you will address with different types of marketing and perhaps different types of product offerings.

While you might be tempted to define your target market as broad, it’s advisable that you let investors see that you have a very specific and reachable market. This will make your pitch more realistic.

Slide 4: The solution

Finally, this is where you describe your product or service. Tell investors how customers use your product and how it addresses the problems that you outlined in slide two.

Based on my experience as a business owner who has pitched to investors several times, I’d recommend that you don’t move this slide to slide 3 or closer to the beginning of your pitch deck. Is it tempting to do so? Yes! However, describing your business in slide 4 builds up the problem and describes how bad it is for your target market. This is where you describe how your product or service is coming to the rescue to help solve that problem.

If possible, use pictures and stories when you describe your solution. Showing is nearly always better than telling.

Slide 5: Revenue model or business model

Now that you’ve described your product or service, you need to talk about how it would generate money. Tell investors how much you’ll charge and who pays the bills. For example, some businesses such as content sites, see advertisers as those who pay the bills instead of the customers. Therefore, ensure that you flesh out the details here.

Slide 6: Marketing and sales strategy

How do you plan to let people know about your business and get customers? Use this slide to outline your marketing and sales plan to your investors. Ensure that you explain the sales strategies and marketing tactics you will employ to get your product/service in front of your potential customers.

Additionally, if your marketing and sales process is different from your competitors, it’s important to highlight that here.

Slide 7: Financials

Potential investors will expect to see the following: sales forecast, profit and loss statement, and cash flow forecast for at least three years. While your pitch deck shouldn’t consist of lengthy spreadsheets that would be difficult to read; however, use charts to show sales, total customers, total expenses, and profits.

Be ready to discuss the underlying assumptions that you’ve made to arrive at your sales goals and what your key expense drivers are. Remember to be realistic with your financial projections as well. 

SUMMARY

While all the aforementioned items are important when creating a pitch deck, it doesn’t hurt to add the “Competition” section as well. Describe how you fit into the marketplace and how you’re different from the existing competitors and alternatives in the landscape. Address the advantages and “special sauce” that your business has and others don’t have. 

You can also add the “Investment and use of funds section”. Let your potential investors know how much you’re looking for; explain why you need the amount of money you are asking for and how you plan on using the money. Investors want to know how their money will be used as well as how it would help your business achieve its goals.

Finally, if your business has any chance of achieving scalability (especially if it’s a startup), you need to nail the pitch deck.

While the design is extremely important, ensure that the contents in the pitch deck deliver real value.