Essential Items of a Perfect Pitch Deck

11 Essential Items of a Perfect Pitch Deck

While every individual pitch deck will vary some essential items need to be included in all and these are listed below.

Just one thing to remember as you put your pitch deck together. Once the meeting begins, the clock starts ticking. This precious time must be used effectively to put over a story that grabs investor attention and places your company firmly in their investment focus.

#1 – Introduction

The aim here is to introduce your and explain your business in clearly understood, straightforward terms.You may want to include a unique value proposition as part of this slide in a clear and concise manner. 

#2 – The Problem

This is where you should begin your story by personalizing the problem. Your aim with this slide is to demonstrate why your product or service is a necessity in the marketplace. Try to create some tension in the minds of those listening.

#3 – The Target Market & Competitive Landscape

Your pitch deck needs to clearly define your target market. This is the group or groups of consumers that your product or service is intended to serve. 

This slide should also include information relating to the competitive landscape in your chosen sector. It should highlight where you see the opportunities to succeed in that landscape.

Here you should also state the market size for your products or services. It is important to show investors what type of customer will stand to benefit from what you are offering. By achieving this you will be building a picture in investors’ minds of the type of customers you intend to gain.

Do not be afraid to raise any potential risks you may come up against but also emphasize the opportunities you foresee.

By including information on the qualities that set your service or product apart from others in your market sector you are showing investors where their gain is. This information can be pulled from your competitive analysis studies.

#4 – The Solution

It is important to follow up on the problem and the challenges your target market is facing with your solution. This should state how your business intends to resolve these problems.

A very effective way of achieving this is through a narrative approach. Have relatable customer experiences ready that help to explain how your product or service will improve their lives. 

#5 – Product or Service Features

The statements made in your solution slide need to be supported with visuals and descriptions of the products or services you are offering. This can be achieved using photographs, screenshots, and perhaps even a video clip showing a demo.

Here is your opportunity to showcase the main features of your solution. Doing this persuasively will help to build potential investors’ interest in the service or product solution you are presenting.

#6 – Traction

The purpose of this slide is to validate your company’s business model. This can be achieved by showing month-on-month growth from the efforts of early sales and support initiatives.

Your main goal here is to minimize potential investors’ fear of risk while increasing their confidence in your ability to succeed.

This slide does not have to be overly busy. Structure it with such things as sharp bullet points that list out milestones. Examples here can be the number of current users, annual revenue return rates, and any profit margins.

#7 – Marketing & Sales Strategy

The detail in this slide is important. You need to clearly explain how your product or service will be advertised as well as sold to your target market.

This information will be used by investors to leverage your company’s understanding of such things as the market size and how your marketing approach differs from the competition.

#8 – Financials

It should come as no surprise that investors will want evidence of your company’s financial health. It should include income statements, sensible projected growth along with details on the business model itself.

This is your opportunity to use infographics such as bar graphs or pie charts. This style of detail will be more effective than simply listing numbers. Any information given on your traction slide (#6 above) should help corroborate your projected figures.

A well-laid-out, realistic financials slide will effectively show your revenue and operating model. 

Demonstrating a persuasive plan for success can help build investor anticipation of where you expect to be in 5 years.

#9 – Team

Founders should not underestimate the importance of this slide. Your team slide should list key team members (and any co-founders) along with their previous experience and expertise in specific areas.

This will help potential investors relate to your company. It will show just how qualified your team is when it comes to progressing and growing a healthy business.

It will also not harm at all to highlight the person responsible for keeping day-to-day operations running smoothly while you are otherwise engaged with external meetings and fundraising efforts. Emphasizing just how tight-knit and knowledgeable your team is can help establish your company’s competitive advantage.

#10 – Investment & Funding Amount Needed

It may sound obvious but do not forget to include this final slide. A well-crafted pitch deck without clearly stating the amount of funding you are after is incomplete.

This slide needs to give details of how the funding will be spent to help your company reach its goals. It should also state the role you are asking investors to play in bringing your product or service to life and why that money is required now.

Instilling a sense of enthusiastic urgency into your final words is very important. You need to impress potential investors as to just how and why this investment opportunity should not be missed out on.

#11 – Closing Slide

As well as showing contact details (email, website & social media) along with asking for any questions you need to close memorably. Do this with a visionary statement.

You need to leave a lasting impression in the minds of potential investors. Let your audience know just how positive you are about growth, impact, and profits. Convince them that when the required funding amount is secured you are confident your business will flourish.

The key takeaway here is….

Always bear in mind that your pitch deck presentation must do more than present a solid business case. It needs to be presented in a way that generates a positive emotional response. This response needs to turn prospective investors into investors.