Creating a Pitch Deck? 5 Ways to Design a Winner

A sales pitch is a short, well-structured speech or presentation that explains a company’s product or service and how they are of value to the audience.

To create a solid pitch deck, you’ll want to know what motivates people to buy. If you have an idea of what your target market wants and needs, it will be much easier for you to speak their language.

In this guide on creating a pitch deck, we share tips and business pitch deck templates that will inspire you to build your own pitch deck.

Haven’t designed a pitch deck before? With Venngage’s pitch deck templates, impress your potential investors even without design experience.

How to make a pitch deck

Here are five easy steps to design the best pitch decks to convince your prospects. These tips will help you build decks, like the example below, and stand out in a competitive landscape.

1. Write for your target audience

The best way for marketers to identify their target audience is by conducting market research. This task can be challenging due to time constraints and budget restrictions but it is worth conducting.

There are less expensive ways to identify your target market. Personal conversations, competitor analysis, and client surveys help you determine your business model.

Once you have identified your target audience, you’ll need a solid pitch deck voice. That’s what Uber did when the company pitched its idea. We recreated their initial pitch deck below.

A good pitch deck voice is like a writing style for different audiences. You can have a formal, casual, conversational, or scholarly tone in your pitch decks, and each one has its individual nuances.

For example, when speaking conversationally, you’ll use a more relaxed tone with a few pauses and breaks. Adopting that tone will help keep your business pitch focused on potential investors.

This alternate version of the Uber pitch deck adopts a more casual tone. The sentences are shorter and sharper, but they highlight the reasons why this is the business to invest in.

With Venngage for Business, you can download your pitch decks in a variety of formats, including PNG, PNG HD, PDF, Interactive PDF, and a PowerPoint presentation.

2. Highlight your unique selling proposition

A unique selling proposition is what sets your product apart from others. It’s what makes your business model special and worth investing in.

This is the reason potential investors will consider your idea, or buy your product or service instead of going to your competitors.

A standard Guy Kawasaki pitch deck dedicates two slides to your value proposition. Use them well to position your brand as the definitive solution for your target market.

You can customize this template and use images, icons, and other details that represent your brand and make your presentation memorable.

There are three key points that a pitch deck presenter needs to make to convince clients about their unique selling proposition’s benefits in the shortest time possible.

The first decision is the headline. It needs to be short, catchy, and easy to remember. It needs to get the reader’s attention and keep it for the entire sales pitch.

Once you have made this decision, you need to decide which benefits your sales pitch should focus on. This decision will help you determine your product’s value to your customers.

Here’s an example of a value proposition from a business with a unique idea. Since hotels have more space than is actually used, this fictitious company has a plan to use them for clients.

3. Gather data to support your claims

A lack of transparency in your statements can be a major downfall for a company because it may be difficult to prove that the claims are true.

Sales pitches must have data from scientific and experimental studies to make them believable.

Claims without scientific evidence to back them up could cause prospects or investors to doubt your product or service. They might lose interest in buying what you are selling.

Consumers want to know that the products they buy are safe and effective. Your pitch deck is the best place to show potential investors that your business model is sound.

Note how Iconics shared data to back up their successes in this impressive pitch deck.

Show the data you have gathered in your slide deck. But also share the sources for your data, either as hyperlinks or footnotes. Also mention how you came to your conclusions.

Transparency is a major concern in marketing and sales pitches, so brands must be careful about the performance and capabilities of their goods or services.

Create pitch decks faster using Venngage’s real-time collaboration feature. Add team members to designs and share feedback instantly.

4. Get to the point of your pitch deck quickly

Sales pitches are also known as elevator pitches because you don’t have much time to make your point.

The first thing to do is make a short and engaging pitch deck. Your pitch deck should have some visuals, little text, and use simple language that everyone can understand.

The deck should also be concise enough to convey your story in one minute or less. This investment pitch deck is short and to the point. You have little time to make an impression, so make it count.

Remember to use evidence-based claims backed by facts and studies to make solid and effective statements.

If you can convince the potential client that you are a valuable resource, they will greatly consider your proposition.

5. Add your branding

Your presentation should use your business’s colors and language.

If the brand has a specific writing style or voice, incorporate it in your presentation for coherence.

Fortunately, it’s easy to customize Venngage’s pitch deck templates with high-quality images, icons, and data visualizations.

This marketing deck includes numerous branding elements, including brand colors and fonts. It immediately stands out as belonging to the company pitching to investors. Take a look at this marketing presentation example.

With Venngage for Business, you can add your brand logos and identity using the My Brand Kit feature. Enter your website and the editor does the rest.

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5 tips to design a winning pitch deck

When it comes to pitching your brilliant idea or business to potential investors or clients, a well-designed pitch deck can make all the difference. Your pitch deck not only showcases your concept but also represents your professionalism and creativity. So, how can you ensure your pitch deck stands out from the crowd? Here are five tips to help you design a winning pitch deck that leaves a lasting impression and increases your chances of success.

1. Start with a compelling opening slide

Your opening slide sets the tone for your entire pitch. Capture your audience’s attention right from the start with an attention-grabbing headline, captivating imagery, or a powerful tagline to make a strong first impression. Remember, you only have a few seconds to grab their attention, so make it count!

2. Keep it clean and simple

When it comes to pitch decks — simplicity is key. Avoid cluttering your slides with too much text or excessive visuals and opt for a clean and simple design that allows your content to shine. A great tip would be to use concise bullet points, impactful visuals and ample white space to create a visually appealing and easy-to-digest presentation. Remember, less is more — start designing with one of Venngage’s simple presentation templates today!

3. Visualize your data and statistics

Data and statistics can sometimes be overwhelming, but they are crucial to support your pitch. Instead of bombarding your audience with endless numbers, bring your data to life by visualizing it. Take advantage of Venngage’s extensive data visualization tools and use charts, graphs and infographics to convey complex information in a clear and visually engaging way.

4. Tell a story with your slides

People love stories, and your pitch deck should tell a compelling one. Use your slides to tell the story of your idea, highlighting the problem, your solution, and the potential impact to take your audience on a journey. You can also incorporate storytelling elements such as personal anecdotes, customer testimonials or case studies. This will help create an emotional connection with your audience that will keep them engaged and invested in your pitch.

5. Maintain consistency and branding

Consistency is crucial in creating a professional and polished pitch deck. Use consistent fonts, colors, and branding elements throughout your slides to maintain a cohesive look and feel. This creates a sense of professionalism and strengthens your brand identity.

Remember to align your pitch deck design with your overall branding strategy to leave a lasting impression and reinforce your credibility. If you’re already a Venngage user, here’s a guide on how you can use Venngage’s My Brand Kit to brand your designs and save time.

Ready to create a pitch deck that will ultimately help you achieve your pitching goals? Well, the good news is — you don’t have to start from scratch. Save time and customize one with pitch deck templates that are designed to effectively communicate your message and hook your audience.

Pitch deck templates to inspire you

It is more important than ever to turn your customers into subscribers to your brand in this era of online and social media.

A subscriber is a person who recommends your company, your product or service. They are the ones who tell other people about their experience and what they like about your service.

Advocacy is what separates a loyal customer from a fan of your brand. The more brand ambassadors you can gain, the faster your brand will grow. That’s why you need to design solid pitch decks.

Here are some awesome pitch decks to get you started on making the best ones.

Gradient Guy Kawasaki pitch deck

This alternate version of a Guy Kawasaki pitch deck leans into the gradient color trend from the last few years. The gradient flows throughout the design, creating a cohesive visual experience.

Note how the pitch deck assigns each slide to a single topic or point. This is one of the reasons why the Kawasaki pitch is so popular. The technique ensures a short deck that sends a memorable message.

The use of icons adds visual value to the deck. That makes it easier to follow the story and understand the key points at a glance.

Airbnb pitch deck example

One of our most popular pitch decks is this reimagining of Airbnb’s slides. The content is short and to the point.

There’s plenty of white space around each element, making the deck easier to read, even from a distance.

One of the reasons this deck is so popular is because of the simple data visualizations. The single numbers are highlighted either through the size of the font or with a simple circle shape.

The black and white backgrounds contrast the red of the brand color and the background images share an aura of modernity.

This template is easy to customize so you can make your own pitch deck. Choose the template from the Venngage library and start editing.

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Minimalist Airbnb pitch deck

You don’t have to use colors in your slide deck to stand out from the crowd. This minimalist investment pitch deck proves that a black-white-gray color combination can still be powerful.

This pitch deck does a great job at presenting its strengths to attract investors and collaborators to their business. Now you can use it as a reference or customize it to suit your needs.

Startup pitch deck example

If you don’t already know, bold backgrounds are one of the top graphic design trends of the coming year. It isn’t surprising that this pitch deck, with its powerful yellow background, has become popular.

The yellow makes the content of the slides stand out. It’s attention-grabbing but at the same time, informative.

The reason why this deck works is because it doesn’t rely completely on the yellow background. The yellow is paired with dark images that offset the brightness. This is a great way to make the content stand out.

Red investor pitch deck template

Sticking with the bold theme, don’t be afraid to display your business images in a pitch deck. This example shows how you can use images to highlight your business model.

This is a bold, confident, and unapologetic investment pitch deck. It holds nothing back and will have any investor ready to shake on their latest partnership.

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FAQs about creating pitch decks

How do you build a pitch deck?

There are numerous elements to a pitch deck. Assign a topic to each slide but don’t add too much text. Overcrowding a slide will make it hard to read or follow.

Don’t add all your information to the deck. The deck acts as a guideline. The rest is up to your presentation skills.

Remember to keep your pitch deck to a maximum of 20 slides. If your pitch is too long, you will lose your audience’s interest.

What should a pitch deck include?

The essential slides of a slide deck are:

Introduction slide about your company
Slide about the problem you are targeting
The target audience and demographics
How your business model will provide a solution
Past successes
Competitor analysis
Your team
Financial statements
The business vision
Closing slide for questions

How do you make a pitch deck for free?

With Venngage, you can start creating a pitch deck for free. Choose an investor pitch deck from our library. Our templates are already filled out with some information and data, making them easier to customize for your business.

Easily add your branding, edit the text and charts for your pitch. You can also upload your own images or choose from Venngage’s library of stock photos. Share the pitch deck online or download it with a Venngage Business account.

Design a pitch deck that will impress investors and help you grow your business

Creating pitch decks is a great challenge that presents many opportunities to improve and convince your customers. But it’s a challenge that many businesses have successfully risen to. So can you.

We’ve shared the best writing and design tips that will help you design a pitch deck that will wow investors.

Ready to create a pitch deck? Use one of Venngage’s templates and start building the future for your business.