How to make a perfect pitch deck

Have an opportunity to present your business or business idea? Don’t try to pitch yourself blind. Instead, put together a pitch deck to guide you and ensure you cover the essential elements. 

With the perfect deck, you can sell your business and convince others it’s worth getting involved with. 

This guide covers how to make a perfect pitch deck, including:

• What is a pitch deck? 
• What should a pitch deck include? 
• How can you perfect your pitch deck?  

Also see: How to find the right investors for your business

A pitch deck is a presentation that sells your business, which you might show to potential investors, partners, or customers. A strong deck proves your business idea is viable and worth getting involved with.

A good pitch deck should have: 

• Clear and specific information.
• Data to support your argument. 
• A clean and eye-catching design. 
• No grammatical or spelling errors. 

Depending on who you present to, your pitch deck might focus on different information. For example, if you present to potential investors, you’ll aim to show your idea is marketable and profitable. 

Alternatively, a pitch deck for a potential client would aim to show that your business is the right choice. 

Regardless of who you pitch to, to know how to make a perfect pitch deck, you should be aware of a few key things. 

Your pitch deck should include: 

• Your business’s vision and values 
• The problem you solve and the solution
• Your timeline and business goals 
• Your target market and audience
• Financial projections 
• Marketing strategy 

We’ll go into a bit more detail of each piece. 

What is the overall purpose of your business? What do you aim to achieve?

This section also outlines the key values that will guide you forward.

Example! Say you want to start a plant shop that aims to simplify plant care for beginners. Your main values might be nature and sustainability.

Next, narrow your business purpose down to a fundamental problem or question you hope to solve. 

On top of pinning down the problem, be sure to offer the solution. This solution will likely lead to the products or services you sell. 

Example! Ever notice your tea gets cold before you can finish it? Ember’s solution was to create a temperature-controlled smart mug.  

Also, cover the market for your business and the target audience or people most interested in what you offer. You can back this up with market research and data.  

Example! For a social media marketing business, you might target the small business market. More specifically, you could help single person businesses market themselves. 

To make a perfect pitch deck, you’ll also need to list your business’s objectives, including what you plan to achieve and how you’ll do it. Then, develop a timeline for when you’ll reach critical milestones. 

Example! You might aim to earn fifteen clients by the first six months.

Outlining the profitability and demand of your business is an essential part of presenting to potential investors or partners. You may want to put together a sales forecast and financial forecast or predict your revenue. 

You might also need to explain the amount of money you need to start the business and where you’ll spend that money. 

Example! If you plan to sell handmade scarves for £10 each, you might need to sell 50 to surpass the production costs. To cover startup costs, you might need £500 to put towards including knitting supplies, yarn, and marketing. 

Finally, explain how you’ll reach your target audience, including a marketing plan. Also, outline an established sales strategy to draw in customers. 

Example! If you target professionals for your services, you might market yourself on LinkedIn.  

For a sales strategy, you might offer first-time discounts or a loyalty program. 

Also see: How to create a marketing strategy for your small business

It’s essential to have all the important information on your pitch deck. But to know how to make a perfect pitch deck, you’ll also need to consider the design.

The best presentations are engaging and easy to follow. They include specific information but narrow it down to the essentials, to avoid overwhelming the audience.  

A strong pitch deck will: 

• Avoid putting too much text on each page. 
• Include attractive design elements.
• Incorporate stats with graphs and tables. 
• Use the data to tell a story. 

A few tools can help ensure your pitch deck looks great. 

To create a presentation deck that excites, you might use: 

• Powerpoint – A variety of templates, table and chart tools, transition and formatting options
• Google slides – Links with Google drive to incorporate links and other documents
• Prezi – Offers visual, audio, and animation tools for a creative presentation experience

Then, you could use a design tool to add unique visual elements for a professional-looking presentation. 

You might use: 

• Canva – Allows you to design logos, posts, and slides with plenty of templates and design tutorials
• Haiku Deck – Offers a bunch of free photos and backgrounds to include in your presentation

You’ll also want to use research tools to find credible research for your pitch deck. With the right stats, you can convince your audience that your business is viable. 

Some great places to find data include: 

• Statista – a great resource for market and research statistics 
• Google trends – Offers search trend data to track public opinion

As you put together your perfect pitch deck remember to make it clear and specific and include the key elements we covered. Leaning on presentation, design, and research tools will help you stand out from the crowd. 

When it comes time to present, your perfect pitch deck will have your back. You’ll just need to get it in front of the right people. 

To do this, check out our article on how to find the right investors for your business.

While you work on your pitch deck: why not sign up for Countingup, the business current account and accounting software in one app? Save yourself hours of accounting admin so you can focus on your business. 

Start your three-month free trial today.