How to Make an Agency Pitch Deck [A Guide]
- Ink Narrates | The Presentation Design Agency
- Jan 13
- 7 min read
Updated: Jul 29
Erica, one of our clients, asked us a simple but sharp question while we were building her agency pitch deck:
“How do I make it clear that we’re the right team without over-explaining everything?”
Our Creative Director replied without missing a beat,
“If you need to explain too much, your deck isn’t doing its job.”
As a presentation design agency, we work on dozens of agency pitch decks every year. And in the process, we’ve noticed one common challenge: agencies often confuse pitching with storytelling.
They try to cram everything they do, everything they’ve done, and every idea they have into 10 slides. The result? A deck that says too much but communicates very little.
So in this blog, we’re going to walk you through how to make an agency pitch deck that actually sells your team, your thinking, and your value — without sounding like you’re trying too hard.
In case you didn't know, we specialize in only one thing: making presentations. We can help you by designing your slides and writing your content too.
Why You Need an Agency Pitch Deck that Works
Let’s clear something up.
Most agencies think of pitch decks as a necessary evil. A formality. Something you put together because the client expects it. So they slap in a few credentials, throw around big words like “360-degree solutions” and “impactful strategies,” then hope for the best.
That’s exactly why most agency pitch decks don’t work.
Because here’s the truth: your deck is not a brochure. It’s not a résumé. It’s your front-line salesperson. It needs to speak with confidence, clarity, and intent — even when you’re not in the room to present it.
We’ve seen this happen over and over again. When a deck is clear, clean, and focused on value, the conversation moves forward. When it’s vague, scattered, and self-indulgent, the client ghosts you.
Think of your agency pitch deck like a dating profile. If it’s all about you, your life story, and how great you are without showing what you bring to the table, no one’s swiping right. The client is not looking to read your autobiography. They want to know one thing: can you help them?
So why does this matter?
Because most agencies are good at what they do, but they’re not great at showing it. They assume their work should speak for itself. But in a pitch, nothing speaks for itself. You have to design that voice, build that case, and direct attention to what matters.
An effective agency pitch deck bridges that gap. It tells the client:
Here’s how we think.
Here’s how we solve problems like yours.
And here’s what working with us actually looks like.
Not with walls of text. Not with a 25-slide dump. But with intentional storytelling backed by sharp, confident design.
And if you're not doing that, someone else will — and they’ll probably win the pitch.
How to Make an Agency Pitch Deck
Let’s get one thing out of the way. There is no one-size-fits-all formula for a pitch deck. And that’s a good thing.
But there is a way to approach the structure, flow, and messaging that gives your agency a real shot at landing the client. We’ve worked on agency pitch decks for creative agencies, digital studios, consultants, and everything in between. The industries may change, but the anatomy of a winning pitch deck stays pretty consistent.
Here’s how we approach it:
1. Open Strong with Context and Clarity
If your first slide says “About Us,” you’ve already lost points.
Start by setting the stage for the conversation. Remind the client why you’re in the room and what you understand about their world.
A simple opening slide could say:
“Building [Client’s Goal] in a Competitive, Noisy Market”
This is not just a clever title. It tells the client, “We’ve done our homework, and we’re not here to talk about us. We’re here to talk about you.”
From there, follow with a short summary of the challenge as you see it. Frame it in the client’s language. Use their priorities, not your capabilities.
You’re not pitching a service. You’re pitching alignment.
2. Establish Relevance Before Reputation
Most agencies lead with logos and awards. That’s not inherently wrong, but it’s often misplaced.
The client doesn’t care that you’ve worked with Coca-Cola unless it feels relevant to their specific need.
So instead of dumping a logo slide early on, build relevance. Here’s how:
Show a brief snapshot of the kinds of problems you solve.
Share a quick case study that mirrors the client’s challenge.
Highlight an insight or pattern you’ve seen in their industry.
Then — and only then — bring in your credentials. Once they know you understand them, they’re more open to hearing about you.
This positioning shift alone changes the tone of the conversation from “look at us” to “we get you.”
3. Show How You Think (Not Just What You Do)
One of the most undervalued parts of an agency pitch deck is the thinking slide.
Clients don’t just want output. They want strategic partners who can connect dots they didn’t even know existed.
So instead of just listing your services, walk them through your approach:
How do you frame and unpack problems?
What does collaboration with you actually look like?
What do you value in the creative or strategic process?
Make it visual. A simple 3-step or 4-phase model works better than jargon. Keep the language human.
We once helped a UX agency shift from “Our Design Process” to a three-part story:
Explore. Align. Solve.
Each word had meaning, and each phase had a short visual story behind it. The deck became a walkthrough, not a PowerPoint monologue.
That small shift helped them land a major health-tech client that said, “You guys made it easy to say yes.”
4. Make Your Work Tell a Focused Story
Your portfolio should not feel like a museum tour. It should feel like proof.
Each example you share should do one thing: reinforce that you can solve this client’s current challenge.
Don’t just show a pretty campaign. Give it context.
What was the ask?
What were the constraints?
What did you do differently?
What was the result?
And for the love of clarity, keep it short. Two to three well-explained, relevant examples beat ten disconnected case studies.
One of our clients, a growth agency, used to cram 12 case studies into every pitch. We helped them cut it down to just two — one showing quick wins, the other showing long-term brand thinking.
Their win rate improved within two months.
5. Clarify What You’re Offering — Literally
This is where many agency pitch decks fall apart.
They either stay too abstract, assuming the client will figure it out, or they throw in a slide full of packages and pricing that feels more like a menu than a conversation.
Instead, break it down.
Tell the client:
What exactly they’re getting
What the engagement looks like
What’s included and what’s not
This isn’t about locking them into a scope. It’s about reducing uncertainty.
One method we use with our clients is the “Visual Scope Slide.” It’s a clean layout that shows:
Phase 1: Discovery
Phase 2: Strategy
Phase 3: Execution
Phase 4: Optimization
Even if those aren’t the exact stages, showing your process visually creates structure and credibility.
If you’re a creative agency, you can also include a “Mood Preview” slide to show the direction of your thinking. Not full concepts — just a taste. Clients love seeing how your brain works before they buy.
6. Address the Elephant (Trust, Risk, and Timeline)
Every client has three quiet questions in their head:
Can I trust you?
Will this be painful?
How long is this going to take?
You can’t answer those by just showing good work. You answer them by making the process feel real and manageable.
Show timelines. Show what collaboration looks like. Show who’s involved and how decisions are made.
If your deck says, “This is what working with us actually feels like,” you’re already ahead of 90% of agencies who just keep talking about their capabilities.
7. Close with Confidence, Not Desperation
Here’s the slide that gets ignored way too often: the closing slide.
Most decks end with “Thank You” or “Let’s Work Together.” That’s not bad, but it’s forgettable.
Instead, your closing slide should summarize why this partnership makes sense — and leave the client with a clear next step.
We recommend something like:
Why This Works We understand your challenge. We’ve solved it before, in different ways. We’re structured for action, not just advice.
Follow it with a buttoned-up line:
If this sounds like the direction you want to go, we’re ready. Let’s talk next steps.
Confident. Clear. No over-selling.
Even better? Personalize it. Mention something from your last conversation, reference a key stakeholder by name, or speak directly to a priority they mentioned. That final slide is your hand reaching across the table. Make it count.
A Quick Note on Design
We’ve focused a lot on content here, but your design matters just as much.
A pitch deck is visual by nature. You don’t need motion graphics or flashy animations, but you do need clean, intentional design.
Consistent colors and typography
Smart use of white space
Clear visual hierarchy
Clean transitions between sections
We often see pitch decks that look like internal reports. That kills momentum. Your design should reflect your thinking: modern, thoughtful, and focused.
When your deck looks like you care, it says a lot about how you’ll handle the client’s brand, too.
Why Hire Us to Build your Presentation?
If you're reading this, you're probably working on a presentation right now. You could do it all yourself. But the reality is - that’s not going to give you the high-impact presentation you need. It’s a lot of guesswork, a lot of trial and error. And at the end of the day, you’ll be left with a presentation that’s “good enough,” not one that gets results. On the other hand, we’ve spent years crafting thousands of presentations, mastering both storytelling and design. Let us handle this for you, so you can focus on what you do best.