How to Make a Sales Deck [Step-by-step guide]
- Ink Narrates | The Presentation Design Agency
- Nov 2, 2022
- 7 min read
Updated: Aug 14
A few weeks ago, our client Ady asked us a sharp question while we were building his sales deck:
“What exactly makes a sales deck work?”
Our Creative Director replied,
“The story buyers care about isn’t yours. It’s theirs.”
That landed.
As a presentation design agency, we work on dozens of sales decks every year. And no matter the industry, we’ve noticed one common challenge: most decks are written from the company’s perspective, not the customer’s.
That’s the fastest way to lose attention.
So in this blog, we’ll walk you through how to make a sales deck that buyers actually care to listen to and act on.
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.
What is a Sales Deck (Definition & Example)
A sales deck is a visual presentation used to pitch a product, service, or idea to potential clients or investors.
In simple terms, it’s your story on slides. A good sales deck doesn’t just list facts—it guides your audience, shows the problem, presents the solution, and proves you can deliver. Done right, it turns curiosity into interest, and interest into action.
Example of a Sales Deck,
For reference, here’s a case study from our work: we created a sales deck for an AI client pitching to top decision-makers in finance and banking. We started by shaping their narrative, then built compelling slide content, and finally designed visuals that aligned perfectly with their brand and business model.
Why You Need to Get Your Sales Deck Right
Let’s be honest for a second. Most sales decks are self-congratulatory slide shows dressed up as “solutions.” They list features, show off logos, maybe toss in a stat or two, and expect the buyer to be impressed. But that’s not how buyers make decisions. Especially not today.
Attention spans are shorter. Expectations are higher. And trust? You don’t get it by default.
If your sales deck doesn’t speak directly to your buyer’s problem within the first two minutes, it’s game over. You’re not just competing with other vendors. You’re competing with the buyer’s to-do list, Slack messages, and inbox notifications.
We’ve seen teams spend months perfecting their pitch verbally, but then throw together slides as an afterthought. The problem is, your deck isn’t just visual support. It is the pitch. It's what people remember when you're not in the room. It’s what gets forwarded to decision-makers. It’s what determines if your solution makes the shortlist.
A good sales deck does a few key things really well:
Frames the buyer’s problem better than they can
Puts your solution in context of their pain, not your product roadmap
Makes the business case clear in simple, unmistakable language
Leaves no room for “Why should we care?”
And here’s the kicker: most of this comes down to structure, not style. Fancy graphics won’t save a muddled story. But a clear, smartly structured narrative can make even a modest offer sound compelling.
That’s where the real work begins.
How to Make a Sales Deck [Step-by-step]
We’re not going to give you a paint-by-numbers template because that’s not how great sales decks are made. What we’ll give you instead is a proven structure—one we’ve used for clients across industries, deal sizes, and stages. It’s not just what to put on each slide. It’s how to think about the narrative so your deck works with your sales process, not against it.
Let’s walk through it step by step.
Step 1: Start with the Worldview Slide
Slide Purpose: Show the buyer you understand the world they live in.
You don’t open with your logo. You open with their reality.
What trends are shaping their industry? What shifts are happening that they can’t ignore? Maybe it’s how buyer behavior is changing. Maybe it’s pressure from competitors. Maybe it’s internal friction slowing things down.
Whatever it is, your opening slide should set the scene. If your prospect looks at it and nods, you’re off to a good start. If they say, “Yes, that’s exactly what we’re seeing,” then you’ve earned the right to keep going.
Avoid generic observations. Be sharp. Be specific. You’re not just stating facts—you’re establishing authority.
Step 2: Define the Problem (Better Than They Can)
Slide Purpose: Make them feel seen.
Now that you’ve established the context, zoom in on the pain. Not your solution’s pain points—their actual, lived pain. And go deep.
Most companies stop at surface-level issues: “manual processes,” “slow onboarding,” “lack of visibility.” But the better move is to talk about what those issues cause. Delays in go-to-market. Lost revenue. Employee churn. Compliance risks.
This is where empathy and insight collide. If you can describe their problem better than they can, you instantly gain credibility. You’re not pitching. You’re reflecting. That builds trust faster than a slide full of Gartner stats ever could.
Pro tip: Use the language your buyers use in calls. Not what your internal team calls the problem.
Step 3: Paint the Cost of Inaction
Slide Purpose: Create urgency, not panic.
It’s not enough to say, “Here’s your problem.” You need to answer, “Why now?”
Most people are surprisingly okay living with a broken system—until they see the real cost. That’s your job here. Show the impact of doing nothing. What will staying the same cost them in 6 months? In a year? How does it impact growth, morale, profitability?
You don’t need to overdramatize. Just be clear. Tie the pain to business outcomes they care about.
This isn’t scare tactics—it’s clarity.
Step 4: Introduce the New Way
Slide Purpose: Shift their mindset.
Before you talk about your product, introduce your point of view on the solution.
What’s the right way to solve the problem? What principles does your solution stand on? This is where you outline your philosophy, your unique lens on how this problem should be solved in today’s world.
It might sound like:
“Onboarding doesn’t fail because of bad tools. It fails because of siloed ownership.”
“Modern finance teams don’t need more dashboards. They need faster decisions.”
When you introduce the idea of a better way (before your product), you make the buyer more receptive. You’re not selling a product. You’re inviting them into a smarter approach. This is a key psychological shift.
Step 5: Show Your Solution (Tied to Outcomes)
Slide Purpose: Make it real. Make it resonate.
Now, and only now, you talk about what you do. But not in the way most sales decks do.
This is not a product tour. This is not a list of features. This is where you show how your solution supports the new way of thinking you just outlined.
Structure this around outcomes:
If you solve for X, what changes?
What becomes easier?
What becomes faster?
What becomes more profitable?
Anchor each point in real results. Don’t just say “automated reporting”—say “5 hours saved weekly for each regional manager.” Keep your language plain and punchy. No one wants to decode jargon.
And visually? This is where a few smart diagrams can help. A before-and-after. A simplified flow. A snapshot of your interface. Not to show off your UI—but to show how the solution feels.
Step 6: Case Study or Social Proof
Slide Purpose: Let others do the convincing.
At this point, you’ve framed the problem, introduced a new way of solving it, and shown how your product fits into that world. Now the buyer wants to know: “Has this worked for anyone else like me?”
Bring receipts.
But don’t just dump a logo wall. That’s lazy. Pick a sharp, relevant case. Tell a short story:
What challenge did they face?
What did you do?
What changed after implementation?
If possible, tie it back to metrics: time saved, revenue gained, risk reduced. If you can get a quote in their voice—even better.
Remember, prospects don’t want to be first. They want to feel like they’re joining smart company.
Step 7: Why You
Slide Purpose: Differentiate beyond the product.
This is where you plant your flag. What do you do differently from others in your space?
Again, don’t fall back on fluffy language like “customer-obsessed” or “innovative.” Everyone says that.
Instead, talk about the choices you’ve made. The things you don’t do. The principles you won’t compromise on. The kind of clients you’re a great fit for (and the ones you’re not).
This shows confidence. And it helps the buyer decide if you’re not just a good vendor—but the right partner.
Step 8: Make the ROI Case
Slide Purpose: Help them sell it internally.
By now, your champion is likely onboard. But they probably aren’t the final decision-maker. So give them what they need to walk into that internal meeting and win the room.
That means a clear business case. Spell it out.
What’s the estimated return in time saved, revenue gained, or cost reduced? How long is the typical time to value? What’s the implementation timeline? Are there risks? What support do you provide?
Make this the slide they want to forward. Keep it visual. Use numbers where you can. And speak in their currency—whether that’s dollars, hours, or growth milestones.
Step 9: Next Steps
Slide Purpose: Give them a low-friction action.
Too many decks end with “Any questions?” or “Let’s chat.” That’s vague and uninspiring.
Instead, offer a clear next step:
A short discovery call
A pilot
A personalized demo
An ROI estimate
Make it easy to say yes. Make it feel valuable. This keeps momentum going and shifts the conversation from theoretical to practical.
Bonus Tips From What We’ve Seen Work (and Fail)
We’ve designed hundreds of decks for teams across SaaS, healthcare, retail, you name it. Here are a few battle-tested lessons:
Avoid death by slide. 10–15 slides is usually enough. If you need more, you’re not being sharp enough.
Narrative trumps visuals. Good design matters, but clarity matters more. A beautiful deck that confuses will always lose.
Customize where it counts. Swap in the buyer’s logo, mention a recent initiative, reference their language. It shows you’re not recycling the same deck.
Keep your voice human. Nobody wants to read a deck that sounds like a brochure. Write like you talk.
Don’t hide the price conversation. If it’s likely to come up, address it. Position your value before cost becomes the focus.
Leave room to talk. Your slides aren’t the script. They’re prompts. Don’t overload them.
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.