How to Make an ROI Presentation for Stakeholders [Guide + Example]
- Ink Narrates | The Presentation Design Agency
- Mar 29
- 8 min read
Updated: Oct 22
Our client Sabrina asked us a question while we were working on her ROI presentation.
"How do I make sure the numbers don’t just look good but actually convince my audience?"
So, our Creative Director answered,
"If you can’t connect the numbers to a real business impact, they’re just pretty digits on a slide."
As a presentation design company, we work on many ROI presentations throughout the year, and we’ve observed a common challenge with them. People throw in charts, sprinkle some percentages, and call it a day. But here’s the truth: An ROI presentation isn’t about showing numbers. It’s about making people believe in them.
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.
First, let's start with...
What is an ROI Presentation
Let’s keep this simple. An ROI presentation is not a fancy sales pitch. It is not a hype deck. It is a financial argument dressed as a presentation. Its job is to answer one question with absolute clarity: Is this worth the money?
That is it. Nothing more. It takes an idea and shows why putting money behind it is not a gamble but a smart decision backed by numbers. It connects cost to outcome. Action to reward. Investment to return.
And it does this using the one language that decision makers understand, data. A good ROI deck does not hide behind buzzwords. It confronts skepticism head on and proves value in a way that is clear, logical, and hard to question.
Who Is an ROI Slide Deck Made For?
Different audiences look at ROI differently. Some want growth. Some want savings. Some just want to sleep peacefully knowing the decision will not blow up later.
Here is who you build an ROI deck for and what each group actually wants to see:
Audience | What They Really Care About |
CFOs and Finance Teams | Show me numbers I can trust. Projections that make sense. Risk under control. |
CEOs and Business Leaders | Will this move the business forward and give us an edge? |
Investors or Venture Capital Firms | How fast do we see returns and how big can this get? |
Enterprise Procurement Teams | Prove you are worth the cost compared to other options. |
Internal Budget Committees | Justify why this deserves space in the budget and what we get in return. |
Sales Prospects (Enterprise Clients) | Show me proof this actually works in real life. |
Operations Teams | Does this save time, reduce effort, or solve workflow pain? |
Marketing Teams | Can this turn spend into real revenue growth? |
HR or L&D Teams | Can we measure people outcomes like retention, productivity, or performance? |
IT and Transformation Teams | Will this reduce tech debt or drive efficiency we can measure? |
Now, How to Make an ROI Presentation that Does a Good Job
Build a Logical Flow That Guides Your Audience
An ROI presentation isn’t a random collection of data points. It’s a story—one that takes your audience from doubt to confidence. If they don’t follow your logic, they won’t buy into your numbers.
Think about the last time you saw a really persuasive argument. It wasn’t just a bunch of statistics thrown at you. It had a flow, a clear train of thought that made it impossible to disagree with. That’s exactly what your ROI presentation needs.
A good flow looks like this:
The Problem – Frame the issue in a way that makes it impossible to ignore.
The Stakes – Show what happens if they do nothing. Make the cost of inaction feel real.
The Solution – Introduce what you’re proposing and why it works.
The Proof – Use case studies, industry benchmarks, or pilot results to validate your solution.
The ROI – Now, bring in the numbers, but in a way that connects them to the decision-makers’ priorities.
The Call to Action – Make it clear what they need to do next.
This structure works because it does one simple but powerful thing—it leads your audience to one inevitable conclusion: investing in your solution is the right choice.
Start With the Problem, Not the Numbers
Most ROI presentations fail before they even begin because they start with a big number. Something like:
"Our solution delivers a 300% return on investment."
Sounds great, right? The problem is, your audience doesn’t care yet. Numbers, on their own, don’t create urgency. Problems do.
Before you show them how great your ROI is, you need to show them why they need it in the first place. That means leading with:
What’s broken? What inefficiencies, costs, or missed opportunities are hurting the business?
What’s at stake? What happens if they do nothing? Will they fall behind competitors? Lose money? Struggle to scale?
Why now? Why is this the right moment to fix the issue? What’s changed in the market, industry, or company that makes action necessary?
If you get this part right, your audience won’t just listen to your numbers—they’ll be looking for a reason to believe in them.
Make the Numbers Impossible to Ignore
Once you’ve built the case for why your audience should care, it’s time to show them how much it actually matters.
The problem? Too many people think ROI is just about throwing a big number on a slide. A percentage, a revenue projection, maybe a bar chart. But numbers, by themselves, don’t persuade anyone.
What makes numbers persuasive is context.
Here’s how to make your ROI numbers hit harder:
Use Comparisons That Matter – Saying “We saved the company $500,000” is fine, but saying “We reduced costs by 30%, which freed up enough budget to hire 10 new employees” is better. Numbers make sense when they’re tied to real-world outcomes.
Break Down the ROI – Don’t just present a lump sum. Show exactly where the return comes from—cost savings, revenue increases, efficiency gains, etc. If they understand the why behind the number, they’ll believe in it more.
Make It Personal – Decision-makers don’t care about abstract savings. They care about what it means for them. If your audience is the sales team, show how much more commission they’ll make. If it’s an operations leader, show how much efficiency they’ll gain.
Visualize the Data the Right Way – A wall of text with a percentage in the middle of it isn’t going to convince anyone. Use clear, simple charts that highlight the most important takeaways. No clutter, no unnecessary complexity—just the data that matters.
By the time you’re done, your audience shouldn’t just understand your numbers—they should feel them.
Address Doubts Before They’re Even Spoken
No matter how strong your numbers are, your audience will have doubts. Maybe they’ll wonder if your projections are too optimistic. Maybe they’ll question whether the same results would apply to their specific situation. If you wait for them to bring these concerns up, you’ve already lost control of the conversation.
The best ROI presentations anticipate objections and address them head-on.
Think about the questions they’re likely to have:
“Are these numbers realistic?” – Show conservative estimates and real-world examples. If you’re using projections, explain how they were calculated.
“Will this work for our industry/business model/team?” – Use case studies from similar companies or scenarios. If you don’t have an exact match, draw parallels that make it clear why the results still apply.
“What are the risks?” – Don’t avoid this question—own it. Every investment has risks, but if you acknowledge them and show how they’re mitigated, you build credibility.
If you address these doubts before they’re even raised, you take away the audience’s biggest reason to say no.
Don’t Just Show ROI—Make It a No-Brainer
Here’s where most presentations lose momentum. The ROI looks great, the data checks out, but the decision-makers are still hesitant. Why? Because justifying a decision is different from making one.
A good ROI presentation doesn’t just prove value—it removes every reason to say no.
How do you do that? By making the decision feel safe and logical:
Show the Cost of Inaction – Make it clear what they’re losing if they don’t act. Are they leaving money on the table? Falling behind competitors? Wasting resources? The cost of doing nothing should feel just as real as the ROI.
Highlight Quick Wins – If the full ROI takes months or years to realize, show what improvements they’ll see immediately. If they know they’ll see some results right away, they’ll feel more confident moving forward.
Make It Easy to Say Yes – Complicated proposals slow down decisions. If there are ways to start small, test the solution, or roll it out gradually, highlight those options. Make it as frictionless as possible.
If your audience walks away thinking, “This makes sense, and there’s no good reason not to do it,” you’ve won.
End With a Clear Next Step
An ROI presentation isn’t just an informational session. It’s a decision-making tool. And if your audience walks away impressed but uncertain about what to do next, you’ve failed.
The last part of your presentation should answer one question: What now?
Do they need to approve a budget? Sign off on a proposal? Bring in other stakeholders? Whatever it is, make it crystal clear. If they leave without knowing the exact next step, there’s a good chance nothing will happen.
Keep it simple, direct, and actionable. The best ROI presentations don’t just prove value. They get decisions made.
Example of an ROI Presentation
This Series B investor pitch deck is one we developed for a client in our portfolio. We chose this example because it’s one of the most data-driven presentations we’ve built; designed to prove performance, validate growth potential, and demonstrate a strong return on investment for prospective investors.
How to Present ROI to the Stakeholders
Presenting ROI is not about dumping spreadsheets on a screen. It is about building conviction. Stakeholders already have questions in their minds before you start. Your job is to answer them before they even ask.
Here is how to do it right:
Start with the why
Do not open with numbers. Open with purpose. Remind your audience of the problem or opportunity first. People listen to numbers only after they understand why those numbers matter.
Show value before cost
If you start by talking about budget, you lose half the room. First, show the payoff. What do they gain if they say yes? What changes? What improves? Once value is clear, cost becomes reasonable.
Keep the math simple
Stakeholders are not impressed by complex formulas. They want clarity. Use clean math that connects investment to outcome step by step. Show how you arrived at ROI. Build trust with logic, not jargon.
Highlight proof, not promises
Anyone can claim high returns. Few can prove them. Use data, case studies, benchmarks, or past results to reduce risk perception.
Handle objections upfront
Do not wait for questions. Address concerns as part of your story. Acknowledge risk, then show how it is managed. Confident presenters do not hide weaknesses—they control them.
End with a decision
An ROI discussion without a clear ask goes nowhere. Close with a direct next step. Make it easy to say yes. Align on timeline, approvals, or pilot scope.
Great ROI presentations do one thing well. They make the decision obvious.
Why Hire Us to Build your Presentation?
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