What Should a Sales Presentation Deck Include? [Answered]
- Ink Narrates | The Presentation Design Agency
- Dec 2, 2023
- 6 min read
Updated: Jul 31
Clara, one of our clients, asked us something interesting:
“What should a sales presentation deck include if I don’t want to sound like I’m pitching?”
Our Creative Director didn’t even blink before replying:
“Something the buyer actually cares about.”
As a presentation design agency, we work on dozens of sales decks every quarter. SaaS, fintech, real estate, AI—you name it, we’ve seen it. And through all that work, one challenge keeps popping up :Most sales decks are built from the company’s point of view, not the buyer’s.
So, in this blog, we’re going to answer what should a sales presentation deck include, and more importantly, how to make it actually work.
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 to Rethink What to Include in Your Sales Deck
Here’s the uncomfortable truth: most sales presentations are not designed to sell. They’re designed to talk. About the product. About the company. About the founder’s journey.
Meanwhile, the buyer is sitting there thinking, “Cool story. But how does this help me hit my targets?”
If your deck doesn’t bridge that gap—fast—you’ve already lost them.
So let’s be clear about why the content of your sales presentation deck matters.
A good sales deck isn’t a slideshow. It’s a conversation starter. A trust builder. A tool that makes your buyer feel understood before they even ask a question. That’s what moves the deal forward. Not your features. Not your origin story. Not that sleek photo of your office.
The structure of your deck directly affects three things:
How long your prospect pays attention.
Whether they feel heard or sold to.
How easily they can pitch you internally after the meeting.
Yes, because half the time your actual buyer won’t be in the room. And whoever you present to has to become your champion. If your slides don’t make their job easy, that follow-up email will land with a thud.
So if you’ve been stuffing your deck with product demos, market size slides, or “why now” arguments thinking that’s what buyers want—you’re aiming at the wrong target.
Now let’s break down what should a sales presentation deck include instead.
The anatomy of a deck that doesn’t just present but sells.
What Should a Sales Presentation Deck Include (If You Actually Want to Sell)
Let’s stop pretending there’s one perfect formula for every sales deck. There isn’t. Different buyers, different industries, different sales cycles. But after working on hundreds of decks across sectors, we’ve noticed a structure that consistently works—not because it’s clever, but because it reflects how people think when they’re making a decision.
You want a sales deck that mirrors your buyer’s mental journey.
Let’s break that down.
1. A Slide That Proves You Get Their World
Not “here’s what we do” or “we’re a team of innovators.” That’s noise. The first slide after your title should be a sharp reflection of your buyer’s current reality.
You’re not telling them what you offer yet. You’re telling them, “We understand where you are right now.”
Examples:
For a CFO audience: “Finance teams today spend 60% of their time reconciling data instead of analyzing it.”
For a retail ops lead: “Store managers are juggling outdated inventory tools across five systems daily.”
This is where you earn the first head nod. If your prospect doesn’t feel seen within the first minute, they’ll mentally check out. And they won't tell you—they'll just politely sit through the rest while planning their lunch.
This slide shows empathy, not ego. That’s your starting point.
2. A Clear Problem Slide (Written From Their Side of the Table)
Once they know you understand their context, you frame the problem. But—and this is crucial—you frame it as it affects them, not as a lead-in to your product.
Bad version:“Data isn’t centralized, so teams can’t access insights quickly. That’s where our dashboard tool comes in.”
Good version:“Without reliable, real-time data, marketing launches are delayed, forecasts are off, and teams waste time debating what’s true.”
You’re showing consequences, not just naming symptoms. This is where urgency gets built.
Here’s what we’ve learned: If your problem slide doesn’t make your buyer feel slightly uncomfortable, it’s too soft.
They need to feel the cost of doing nothing. Otherwise, why should they care?
3. The Shift Slide (Why the Old Way Doesn’t Work Anymore)
This is where you get to be a little bold.
You lay out the old way vs. the new way. You explain what has changed in their world—market dynamics, consumer behavior, tech, expectations—and why the old way is no longer enough.
This isn’t about fearmongering. It’s about helping the buyer understand that status quo is riskier than action.
Here’s an example we built into a SaaS deck:
Old way: Fragmented tools, manual workflows, and zero visibility.
New way: Unified system, automation across teams, full visibility with audit trails.
This slide isn’t optional. It’s the bridge between the problem and your solution. If you skip it, your solution will feel out of place—like you’re throwing a product at a problem without explaining the why.
Buyers don’t want a quick fix. They want to align with a better way of thinking.
4. Your Solution (But Without the Buzzwords)
Now, finally, it’s your time to talk about your product or service. But please, don’t do what most companies do.
Don’t list features. Don’t dump a product demo. Don’t say “AI-powered, scalable, intuitive, and seamless” like you’re filling buzzword bingo.
Instead, speak in plain language. Show how your solution fits into the new world you just described.
Better yet, show what their life looks like after using your solution.
Bad version: "We provide a powerful tool to manage workflows.”
Good version: "Your team stops chasing email threads. Approvals happen in one place. Reporting takes minutes instead of hours.”
If your prospect can't imagine using it—or explain it to their boss—it’s too complicated.
We’ve built decks where we dedicate just one slide to the solution, because the rest of the story made the solution feel obvious. And those decks? They convert.
5. Proof That You’re Not All Talk
You need social proof. Not for decoration, but to build trust.
Here’s how to do it well:
Include logos (real ones).
Use short quotes that speak to the result, not the relationship.(“We cut onboarding time by 40% in 3 weeks” beats “They’ve been great partners.”)
Show before/after metrics or a mini case study.
Include industry-relevant examples—your prospect wants to see themselves in your client base.
The point of this section isn’t to brag. It’s to de-risk the decision for your buyer. It helps them think, “People like me trust this. Maybe I can too.”
One mistake to avoid: don’t overstuff this slide. One strong proof point > five vague ones.
6. How It Works (Simple Visual Only)
Even if your product is complex under the hood, your “how it works” slide should be so simple that your buyer could explain it at dinner.
Think clean flowcharts, before/after visuals, or a 3-step timeline. No jargon. No deep dive.
This is not the demo. This is the confidence-builder. It says, “This isn’t rocket science. We’ve done this before. You’ll be fine.”
One of our clients used to show a slide with 14 interconnected boxes explaining their platform architecture. We replaced it with a clean 3-step visual: “Connect → Automate → Track.” Guess what?
Their sales cycle got shorter.
Keep it high-level. That’s all you need at this stage.
7. The Business Case Slide (Make the ROI Obvious)
This is the one most teams forget or avoid because it’s hard to write. But it’s the slide your buyer will screenshot and send to their CFO.
Show them the return. The impact. The cost of waiting.
It can be modeled numbers or simplified logic. Even directional ROI is better than none.
Examples:
“Teams save 20+ hours per month per person.”
“Forecasting errors drop by 30%.”
“Reduces compliance risks that cost $500k/year.”
You don’t need to promise the moon. You just need to help them justify the spend.
A sales deck without this slide is like a bridge that stops before the other side.
8. Call to Action (With Zero Pressure)
Don’t end your deck with “Thank you” or “Let us know if you have questions.” That’s not a close. That’s a fade-out.
Instead, give them a next step that feels frictionless.
Examples:
“Let’s map this to your existing process.”
“Want us to show how this could apply to your Q4 plans?”
“Can we help build an internal deck for your VP review?”
You’re not asking for the sale. You’re inviting the next logical move. It should feel collaborative, not transactional.
We’ve seen this structure work with VC-backed startups and Fortune 100s alike. Not because it’s magic. But because it speaks the buyer’s language, not yours.
And that’s the real secret.
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.