Please, don't copy the Zuora Sales Deck! [The Greatest Sales Deck Ever]
- Ink Narrates | The Presentation Design Agency
- Nov 13, 2022
- 6 min read
Updated: 2 days ago
Our client, Matteo, asked us a question while we were building a sales deck for their AI voice authentication software: “Should we structure it like the Zuora sales deck? It seems to be the gold standard.”
Our Creative Director answered: “Gold standards don't fit every business. Especially if they weren't custom made for yours.”
We’ve worked on more sales decks than we can count, across SaaS, logistics, consulting, and everything in between. And we’ve seen this pattern play out again and again: Teams trying to copy the Zuora sales deck.
Because yes, the deck is legendary. It’s been shared by Andy Raskin. It’s been reverse-engineered on LinkedIn, idolized in pitch rooms, and hailed as a storytelling masterclass.
But here’s the uncomfortable truth: Copying it is probably why your sales deck isn’t working.
In this post, we’ll unpack why the Zuora deck isn’t the universal template it’s made out to be and what to do if you actually want your sales deck to sell.
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 look at the narrative structure of the Zuora sales deck.
Name a big & relevant change in the world
Show there’ll be winners & losers
Tease the promised land
Introduce features as “Magic Gifts” for overcoming obstacles to the promised land
Present Evidence that You Can Make the Story Come True
Want to dive deeper into the article by Andy Raskin? Check out the link to read the full piece here.
Note: If you’re currently reading this article, it’s safe to assume that you’re already familiar with the Zuora sales deck and are looking to gain a deeper understanding of an opposing viewpoint. However, if you haven’t yet had the chance to read the original article on the Zuora sales deck, I highly recommend taking the time to do so before diving into this one.
Having a thorough understanding of the Zuora sales deck and the praise it has received will provide valuable context for our conflicting opinion. It’s essential to understand the perspective of those who believe the Zuora sales deck to be a masterpiece in order to fully appreciate our differing viewpoints.
Why you shouldn’t copy Zuora [The greatest sales deck ever]
The Zuora Deck Is a Monument, Not a Map
Let’s start with the facts. The Zuora sales deck wasn’t just a smart slide sequence. It was the public declaration of a new world order. It positioned their product not just as a better choice—but as the inevitable choice, in a world that had already changed.
That’s what made it powerful.
But what’s happened since then is what always happens when something iconic gets shared: It gets copied, out of context.
And that’s where things go off the rails.
We’ve seen countless decks open with a vague “shift” slide, then try to talk about “winners vs. losers,” then drop in a “new game” slide—only to pitch a tool that automates a form or integrates with Slack.
The deck looks clean. The storytelling bones are all there. But it doesn’t land.
Because it’s a monument to someone else’s world.
It’s Not a Structure Problem. It’s a Story Problem.
We’ve reviewed and reworked hundreds of sales decks across industries. And the ones that fail tend to have one thing in common: They mistake someone else’s story arc for their own.
Sales decks aren’t brochures anymore. They’re not catalogs or feature dumps. The best ones don’t even lead with the product. They sell the shift—the buyer's shift, the market's shift, the emotional shift from status quo to “we need to fix this now.”
That’s what Zuora nailed. But what made it work wasn’t the order of slides.
It was the clarity of narrative and the truth of timing.
Tien Tzuo didn’t say “subscriptions are growing.” He said, “the world is moving to a Subscription Economy” and coined the term before anyone else did. Zuora’s deck wasn't jumping on a trend; it named the trend.
If you’re selling into a mature category, or solving a well-known problem, copying that approach doesn’t just miss the mark, it actively works against you.
Because buyers today are sharper than ever. They’ll know if you're forcing a narrative.
What Happens When Teams Copy the Zuora Deck
Here are a few examples...
A team opens with “The Future is Now”, but the future they're selling is... a dashboard.
They force a “winners and losers” comparison where nobody’s really losing.
They spend five slides trying to convince prospects that there’s a revolution underway, and by slide six, the audience is wondering: Why didn’t you just tell us what you do?
And let’s be honest, prospects aren’t sitting around hoping for a macroeconomic lecture.
They want clarity. They want relevance. They want confidence that you understand them.
When your sales deck becomes a tribute band to Zuora, you lose all three.
We Don’t Need More “Greatest Hits.” We Need Original Work.
The core issue isn’t structure. It’s originality. What made Zuora’s deck timeless was that it was timely.
It wasn’t just a smart way to sell, it was their way to sell.
And here’s the hard truth we’ve learned working with sales leaders across sectors:
The best sales decks are not replicable.
Why? Because great sales storytelling is born from:
Your market’s specific pain
Your buyer’s current headspace
Your insight about what’s no longer working
And your product’s unique role in the next chapter
That’s not something you fill out in a Mad Libs format.
That’s something you earn by listening to customers, watching behavior, reading the room, and building a product that actually matters.
The Zuora Deck Is Not a Template
Let’s say this out loud together: the Zuora deck is not a template.
It was never meant to be one. That deck worked for Zuora in that moment, because it reflected their unique narrative, their market context, and their founder’s voice. It was custom-built for a company evangelizing the "Subscription Economy"—a concept they invented.
When other startups copy the structure—starting with “A Big Shift Is Happening,” followed by “Winners and Losers,” “A New Way,” and so on—they’re not telling their story. They’re just rehearsing someone else’s.
And here’s the brutal truth: Audience can smell a knockoff.
What we’ve Learned from Building Sales Decks that are Tailor Made
We’ve been fortunate to work on sales presentations for companies of all sizes. And the decks that move the needle all do five things well:
1. They reflect real buyer tension.
The best decks don’t invent drama—they uncover it. There’s a pain, a friction, a risk of staying put. Your deck should turn up the volume on that tension without sounding like a TED Talk.
2. They don’t overplay the “revolution.”
You don’t need to declare an economic era if your buyers just need a better way to manage compliance. Sometimes, “Here’s what’s broken—and here’s how we fix it” is more powerful than “Welcome to the Age of AI.”
3. They anchor around a bold POV.
Even if you’re not inventing a new category, you can take a stand. “The way most teams do X is broken—and here’s why we think so.” That kind of opinion builds trust. It shows you have a perspective, not just a product.
4. They build toward clarity, not climax.
Zuora’s deck had a cinematic build-up because it matched their market moment. But not every story needs a Hollywood arc. Most B2B buyers prefer clarity over suspense. Don’t drag out the point.
5. They show the product at the right moment.
Too soon, and it feels like a demo. Too late, and the prospect is wondering what you actually do. The sweet spot is: show it after you’ve reframed the problem, but before their attention wanes.
Why Hire Us to Build your Sales Deck?
If you're reading this, you're probably working on a sales 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.