How To Write A Killer Pitch Deck – 7 Key Rules of a Killer Pitch Deck
A pitch deck is a presentation that allows you to present your business idea to potential investors. This may be a one-time opportunity, especially if you get a chance to pitch to investors you would be proud to work with. So, you shouldn’t mess up this opportunity with a poor pitch deck. But how to write a killer pitch deck? If you want to pitch to investors in a way that would present your idea in the best light and help you get funding, you need to know a few secrets for creating a killer pitch deck.
Keep reading to learn seven key rules you should follow to create a killer pitch deck and get the funding you need for your business.
1. Practice Your Pitch
Even if you are presenting a business you have been working on for years, know it from A to Z, and can speak passionately about your product, this is not enough. When you pitch to investors, you have to keep an eye on the clock.
As much as the investors might be interested in a new project, they don’t want to hear long speeches. Thus, keep your sentences short and concise, and don’t spend more than 10 seconds per slide. In fact, research has shown that investors don’t spend more than 4 minutes on a pitch deck.
Practice your speech. Present your investor deck to your family and friends and see if they understand your speech. Even if you know your audience is qualified to understand technical terms and complicated sentences, stay away from those.
2. Consider the Visuals
If you are wondering how to write a killer pitch deck, you better start by asking yourself how to design a killer pitch deck. Before you even open your mouth to pitch your business to investors, everyone in the room starts evaluating the visuals and the overall design of your investor deck.
There are a few things to keep in mind. Firstly, don’t make the slides cluttered with too many design elements. Secondly, don’t write long texts on the slides as no one will be reading them. Additionally, they don’t make your pitch deck look good. And lastly, a killer pitch deck created with style and consideration proves to investors that you have put effort into all aspects of your presentation.
3. Identify the Problem and the Solution
You can talk for hours about your business idea and business model. But it won’t make any sense if you fail to clearly identify the problem and the solution you are suggesting. Investors need to understand how big of a problem you are solving. This adds value to your business idea and consequently draws in the funding.
How you will be solving the problem is also a crucial part of the pitch deck. If you are innovative enough to come up with a never-heard-of-before solution, you should be good enough to present it in a way that will grab the investors’ attention.
4. Define Your Product
You may think that one cannot pitch to investors and fail to define the product or service they are presenting. But the truth is, this is a common mistake those creating a pitch deck make.
Once you have identified the problem and the solution, it is time to clearly define your product. This is the fatal part of your investor deck as it will decide whether you will get funding or not.
You can define your product with one clear statement. However, this is not possible with all products or services. The ones that are overly complicated and technical are best to be presented with an explainer video. We all know that video content is more appealing compared to lengthy texts. And the investors will get a clear idea of what you are talking about if you include a demo video in your pitch deck presentation.
5. Present the Market Opportunity
If you haven’t included a slide about market opportunity in your investor deck, the question about how to write a killer pitch deck is more than relevant to you. Even if an investor likes your product or service, it is not a reason valid enough for him to give you funding. Investors need proof that there is a market opportunity for the product.
Make sure to have a slide in your investor deck that contains information on the key statics. These are the market size, the expected growth of the market, traction. You will need to provide answers to questions regarding the number of your paying users, market share, your revenue, monthly growth, etc.
6. Speak About Your Marketing Strategy
Marketing can make or break a business. Thus, presenting your marketing strategy during your presentation is one step for creating a killer pitch deck. Tell the investors how you are going to market your product or service. To do this, you may need to revise your marketing plan. How to write a killer pitch deck if you don’t have a marketing strategy? Come up with one! This is a slide in your investor deck that should never be missed if you want your pitch deck to be a success.
Don’t write a lot on the slide. Present your marketing strategy in bullet points. Talk about the points in your verbal speech and tell the investors what is the budget you need to bring your strategy to life.
7. Prove Your Business Model
The investors want to know how you will be making money if you get the funding. Thus, you need to clearly explain your business model in your investor deck. Even if you are new to the market and are not yet making money, having a clear image in mind of how everything will be working is highly important. After all, making money is one of the main reasons you are building a business.
There is a range of business models to consider. You can have a freemium business model, subscription model, leasing model, franchise model, etc. Which one will work for you largely depends on your product. The key is to know how to pitch to investors in the right way. You can choose to describe your business model in words or by means of a chart. Having a visual representation of your business model will surely help you convey it more successfully.
Put the emphasis on profitability when talking about your business model in front of the investors. This is the slide in your pitch deck they are most excited about.
So, here’s how to write a killer pitch deck. If your presentation has all of the above mentioned components, you are highly likely to succeed with a little more effort and determination.