# Sales Deck Frameworks

Detailed slide-by-slide guidance for building sales decks that tell a story and close deals.

## The Storytelling Arc

Every great deck follows a narrative structure: **Situation → Complication → Resolution.**

- **Situation** (Slides 1-3): The world your buyer lives in. Establish shared understanding.
- **Complication** (Slides 2-3): Why the status quo is no longer sustainable. Create urgency.
- **Resolution** (Slides 4-11): Your approach, proof, and path forward.

The goal is not to present features. The goal is to make the buyer feel understood, then show them a better way.

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## Slide-by-Slide Template

### Slide 1: Current World Problem

**What to include:**
- The challenge your buyer faces daily
- A stat or data point that quantifies the problem
- Visual: simple graphic or striking number

**What to avoid:**
- Starting with your company or product
- Generic industry trends that don't connect to pain
- More than one core problem

**Copy prompt:** "What is the one problem that, if you could describe it perfectly, would make your buyer say 'that's exactly my situation'?"

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### Slide 2: Cost of the Problem

**What to include:**
- Financial impact (revenue lost, costs incurred)
- Time impact (hours wasted, delays)
- Risk impact (what happens if they do nothing)
- Specific numbers wherever possible

**What to avoid:**
- Vague claims without data
- Fear-mongering without substance
- Too many metrics (pick 2-3 that hit hardest)

**Copy prompt:** "If your buyer does nothing for the next 12 months, what does it cost them?"

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### Slide 3: The Shift Happening

**What to include:**
- Market trend or technology change creating a new opportunity
- Why "the old way" no longer works
- Why now is the right time to act

**What to avoid:**
- Hype-driven trends without substance
- Making it about your product yet
- Overly technical explanations

**Copy prompt:** "What has changed in the market that makes the old approach unsustainable?"

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### Slide 4: Your Approach

**What to include:**
- Your philosophy or unique point of view
- How your approach differs from conventional solutions
- The "aha" insight that led to your product

**What to avoid:**
- Feature lists (too early)
- Jargon or acronyms
- Claiming to be "the only" or "the first" unless provably true

**Copy prompt:** "What do you believe about solving this problem that most people get wrong?"

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### Slide 5: Product Walkthrough

**What to include:**
- 3-4 key workflows that map to the pain from Slide 1
- Screenshots or product visuals
- Brief description of what each workflow accomplishes

**What to avoid:**
- Showing every feature
- Dense UI screenshots without callouts
- Talking about technology instead of outcomes

**Copy prompt:** "Walk through 3 things the buyer would do in your product in their first week."

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### Slide 6: Proof Points

**What to include:**
- Customer logos (aim for recognizable names in their industry)
- Key metrics: "X% improvement," "Y hours saved," "Z% increase"
- Analyst recognition, awards, or certifications if relevant

**What to avoid:**
- Unsubstantiated claims
- Too many logos without context
- Vanity metrics that don't relate to the buyer's pain

**Copy prompt:** "What are 3 numbers that prove your product works?"

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### Slide 7: Case Study

**What to include:**
- One customer story told well: challenge, solution, results
- Specific metrics (before and after)
- Customer quote if available
- Choose a customer similar to the prospect

**What to avoid:**
- Multiple case studies crammed into one slide
- Generic outcomes without specifics
- Customers from irrelevant industries

**Copy prompt:** "Tell the story of one customer who went from struggling to succeeding with your product."

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### Slide 8: Implementation / Timeline

**What to include:**
- Clear phases with timeline (e.g., Week 1: Setup, Week 2-3: Integration, Week 4: Live)
- What's required from their side vs. yours
- Support resources available

**What to avoid:**
- Overcomplicating the process
- Hiding time requirements
- Skipping the "what do I need to do?" question

**Copy prompt:** "How does a customer get from signing to live? What does each week look like?"

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### Slide 9: ROI / Value

**What to include:**
- Expected return based on their inputs or industry benchmarks
- Payback period
- Total value over 1-3 years
- Comparison to cost of inaction

**What to avoid:**
- Unrealistic projections
- ROI without showing your math
- Generic numbers not tied to their situation

**Copy prompt:** "If they buy today, what does the next 12 months look like in dollars and hours?"

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### Slide 10: Pricing Overview

**What to include:**
- Pricing tiers or structure
- What's included at each level
- Recommended plan for their situation

**What to avoid:**
- Burying the price or being cagey
- Too many options (3 tiers max)
- Surprising them with hidden costs

**Copy prompt:** "What does it cost, what do they get, and which plan is right for them?"

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### Slide 11: Next Steps / CTA

**What to include:**
- Specific next action with timeline ("Start a pilot next week")
- What happens after they say yes
- Your contact information

**What to avoid:**
- Vague CTAs ("Let's stay in touch")
- Multiple competing next steps
- Ending without energy

**Copy prompt:** "What is the one thing you want them to do after this meeting?"

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## Persona Customization Guide

### Technical Buyer Deck

**Add:**
- Architecture diagram slide after Product Walkthrough
- Security and compliance details
- Integration ecosystem and API capabilities
- Technical implementation requirements

**Remove or minimize:**
- ROI calculations (they care about capability, not cost)
- High-level market trends (they want specifics)

**Adjust tone:** Precise, no fluff, respect their expertise. Avoid marketing superlatives.

### Economic Buyer Deck

**Add:**
- Detailed ROI slide with calculations shown
- Total cost of ownership comparison
- Risk mitigation and compliance
- Executive summary slide up front

**Remove or minimize:**
- Technical details and architecture
- Feature-level walkthroughs
- Implementation specifics (they'll delegate)

**Adjust tone:** Business-focused, outcome-driven. Speak in dollars and percentages.

### Champion Deck

**Add:**
- "Internal selling" slide — key points for them to present to their team
- Quick-win slide — what success looks like in 30 days
- Peer proof — companies like theirs who succeeded
- Objection pre-handling — common pushback they'll face internally

**Remove or minimize:**
- Deep technical or financial detail
- Anything that requires context they can't relay

**Adjust tone:** Empowering, equipping. Make them look smart to their boss.

---

## Anti-Patterns

### The Feature Dump
Every slide is a feature with a screenshot. No story, no "so what," no connection to the buyer's world. Reps click through it; prospects tune out.

### The Wall of Text
Slides with 200+ words. Nobody reads them during a presentation. If the slide requires reading, it belongs in a leave-behind.

### The Missing Story Arc
Slides exist in isolation — no narrative flow from problem to solution to proof. The deck feels like a brochure, not a conversation.

### The Generic Screenshot
Product screenshots without callouts, annotations, or context. The prospect can't tell what they're looking at or why it matters.

### The Premature Demo
Jumping to product features before establishing the problem. The buyer has no frame of reference for why your features matter.

### The Kitchen Sink
Trying to address every persona, every use case, every feature in one deck. The result is a 40-slide monster that nobody wants to sit through.
