Sales deck: how to build one that sells without you in the room

The person who pays is rarely the one who received the deck. It gets forwarded by email to the director, the partner, the sales lead — and gets read without you. That's why a sales deck must work as a document, not as speaker support.

The 10 slides

1. Cover — client name, what it is, date. With your brand discreet.
2. Starting point — one sentence about the client's moment. Shows you understood.
3. The challenge — the problem in the client's words. If they recognize themselves here, the rest flows.
4. What we understood — what exists today, what was asked, the rules.
5. Proof — what you've done that's similar. Real images of the work.
6. Scope, item by item — what was asked × what you deliver × included or separate. It's the slide that prevents the most rework.
7. Method — the stages, with approval at each.
8. Timeline — weeks, not "estimated deadline".
9. Investment — one big number, what's included, what's not, terms. No confusing option tables.
10. Next steps — what happens if they say yes, numbered.

Design rules

• Large typography as the protagonist; one idea per slide.
• A small uppercase label at the top naming the section ("SCOPE", "INVESTMENT").
• Dark background with the brand color reads well on screen; always PDF.
• Images of your real work, not illustrations.
• Client name on every page: proves it's not a template.

What kills credibility

A "who we are" slide with 40 logos before the client's problem. Price ranges ("10 to 30k"). Timeline "to be agreed". A typo on the cover.