What goes in a creative agency pitch deck, slide by slide

What goes in a creative agency pitch deck?

A pitch deck holds the slides that take the prospect from what they want to what happens next: their goal, the problem, your idea, your proof, the people, the timeline, the price and the next step. Here's one order to start from:

1. Title. The prospect's name, your agency's name and the date of the meeting.
2. Their goal. What they told you they want, in their own words from your first call.
3. What's in the way. The problem that stops them today, and what it costs them to leave it alone.
4. Your idea. The one approach you'd take, said in a sentence or two.
5. How the work runs. The main steps, who does what and how you'll keep them updated.
6. Proof. Past work or results you can back up, close to their kind of business.
7. The people. The few people they'll deal with week to week.
8. Timeline. When the work starts and when the first results land.
9. Price. The options or the starting point, with what each one includes.
10. Next step. One clear ask, such as a date to review the written proposal.

Keep the words on each slide short, and say the rest out loud. If a slide makes sense with no one talking, it may hold too many words.

The idea slide lands best when it rests on what makes your agency different from the others the prospect is talking to. For the line that sets you apart, see how to set your agency positioning.

How should a pitch deck for a digital marketing agency differ?

A digital marketing agency's deck should lean harder on numbers and channels: what the prospect tracks today, which channels you'd use, and how you'll show progress each month. The order of slides stays much the same, while the middle slides change.

Ask these questions before you build it:

• Which channels does the prospect already use, and which have worked for them?
• What numbers do they check now, and who looks at them?
• What would they count as a good result in the first 90 days?
• Which accounts and tools must you get into on day one?
• Who else on their side has to say yes before they sign?

Turn the answers into two slides: a short audit of where they stand now, and a plan that shows the first few months. Put a sample of the monthly report on the proof slide, so the prospect can picture what they'll get.

What should an agency pitch deck template include?

A reusable template holds the slides that stay the same for every prospect, with marked blanks for the ones you rewrite each time. That way a new deck starts half done.

Check that your template has each of these:

• Your logo, colors and fonts, set once on a master slide.
• Fixed slides for how you work, the people and the next step.
• Blank slides for their goal, the problem, your idea, the timeline and the price.
• A proof slide you swap out to match the prospect's industry.
• Speaker notes on each slide, so anyone on your side can give the pitch.
• A last slide with your contact details and the date to follow up.

If building decks keeps you from selling, outside help is one option. DeskTeam360's team takes on a long list of work, from websites and funnels to automation, and pitch and presentation decks are on that list, so the time those jobs take comes back to you. The team designs and builds those decks under your agency's brand with DeskTeam360's name kept off the work, and the words come from you, unless you've helped the team train AI on your voice. Your clients see your agency's name.

Once the meeting goes well, the next thing to send is a written proposal. For the written proposal, see the marketing agency proposal template.