/sales-pitch — Pitch Builder

Build sales pitches, cold emails, demo scripts, and pitch decks using frameworks from April Dunford, Matt Dixon, Andy Raskin, and Nancy Duarte.

When to Use

User says "sales pitch", "pitch deck", "cold email", "demo script"
Building a sales narrative or pitch for a specific audience
Crafting outreach for founder-led sales
Preparing for a demo, investor meeting, or partnership conversation
Translating positioning into sales artifacts

Before Starting

Check for existing context:

Read projects/<project>/onboarding.md for intake context
Read projects/<project>/positioning.md — positioning directly drives the pitch
Read projects/<project>/discovery.md for customer insight
Read projects/<project>/gtm-plan.md for market context

Positioning is critical input. If no positioning exists, flag it: "A pitch without positioning is guesswork. Consider running /gtm-positioning first."

Process

Step 1: Intake — What Are We Building?

AskUserQuestion:
  question: "What kind of sales artifact do you need?"
  header: "Artifact"
  options:
    - label: "Sales pitch / deck"
      description: "Full pitch narrative for meetings and presentations"
    - label: "Cold email sequence"
      description: "Outreach emails for prospecting"
    - label: "Demo script"
      description: "Structured script for product demonstrations"
    - label: "One-pager / leave-behind"
      description: "Concise document summarizing your value proposition"

Then gather:

Who is the audience? (Specific persona: title, company type, their priorities)
What's the context? (Cold outreach, warm intro, follow-up, conference?)
What's the desired outcome? (Book a meeting, close a deal, get a pilot, get a referral?)
Positioning context — How do you describe what you do? Your differentiators? (Pull from positioning if available)
Proof points — Any case studies, metrics, or customer quotes?
Known objections — What concerns do prospects typically raise?

Step 2: Research — Parallel Intelligence

Launch 2 agents IN PARALLEL:

Agent 1 — Prospect/Market Context

Task(subagent_type: "general-purpose", description: "Research prospect context")
prompt: Research the prospect landscape for [PRODUCT] selling to [TARGET PERSONA].
  - What are the top priorities and challenges for [PERSONA] right now?
  - What language do they use to describe their problems? (LinkedIn, forums, job postings)
  - What buying signals indicate they're ready for a solution like this?
  - What objections are common in this sale? (based on competitor reviews, forums)
  Return findings organized by persona priorities and common objections.

Agent 2 — Competitive Sales Intelligence

Task(subagent_type: "general-purpose", description: "Research competitive sales")
prompt: Research how competitors in [SPACE] sell and pitch.
  - What does their sales messaging emphasize?
  - What case studies or proof points do they use?
  - Where are the gaps in their pitch? (weaknesses, missing claims)
  - What do customers say about the buying experience? (reviews, forums)
  Return competitive sales intelligence with opportunities to differentiate.

Step 3: Build the Pitch

Based on artifact type selected in Step 1:

For Sales Pitch / Deck

Follow the Dunford 8-step structure, layered with Raskin narrative and Dixon JOLT principles:

Slide 1-3: Setup (Raskin narrative frame)

The shift: "[Industry] is moving from [old game] to [new game]"
The stakes: Winners vs. losers in this shift
The perfect world: "An ideal solution would [criteria aligned to your strengths]"

Slide 4: Introduction

One sentence: who you are and what you do

Slide 5-8: Differentiated Value (Dunford structure)

For each differentiator (max 3):
- The value it delivers (not the feature)
- How you deliver it (brief — this is where you can show product)
- Proof point (case study, data, quote)

Slide 9: Objection Handling (Dixon JOLT)

Proactively address the top 2-3 silent concerns
Take risk off the table: pilot, guarantee, success metrics
Offer your recommendation: "Based on what you've shared, I'd recommend..."

Slide 10: The Ask

Specific next step with timeline
Make it easy to say yes

Throughout:

Use Duarte's "What Is / What Could Be" rhythm
Create affirmation loops: "Does this resonate with your experience?"
Talk value, not features

For Cold Email Sequence

Email 1: The Opener (under 80 words)

Subject: Specific reference to their situation (not "Quick question")
Line 1: Something specific about them or their company
Line 2-3: The hook — connect their situation to your insight
Line 4: Low-commitment ask ("Would a 15-minute call make sense?")

Email 2: The Value Add (sent 3-4 days later)

Share a relevant insight, article, or data point
Brief connection to how you help
Soft ask

Email 3: The Proof (sent 5-7 days later)

Short case study: "[Similar company] achieved [specific result]"
One-line connect to their situation
Direct ask

Email 4: The Breakup (sent 7-10 days later)

Acknowledge they're busy
Restate the core value in one sentence
Leave the door open

For Demo Script

Follow the Kazanjy demo structure:

Re-confirm the problem (2 min)
Show the promised land — outcomes, not features (3 min)
Live walkthrough of their use case (15 min)
Proof — similar company results (5 min)
Next steps — specific action and timeline (5 min)

Step 4: Review and Refine

Present the draft. Apply quality checks:

The Bar Test — Would your prospect naturally say these words to a colleague? If it sounds like marketing, rewrite.
The JOLT Check — Does this reduce indecision or increase it? Fewer options is better. Offer your recommendation.
The "So What?" Test — For every claim, ask "So what does this mean for the buyer?" If you can't answer, cut it.
Specificity Check — Replace every vague claim with a specific proof point or metric.

AskUserQuestion:
  question: "How does this feel? What needs adjustment?"
  header: "Review"
  options:
    - label: "Strong — minor tweaks"
      description: "The structure and message are right, just need polish"
    - label: "Wrong tone"
      description: "The message is right but the voice/tone is off"
    - label: "Missing the mark"
      description: "Something about the angle or framing isn't right"

Iterate until the pitch feels authentic and compelling.

Step 5: Save

Save to: projects/<project>/pitch.md (or cold-emails.md, demo-script.md depending on artifact)

Methodology

See references/pitch-frameworks.md for detailed frameworks.

Key sources: April Dunford (8-step pitch), Matt Dixon (JOLT method), Andy Raskin (strategic narrative), Nancy Duarte (storytelling structure), Pete Kazanjy (founder-led sales).

Output

Save to: projects/<project>/pitch.md

Next Steps

Need to formalize the deal? → /proposal-writer to write the proposal
Need pricing for the pitch? → /gtm-pricing
Need the full brand context? → /brand-strategist