skills/pitch-deck-builder/references/banker-quality-standard.md

# Banker Quality Standard

Use this reference when shaping the tone, judgment, and slide-level standards for `pitch-deck-builder`.

## MD-grade output principles

A Managing Director-level pitch is not a collection of facts. It is a commercial argument designed to move a decision-maker.

1. **Start from the client decision.** Every deck must answer: what decision does the client need to make, and what should they do next?
2. **Lead with a view.** Avoid neutral summaries when a banker recommendation is expected. Show judgment, caveats, and the path forward.
3. **Make the deck client-specific.** Tailor to the client's sector, strategic position, shareholder context, capital structure, ownership, board dynamics, and likely objections.
4. **Use data as evidence, not decoration.** Every exhibit must advance the argument.
5. **State implications in titles.** Slide titles should be conclusions, not labels.
6. **Show why now.** A pitch should make timing feel commercially relevant: market window, financing availability, buyer appetite, valuation inflection, competitive pressure, regulatory change, or strategic urgency.
7. **Anticipate objections.** Address valuation skepticism, execution risk, financing risk, integration risk, regulatory risk, dilution, leverage, shareholder reaction, and management bandwidth.
8. **Give a next step.** A deck without a decision/action path is not banker-ready.

## Action-title standard

Weak titles:
- Market overview
- Trading comps
- Potential buyers
- Strategic alternatives
- Financing market update

Stronger titles:
- Scale assets are commanding a premium as strategics seek workflow depth and enterprise distribution
- Recent sponsor exits suggest a credible valuation floor, but public comps imply upside only for profitable growth stories
- The buyer universe narrows to four credible strategic acquirers once product overlap and antitrust risk are considered
- A dual-track process maximizes optionality while preserving leverage with strategic buyers
- The credit window is open, but structure should prioritize flexibility over headline leverage

## Slide writing rules

- One slide = one message.
- Use 2-4 supporting bullets, not paragraphs.
- Keep bullets implication-led: start with the conclusion, then support.
- Avoid vague words: strong, robust, significant, attractive, compelling, interesting. Replace with specific evidence.
- Use precise verbs: accelerates, constrains, de-risks, supports, compresses, widens, unlocks, limits, validates.
- Separate facts from recommendations: facts prove; recommendations decide.
- Make uncertainty explicit: "subject to diligence," "based on management projections," "public-source only," "preliminary banker view."

## MD review questions before delivery

- Would a CEO, CFO, board member, sponsor partner, or treasurer know what we want them to do after slide 3?
- Is this differentiated to the client's situation, or could it be sent to any company in the sector?
- Are the key numbers sourced, current, and tied to a model or provider?
- Does the deck avoid overclaiming where data is thin?
- Are credentials relevant rather than generic tombstone filler?
- Does the final section ask for a concrete next meeting, process, diligence workstream, or mandate?