Whenever I start working with a new client, I ask them to show me their pitch deck. And almost every time, the pitch jumps straight into the product. They walk me through the technology, the flow, the features, and what the user can click, automate, or visualize. It is a tour of the product, but it doesn’t explain it.

The problem is that showing the product is not the same as explaining it. It leaves all the heavy lifting to the listener, and that is not how you make money. It does not convince a customer to buy, and it definitely does not convince an investor to fund you.

To actually explain your product, why it is needed, why it works, and why someone should give you their money, you cannot start with the product. In fact, the product comes last.

So over the years, after seeing this pattern again and again, I developed a structure that works every time. A simple, logical story that makes the product unavoidable because each part naturally leads to the next. This is the structure that turns a feature demo into a compelling value proposition, a clear strategy, and a pitch that finally lands.

The customer’s problem

A real customer problem is never a broad world problem. It belongs to a specific person with a specific goal that they cannot achieve. They feel the pain directly, and it has real consequences for their work. This clarity is the anchor for the entire story. If you do not define exactly who hurts and why, nothing else will make sense.

What they do today

Every customer already has a way to deal with the problem – if it’s a real one, that matters to them. They use tools, workflows, hacks, or extra effort to keep moving. They are trying, but they are pushing against something they cannot fully fix.

Why it will never work

This is the turning point. The customer can try harder and invest more, but the problem will remain. Something fundamental makes all existing approaches insufficient. A structural constraint, a missing capability, or a workflow that cannot scale. Naming this core issue prepares the listener for a new way forward.

The price they pay

At this point in the story, you want to make the cost of the problem real. Not only the cost of living with the problem, but also the cost of trying to solve it in ways that will never work. The customer spends time, energy, and resources, and still ends up stuck. This creates frustration, stress, and a sense of helplessness, because no matter how hard they try, the outcome does not change. The price is both practical and emotional. When the listener can feel this cost, the need for a new approach becomes undeniable.

The new approach

Now that the root cause is clear, we no longer treat it as something the customer must accept. A real solution does not work around the root cause. It removes it. This is where you describe the idea or principle that would actually change the outcome.

If the root cause is overwhelming complexity, imagine an approach that absorbs the complexity so the customer can focus on what matters. If the root cause is that they operate blindly because they lack critical information, imagine an approach that gives them the visibility they never had, opening up decisions that were impossible before.

This part is about showing what becomes possible once the root cause is addressed. It sets the stage for your product to feel like the natural answer.

Here is what we do

Only now do you introduce your product. You show how it brings the new approach to life and why it addresses the fundamental issue the customer could not solve on their own. At this point, the product is not just a tool. It is the logical conclusion of the entire story. It is clear why it is needed and why it works.

The new future

This is where you help the listener imagine the new reality your solution creates. This future should feel tangible: less noise, fewer steps, greater accuracy, greater clarity. It should also “speak” to their emotions: achieve peace of mind, the sense that they can do their job well, that things make sense, and that they finally have what they need to succeed.
Building this end-to-end story is not easy, but doing so creates clarity. As you work through it, things surface that would never appear in a quick pitch exercise. You uncover your real differentiation, your real value, and a shared logic that aligns everyone involved. Once the story is solid, it guides your positioning, becomes your pitch, and is the foundation for every conversation. Going through the process is the work itself, so don’t let it discourage you.