What to include in an events sales deck

An events sales deck (or sales brochure) is the document a venue, supplier or agency hands to the person making the booking decision so they can assess you and include you in their proposal. Sounds obvious, but most decks in the industry fail in the same way: they talk a lot about the company and very little about what the reader actually needs.

Here's the structure we recommend, what can't be left out and the mistakes that send a deck straight to the downloads graveyard.

What an events sales deck is for

The deck has three jobs:

• Introducing you when you're not in the room.
• Answering technical and operational questions without twenty emails.
• Being forwardable: the agency forwards it to their client, the events team to their leadership. It has to work without you there to explain it.

If your deck fails on the third point, it isn't doing its job.

The structure of a sales deck that works

1. A cover with a clear promise

Your name, a strong image from a real event and one line saying what you're the best option for. Not "end-to-end event solutions", but something like "the city-centre venue for product launches with full staging".

2. Who you are, on one page

What you do, since when, where you operate and what kinds of events and clients you work with. Keep it short. The reader wants to know whether you fit, not your life story.

3. Why you

Three or four concrete, verifiable reasons: location, technical features, experience with a format, responsiveness, in-house team. Skip the empty adjectives.

4. Services or spaces, one by one

• Venues: each room or space with photos, floor area, capacities by layout and recommended uses.
• Suppliers: each service with what's included, what you need from the venue and options or tiers.
• Agencies: the event types or services you offer and how you work.

5. Technical and operational information

This is the most-consulted section and usually the worst presented. Include it, organised and easy to find:

• Floor plans and dimensions.
• Access, loading and unloading, build and de-rig times.
• Power supply, rigging, connectivity, included equipment.
• Exclusive or approved suppliers.
• Restrictions and regulations.

6. Real events and case studies

Photos of real events you've hosted or produced, each with a short explanation: event type, challenge, solution. Client logos too, if you have permission. This is the part that does most to help people picture their event.

7. How we work

The process from first enquiry to event day: response times, site visit, proposal, confirmation, coordination. It reassures whoever has to coordinate a long list of suppliers.

8. General terms

Everything needed to quote with confidence: bookings, cancellations, what each service includes. No fixed prices if they change from event to event, but enough to move forward.

9. Direct contact

A named person, an email address and a phone number. Not a generic form. Someone organising an event wants to know who to call.

Format: PDF, web or both

The PDF is still necessary because agencies attach it to their proposals. But it has problems: it goes out of date, it's too heavy and it's hard to read on a phone.

• Web version: always up to date, lightweight, linkable and readable by Google and AI assistants.
• Downloadable PDF: optimised for file size, with live links and a dated version.
• Separate visual assets: high-resolution photos and videos that agencies can download and use in their proposals.

If you also have a 3D virtual tour or a walkthrough video, link to them from the deck.

A different deck for each reader

The same core content can feed several versions. What changes is the order and the emphasis, depending on who will read it.

For agencies and DMCs

They get straight to the point: technical sheet, downloadable visuals, partnership terms and a contact person who replies quickly. They appreciate it when you make it easy to copy your information into their own proposal, so avoid text baked into images and offer standalone high-resolution photos.

For companies booking direct

They need more context: what the process looks like, what each service includes, what they have to decide and what you take care of. Case studies and the "how we work" section carry more weight than floor plans.

For conference organisers

They're looking for capacity, room combinations, exhibition areas, nearby accommodation and accessibility. If your business works this segment, a dedicated MICE deck makes sense. We go into it in our MICE marketing guide.

How to keep the deck alive

A deck ages fast: services, rooms, team and contacts all change. To stop it becoming something you're embarrassed to send:

1. Give one person responsibility for keeping it current.
2. Review it regularly, and whenever something relevant changes.
3. Add new photos after every standout event.
4. Put the date of the last update somewhere visible.
5. Take old versions out of circulation, including from shared links.

Events sales deck checklist

• Is it clear on the first page who you are and what events you're for?
• Are the photos from real events, and are they good?
• Is the technical information complete and well organised?
• Does it work if it's forwarded without explanation?
• Is it light enough to send by email?
• Does it read well on a phone?
• Does it show an update date?
• Does it include a real contact person?

Common mistakes

• Too long: at sixty pages, nobody finds what they're looking for.
• Stock photos, or shots of the empty space with nothing set up.
• Out-of-date information: old capacities, services you no longer offer, contacts who have moved on.
• Design that gets in the way of reading: tiny fonts or text over photos.
• One deck for everyone: an agency, a direct client and a conference organiser need different emphasis.

Worked example: a MICE hotel overhauls its deck

Picture a hotel with meeting and conference rooms whose deck is an old, lengthy presentation, with bedroom photos up front and the event spaces buried at the back.

1. New focus: the MICE deck opens with the event rooms and capacity for conferences, conventions and incentives.
2. Structure: a cover featuring a real event, a "why this hotel for your event" page, a sheet for each room with floor plan and capacities, group accommodation, event catering and case studies.
3. Format: a web version with a section per room, a lightweight downloadable PDF and a folder of high-resolution photos for agencies.
4. Variants: one version for agencies and DMCs with partnership terms, another for companies booking direct.
5. Upkeep: regular reviews with a visible date.

Your deck is your best salesperson when you're not there

It's worth treating it that way. If you'd like us to design it with you, with photography, structure, web version and PDF, it's one of the pieces we build into our venue marketing and event supplier marketing projects. You can see everything else in services, or get in touch and send us the deck you have now: we'll tell you frankly what we'd change.