If you spend any time wrangling sales data, you know the pain: messy spreadsheets, awkward chart tools, and bosses who want “something impressive by Friday.” This guide is for anyone who needs to get sales data into Pitch and actually make sense of it—without wasting hours, or ending up with a slide deck nobody gets.
Below, you’ll find a step-by-step guide on bringing your sales data into Pitch, making it look sharp, and avoiding the usual headaches. No fluff, no marketing speak—just what works, what doesn’t, and how to keep your sanity.
Step 1: Get Your Sales Data Ready
Before you even open Pitch, make your life easier by cleaning up your data. Most issues with charts and slides start with bad data. Trust me, “garbage in, garbage out” is real.
What works: - Stick to CSV or XLSX: Pitch supports both, but CSV is less likely to cause weird formatting issues. - Keep headers simple: Use clear, short column names. “Date” instead of “Q2_Sales_2024_Revenue_Dollars.” - No merged cells: Merged cells in Excel look neat but break imports. - Consistent data types: Dates as dates, numbers as numbers. No “20k” or “$30,000.00” in a column that should just be numbers. - Tidy up blank rows or columns: Delete them—Pitch reads them as empty data.
What to ignore: - Don’t bother with fancy formatting (colors, bold, conditional formatting). Pitch doesn’t care, and it won’t come through anyway.
Pro tip:
If your raw data is a mess, run it through Google Sheets or Excel first. Use “Text to Columns” and “Remove Duplicates.” The time you spend here saves headaches later.
Step 2: Importing Data into Pitch
Alright, your data’s clean. Here’s how you get it into Pitch.
A. Direct Table Copy-Paste
- Copy from Excel or Sheets.
- In Pitch, add a chart or table block.
- Paste your data directly.
Works well for:
Quick, small datasets (think: a table of 15 rows, not your CRM export).
Limitations:
- Won’t update if your source data changes.
- Large tables can get mangled.
B. File Upload (CSV/XLSX)
- Click the chart block, select “Import data,” and upload your cleaned CSV or XLSX file.
- Pitch will show a preview—double-check that columns and rows look right.
This is usually the best bet for anything bigger or more complex.
What doesn’t work:
- Uploading a file with multiple sheets—Pitch will only import the first one.
- Files with formulas—Pitch reads only the values, not calculations.
Pro tip:
If you need to update charts often, keep a master CSV. When data changes, just re-upload and replace the old table.
Step 3: Choosing the Right Chart Type
Pitch tries to be smart, but it can’t read your mind. Picking the wrong chart is the fastest way to confuse your audience—or yourself.
Good choices for sales data: - Line charts: For trends over time (monthly sales, revenue growth). - Bar/column charts: For comparing categories (sales by region or rep). - Pie/donut charts: Only for simple “parts of a whole” (and only if you have 2–4 categories—seriously, not 12). - Stacked bar/area: To show composition over time (e.g., product lines contributing to total sales).
What to avoid: - 3D charts—hard to read, look dated. - Overly colorful or “fun” charts. If it looks like a Skittles bag exploded, dial it back. - Gauge charts for sales, unless you have a single KPI (and even then, they’re more style than substance).
Pro tip:
If you’re not sure, start with a bar or line chart. If it doesn’t make the story clearer, try another style—don’t force it.
Step 4: Cleaning Up and Customizing Your Visuals
Just because Pitch gives you options doesn’t mean you should use them all. The goal is clarity, not decoration.
What actually matters: - Label axes and data points clearly. - Keep colors consistent: Use your brand or team palette, but stick to 2–3 colors max. - Ditch the legend if it’s obvious: If there’s only one series, you don’t need a legend. - Resize charts: Make sure text is readable. If you can’t see the numbers from the back of the room, neither can your boss.
What to ignore: - Don’t waste time animating your charts. It rarely adds value, and Pitch’s animations are simple anyway. - Avoid dense data tables unless someone specifically asks for them. Use visuals to highlight, not overwhelm.
Pro tip:
Use “highlight” colors sparingly—draw attention to the one number or trend that matters, not everything.
Step 5: Making Your Slides Tell a Story
Charts are only as good as what they show. Don’t just drop in a chart and call it a day—help your audience get the point.
How to do it: - Add clear titles: “Q1 Sales Over Time” beats “Chart 1.” - Include a one-sentence takeaway: Below the chart, sum it up: “Sales spiked after the product relaunch.” - Use callouts or arrows: Pitch lets you add shapes or text—use them to highlight what matters. - Keep slides focused: One key metric or insight per slide. Don’t cram in everything you have, or people will tune out.
What to ignore: - Don't add background images or wild slide transitions. They distract, and nobody’s impressed.
Step 6: Updating and Maintaining Your Data
Sales data changes. Don’t build slides you can’t update.
Best practices: - Keep your source files organized: Use clear filenames and folders, especially if you’ll report monthly. - Replace data, don’t rebuild: In Pitch, you can swap out the data in a chart. No need to start from scratch every time. - Version control: If your company uses Google Drive, Dropbox, or similar, save old versions. Nothing’s worse than someone asking, “What were the numbers last quarter?” and you’ve already overwritten them.
What to ignore: - Don’t rely on live data integrations (yet). As of now, Pitch doesn’t support real live data feeds for sales data. If that changes, great—but for now, uploading updated files is the way.
Step 7: Sharing and Presenting
Once your slides are ready, Pitch does make it easy to share.
Options: - Share a link: Anyone with the link can view, and you can control who can edit. - Download as PDF or PowerPoint: Good for sending to execs who won’t open a Pitch link. - Present directly: Pitch’s presenter mode is simple—no bells and whistles, but reliable.
What to watch out for: - If you’ve embedded charts with data, double-check permissions. You don’t want the wrong people seeing sensitive sales figures. - Pitch’s export sometimes flattens charts—check that everything looks right in the exported file, especially if you’re sending to a client.
Common Pitfalls (And How to Dodge Them)
1. Numbers don’t match up:
Check for hidden columns, filtered data, or accidental rounding. Always do a quick “sanity check” on your chart totals.
2. Chart formatting gone weird:
If you’re copying data from a weirdly-formatted sheet, expect issues. Clean it up before importing.
3. Too much data in one chart:
If your chart has more than 6–8 data columns, it’s probably too much. Break it up or use summary metrics.
4. Non-numeric data in numeric columns:
Things like “N/A” or “—” in a sales column can throw off Pitch’s chart engine. Replace missing values with zeros or blanks.
Wrapping Up
Clean data, clear visuals, and a focused story—that’s the whole game. Don’t get sucked into endless formatting or chasing the latest chart trend. The best sales decks are simple, honest, and easy to update. Start small, improve over time, and remember: nobody ever asked for a more complicated chart.
Now go make those numbers work for you.