If you’re on a B2B sales team, you know the drill: every week, it’s the same scramble to pull data, update slides, and tweak charts so your manager’s dashboard looks just right. Reporting eats up hours you could spend actually closing deals. It’s not glamorous, but it’s non-negotiable.
Thing is, most sales teams are still stuck copying and pasting numbers from spreadsheets into PowerPoint decks. It’s tedious, error-prone, and—let’s be honest—kind of soul-sucking. There’s a better way. This guide will show you how to use Pitch to automate your sales reporting, so you can spend less time wrestling with slides and more time selling.
This is for sales ops folks, team leads, and anyone tired of being the “deck monkey.” We’ll cover what works, what doesn’t, and how to get the most out of Pitch—no fluff.
Why automate sales reporting?
Let’s not overcomplicate it. The less time you spend updating reports, the more time you have for real sales work. Automation also:
- Cuts down on mistakes (no more “oops, that was last quarter’s number” moments)
- Keeps everyone on the same page—literally
- Makes it easier to spot trends and take action quickly
You don’t need to impress anyone with fancy dashboards. You just need fast, accurate, and repeatable reporting that’s easy to update and share.
What is Pitch, really?
Pitch is one of those “modern presentation tools” that’s actually more useful than it sounds. Think of it as a cross between Google Slides and Notion, but built for teams who want to automate slides, pull in live data, and skip the endless formatting.
It’s especially good for recurring reports—quarterly business reviews, pipeline updates, you name it. The magic is in its integrations and how it handles templates.
Step 1: Set up your reporting template (and don’t overthink it)
Before you even touch automation, get your basic slide template sorted. Don’t try to impress—just make it clear and consistent.
What to include: - Pipeline overview (by stage, region, rep—whatever actually matters to you) - Key deals in play - Closed/won and closed/lost breakdowns - Month/quarter overviews - Any big risks or blockers
Pro tip: Start simple. Complex reports break more easily when you try to automate them.
How to do it in Pitch: - Create a new presentation and save it as a template. - Use built-in charts—not pasted images from Excel. - Set up placeholders for key metrics (“Total Pipeline Value,” “Deals Closed This Month,” etc.) - If your team cares about branding, set your colors and fonts once and move on.
What to skip: Don’t waste time on slide animations or clever transitions. No one cares.
Step 2: Connect your data sources
Now for the part that actually makes this “automation” and not just “templating.” Pitch lets you pull in live data from a handful of tools. Here’s the honest rundown:
What works: - Google Sheets integration: If your CRM (like Salesforce or HubSpot) can spit out a CSV or sync with Sheets, this is the fastest way to get your numbers into Pitch. - Zapier & Make: You can rig up automations to push data from pretty much anywhere into a Google Sheet, then let Pitch pull from there.
What doesn’t (yet): - Direct CRM integrations are limited. You’ll need to use Sheets as a bridge for most sales data. - If you’re hoping for a “click and done” Salesforce-to-Pitch setup, not happening—for now.
How to connect: 1. In Pitch, add a chart or table. 2. Click “Connect data” and choose Google Sheets. 3. Select your sheet and range. Pitch will auto-update whenever the sheet changes.
Pro tip: Use one master sheet as your source of truth. The more scattered your data, the more likely things will break.
Step 3: Build your automated workflows
Here’s where you can get creative—or keep it dead simple.
Basic (and reliable) setup: - Schedule your CRM to update a Google Sheet daily or weekly. - Link that sheet to your Pitch template. - Each time you open the deck, it’ll pull the latest numbers.
Level up with automation tools: - Use Zapier, Make, or similar tools to auto-push data from your CRM into your Google Sheet. - Set up notifications so your team knows when the latest report is ready.
What to avoid: - Don’t try to automate every little thing. Stick to the 80/20 rule—automate the stuff you do every week, and leave the rest manual.
Example workflow: 1. New deals or updates in Salesforce trigger a Zapier flow. 2. Zapier writes the key numbers (pipeline, MRR, etc.) into a Google Sheet. 3. Pitch pulls that data into your recurring slides.
Pro tip: Test your automation with fake data before you rely on it. Nothing kills trust like a broken report in front of leadership.
Step 4: Share and collaborate (without the chaos)
One of Pitch’s strengths is easy sharing. Here’s how to keep it painless:
- Send a link to your live presentation—no need to export PDFs every week.
- Control who can view or edit. Don’t give edit access to everyone; chaos will follow.
- Use comments and reactions if your team actually uses them. Otherwise, don’t force it.
What to ignore: Don’t fuss over “presentation mode” unless you’re actually presenting. Most people will skim your deck in their browser.
Step 5: Keep the process tight
Automation is only as good as the process behind it. Here’s how to avoid common traps:
- Review your template monthly. As your team’s needs change, so should your slides.
- Assign a single owner for the data and the deck. If everyone’s responsible, no one is.
- Keep backup copies in case someone breaks the template.
Pro tip: If your team keeps asking for “just one more metric,” push back. Too much data muddies the story.
What works, what doesn’t, and what to watch out for
What works: - Live charts from a single source of truth (like Google Sheets) - Simple, clean templates reused every week - Automations that save you at least 30 minutes per report
What doesn’t: - Overly complex decks with dozens of custom slides - Trying to automate data from five different places at once - Relying on integrations that aren’t battle-tested (expect some glitches)
What to ignore: - Fancy slide designs—nobody cares after the first meeting - Endless color tweaks or “branding workshops” for internal decks
Potential headaches: - If your data changes format, automations can break. Stay on top of this. - Pitch’s integrations are improving, but aren’t magic. Be ready to troubleshoot. - Some charts update live, but not instantly. If timing is mission-critical, plan ahead.
Wrapping up: Keep it simple, iterate as you go
Automating sales reporting in Pitch isn’t about showing off—it's about getting time back and making fewer mistakes. Set up a solid template, get your data flows working, and don’t try to automate every little thing. The goal is less busywork, not more tech headaches.
Start with the basics. Automate one report. See what breaks, then fix it. Over time, you’ll spend less time on slides and more time closing deals—which is the whole point, anyway.