pitch unfairly

Cheat Codes · Sales

Spanx, 2000. Pitched unfairly, 2026.

Ten minutes and one ladies' room. Same story, same numbers. Rebuilt the way we'd pitch it today.

Template: Product demo deck

  • $5,000 of savings
  • 7 stores
  • $20 a pair
Play the 2026 deck Read the real story Steal the structure
2000 Product demo deck

Spanx

Ten minutes and one ladies' room.

Legend
Original craft
Unfair

The story→11 slides

It's a live deck. Press start, then scroll or use the arrow keys, or play it full screen.

Play the 2026 deck

Spanx's product demo deck, slide by slide

Every slide opens the live deck right where it is.

  1. Spanx deck, slide 1: No lines. No feet. No kidding. 01No lines. No feet. No kidding.
  2. Spanx deck, slide 2: She loves the cream pants until she sees the back. 02She loves the cream pants until she sees the back.
  3. Spanx deck, slide 3: I cut the feet off my control-top. It worked. 03I cut the feet off my control-top. It worked.
  4. Spanx deck, slide 4: Same cream pants. Spot the difference. 04Same cream pants. Spot the difference.
  5. Spanx deck, slide 5: Give me ten minutes and one ladies' room. 05Give me ten minutes and one ladies' room.
  6. Spanx deck, slide 6: Three promises, one price tag. 06Three promises, one price tag.
  7. Spanx deck, slide 7: Every box on the wall is beige. Ours is red. 07Every box on the wall is beige. Ours is red.
  8. Spanx deck, slide 8: Every mill said no until one asked his daughters. 08Every mill said no until one asked his daughters.
  9. Spanx deck, slide 9: You were about to ask four things. Asked and answered. 09You were about to ask four things. Asked and answered.
  10. Spanx deck, slide 10: Start with seven stores. Then it gets loud. 10Start with seven stores. Then it gets loud.
  11. Spanx deck, slide 11: Seven stores, $20 a pair, on the wall in three weeks. 11Seven stores, $20 a pair, on the wall in three weeks.

Then · 2000

How it really went

Read the real storythe story, via Wikipedia
  1. 1998: cuts the feet off control-top pantyhose to wear under cream pants
  2. Sells fax machines door to door while she builds it
  3. Puts in $5,000 of savings; writes her own patent from a textbook
  4. Every hosiery mill says no, until one owner asks his daughters
  5. Picks bright red packaging for a beige hosiery wall
  6. 2000: the Neiman Marcus buyer in Dallas gives her ten minutes
  7. Five minutes in, she takes the buyer to the ladies' room for the before and after
  8. Seven stores at $20 a pair, on shelves in about three weeks
  9. November 2000: Oprah's Favorite Things
  10. No outside investors; 2012, Forbes' youngest self-made female billionaire

Now · 2026 · 11 slides

What we changed

  • Drag the before and afterOne pair of cream pants, split down the seam: drag left for panty lines, right for smooth. The ladies' room, without the trip.
  • The agenda has a ladies' roomA ten-minute tape measure ticks through the meeting while the restroom door flips from Vacant to Occupied to Smooth.
  • Restock the beige wallEleven beige boxes and one red one. Shuffle the shelf as often as you like; you find the red one first every time.
  • It ends on a purchase orderSeven stores, $20 a pair, three weeks, with a dated action plan for both sides and an Approved stamp. Never "Thank you".

Steal the structure

Build your product demo deck like Spanx did.

  1. 01 Promise The outcome in a few words, and the one object that proves it.
  2. 02 Their problem, their words What the buyer's customers say, quoted the way the buyer hears it.
  3. 03 Why this exists One slide of origin: the moment, the budget, the scrappy proof you mean it.
  4. 04 Before and after Let the buyer see the difference with their own eyes, ideally by dragging it.
  5. 05 Live demo The agenda for the part where you stop talking and show it.
  6. 06 Product, briefly Three promises and the price. Winners spend less time on features.
  7. 07 Where it lives Show it in the buyer's world: their shelf, their screen, their workflow.
  8. 08 Hero proof One story from someone like the buyer's customer saying yes.
  9. 09 Objections The four questions they were about to ask, answered before they ask.
  10. 10 What happens next The path after yes, from the first order to the big outcome.
  11. 11 The order The exact next step, with dates and owners on both sides.

Make yours in ChatGPT

Type your site. We'll write the prompt with Spanx's structure and your brand.

Back to the cheat codes