B2B recommendation deck field guide
Part 1 · Attention & Clarity
Principles that help the buyer understand the message quickly — making the deck easy to understand at skim speed.
Hick’s Law
One slide, one decision. Reduce choices so the buyer instantly understands what matters.
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Cognitive Load
Make the argument work at skim speed with titles that carry the logic.
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Visual Anchors
Give every important slide one obvious point of entry for the business message.
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Visual Hierarchy
Rank the conclusion, evidence, detail, and implication so importance is visible.
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Selective Attention
Put the strongest reason to care within the first few slides.
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Contrast
Make the most important business point visually dominant, not equal to everything else.
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Banner Blindness
Remove generic sentences that senior buyers have learned to ignore.
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Discoverability
Make the recommendation, value case, risk, investment, and next step easy to find.
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Spotlight Effect
Do not assume buyers will study the details; put a clear so-what on each slide.
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Picture Superiority Effect
Use visuals that carry the argument, not icons that merely decorate bullet points.
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Part 2 · Buyer Relevance
Principles that make the buyer feel understood and show the recommendation is built around their real situation.
Confirmation Bias
Start from what the buyer already recognises as true, then sharpen the conclusion.
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Attentional Bias
Open where the buyer’s mind already is: priorities, pressure, deadlines, and risks.
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Empathy Gap
Address the fear behind the decision, not only the rational evaluation.
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Mental Model
Match how this buyer evaluates risk, value, timing, and approval.
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Familiarity Bias
Use a trusted decision structure so the recommendation feels easier to evaluate.
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Hawthorne Effect
Show the recommendation was built from the buyer’s actual context, not a template.
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False Consensus Effect
Do not assume the buyer sees what you see; make the starting logic explicit.
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Barnum-Forer Effect
Make the diagnosis too specific to be mistaken for generic proposal language.
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Internal Trigger
Connect the recommendation to the internal pressure the buyer already feels.
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Method of Loci
Anchor the solution inside familiar business places: workflow, journey, process, or agenda.
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Part 3 · Problem & Urgency
Principles that make the business case feel important, specific, and timely.
Anchoring Bias
Problem & Urgency lens: use Anchoring Bias to make the recommendation clearer, safer, and easier for the buyer to defend internally.
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Framing
Problem & Urgency lens: use Framing to make the recommendation clearer, safer, and easier for the buyer to defend internally.
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Cognitive Dissonance
Problem & Urgency lens: use Cognitive Dissonance to make the recommendation clearer, safer, and easier for the buyer to defend internally.
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Curiosity Gap
Problem & Urgency lens: use Curiosity Gap to make the recommendation clearer, safer, and easier for the buyer to defend internally.
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Scarcity
Problem & Urgency lens: use Scarcity to make the recommendation clearer, safer, and easier for the buyer to defend internally.
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Loss Aversion
Problem & Urgency lens: use Loss Aversion to make the recommendation clearer, safer, and easier for the buyer to defend internally.
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Hyperbolic Discounting
Problem & Urgency lens: use Hyperbolic Discounting to make the recommendation clearer, safer, and easier for the buyer to defend internally.
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Fresh Start Effect
Problem & Urgency lens: use Fresh Start Effect to make the recommendation clearer, safer, and easier for the buyer to defend internally.
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Negativity Bias
Problem & Urgency lens: use Negativity Bias to make the recommendation clearer, safer, and easier for the buyer to defend internally.
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Availability Heuristic
Problem & Urgency lens: use Availability Heuristic to make the recommendation clearer, safer, and easier for the buyer to defend internally.
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Part 4 · Recommendation & Value
Principles that clarify the proposed solution, what it unlocks, and why it is easy to justify.
Occam’s Razor
Recommendation & Value lens: use Occam’s Razor to make the recommendation clearer, safer, and easier for the buyer to defend internally.
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Unit Bias
Recommendation & Value lens: use Unit Bias to make the recommendation clearer, safer, and easier for the buyer to defend internally.
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Chunking
Recommendation & Value lens: use Chunking to make the recommendation clearer, safer, and easier for the buyer to defend internally.
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Progressive Disclosure
Recommendation & Value lens: use Progressive Disclosure to make the recommendation clearer, safer, and easier for the buyer to defend internally.
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Second-Order Effect
Recommendation & Value lens: use Second-Order Effect to make the recommendation clearer, safer, and easier for the buyer to defend internally.
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Pareto Principle
Recommendation & Value lens: use Pareto Principle to make the recommendation clearer, safer, and easier for the buyer to defend internally.
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Noble Edge Effect
Recommendation & Value lens: use Noble Edge Effect to make the recommendation clearer, safer, and easier for the buyer to defend internally.
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Goal Gradient Effect
Recommendation & Value lens: use Goal Gradient Effect to make the recommendation clearer, safer, and easier for the buyer to defend internally.
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Endowment Effect
Recommendation & Value lens: use Endowment Effect to make the recommendation clearer, safer, and easier for the buyer to defend internally.
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Sunk Cost Effect
Recommendation & Value lens: use Sunk Cost Effect to make the recommendation clearer, safer, and easier for the buyer to defend internally.
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Part 5 · Proof & Trust
Principles that make the recommendation feel credible, specific, and evidence-based.
Authority Bias
Proof & Trust lens: use Authority Bias to make the recommendation clearer, safer, and easier for the buyer to defend internally.
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Social Proof
Proof & Trust lens: use Social Proof to make the recommendation clearer, safer, and easier for the buyer to defend internally.
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Survivorship Bias
Proof & Trust lens: use Survivorship Bias to make the recommendation clearer, safer, and easier for the buyer to defend internally.
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Juxtaposition
Proof & Trust lens: use Juxtaposition to make the recommendation clearer, safer, and easier for the buyer to defend internally.
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Singularity Effect
Proof & Trust lens: use Singularity Effect to make the recommendation clearer, safer, and easier for the buyer to defend internally.
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Labour Illusion
Proof & Trust lens: use Labour Illusion to make the recommendation clearer, safer, and easier for the buyer to defend internally.
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Group Attractiveness Effect
Proof & Trust lens: use Group Attractiveness Effect to make the recommendation clearer, safer, and easier for the buyer to defend internally.
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Bandwagon Effect
Proof & Trust lens: use Bandwagon Effect to make the recommendation clearer, safer, and easier for the buyer to defend internally.
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Survey Bias
Proof & Trust lens: use Survey Bias to make the recommendation clearer, safer, and easier for the buyer to defend internally.
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Observer-Expectancy Effect
Proof & Trust lens: use Observer-Expectancy Effect to make the recommendation clearer, safer, and easier for the buyer to defend internally.
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Part 6 · Risk Reduction
Principles that address hesitation, objections, implementation concerns, and perceived risk.
Streisand Effect
Risk Reduction lens: use Streisand Effect to make the recommendation clearer, safer, and easier for the buyer to defend internally.
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Planning Fallacy
Risk Reduction lens: use Planning Fallacy to make the recommendation clearer, safer, and easier for the buyer to defend internally.
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Reactance
Risk Reduction lens: use Reactance to make the recommendation clearer, safer, and easier for the buyer to defend internally.
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Backfire Effect
Risk Reduction lens: use Backfire Effect to make the recommendation clearer, safer, and easier for the buyer to defend internally.
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Affect Heuristic
Risk Reduction lens: use Affect Heuristic to make the recommendation clearer, safer, and easier for the buyer to defend internally.
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Weber’s Law
Risk Reduction lens: use Weber’s Law to make the recommendation clearer, safer, and easier for the buyer to defend internally.
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Cashless Effect
Risk Reduction lens: use Cashless Effect to make the recommendation clearer, safer, and easier for the buyer to defend internally.
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Self-Serving Bias
Risk Reduction lens: use Self-Serving Bias to make the recommendation clearer, safer, and easier for the buyer to defend internally.
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Dunning-Kruger Effect
Risk Reduction lens: use Dunning-Kruger Effect to make the recommendation clearer, safer, and easier for the buyer to defend internally.
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Tesler’s Law
Risk Reduction lens: use Tesler’s Law to make the recommendation clearer, safer, and easier for the buyer to defend internally.
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Part 7 · Decision Design
Principles that make the next step clear, specific, and easier to approve.
Nudge
Decision Design lens: use Nudge to make the recommendation clearer, safer, and easier for the buyer to defend internally.
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Fitts’s Law
Decision Design lens: use Fitts’s Law to make the recommendation clearer, safer, and easier for the buyer to defend internally.
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Decoy Effect
Decision Design lens: use Decoy Effect to make the recommendation clearer, safer, and easier for the buyer to defend internally.
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Centre-Stage Effect
Decision Design lens: use Centre-Stage Effect to make the recommendation clearer, safer, and easier for the buyer to defend internally.
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Spark Effect
Decision Design lens: use Spark Effect to make the recommendation clearer, safer, and easier for the buyer to defend internally.
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Default Bias
Decision Design lens: use Default Bias to make the recommendation clearer, safer, and easier for the buyer to defend internally.
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Decision Fatigue
Decision Design lens: use Decision Fatigue to make the recommendation clearer, safer, and easier for the buyer to defend internally.
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Commitment & Consistency
Decision Design lens: use Commitment & Consistency to make the recommendation clearer, safer, and easier for the buyer to defend internally.
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Self-Initiated Triggers
Decision Design lens: use Self-Initiated Triggers to make the recommendation clearer, safer, and easier for the buyer to defend internally.
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Provide Exit Points
Decision Design lens: use Provide Exit Points to make the recommendation clearer, safer, and easier for the buyer to defend internally.
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Part 8 · Memory & Forwardability
Principles that help the buyer remember, repeat, and forward the argument internally.
Storytelling Effect
Memory & Forwardability lens: use Storytelling Effect to make the recommendation clearer, safer, and easier for the buyer to defend internally.
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Von Restorff Effect
Memory & Forwardability lens: use Von Restorff Effect to make the recommendation clearer, safer, and easier for the buyer to defend internally.
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Peak-End Rule
Memory & Forwardability lens: use Peak-End Rule to make the recommendation clearer, safer, and easier for the buyer to defend internally.
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Spacing Effect
Memory & Forwardability lens: use Spacing Effect to make the recommendation clearer, safer, and easier for the buyer to defend internally.
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Serial Position Effect
Memory & Forwardability lens: use Serial Position Effect to make the recommendation clearer, safer, and easier for the buyer to defend internally.
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Recognition Over Recall
Memory & Forwardability lens: use Recognition Over Recall to make the recommendation clearer, safer, and easier for the buyer to defend internally.
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Law of Prägnanz
Memory & Forwardability lens: use Law of Prägnanz to make the recommendation clearer, safer, and easier for the buyer to defend internally.
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Law of Similarity
Memory & Forwardability lens: use Law of Similarity to make the recommendation clearer, safer, and easier for the buyer to defend internally.
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Sensory Appeal
Memory & Forwardability lens: use Sensory Appeal to make the recommendation clearer, safer, and easier for the buyer to defend internally.
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Zeigarnik Effect
Memory & Forwardability lens: use Zeigarnik Effect to make the recommendation clearer, safer, and easier for the buyer to defend internally.
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