Everyone’s got things that they want to share. Whether you’re talking with your business partner or looking to pitch a concept to investors or a senior management team, you absolutely need a process to get people onside with where you’re at. I spend most of my days pitching ideas, developing new ideas or evaluating the ideas that others have. These three steps work for me as a structure. Maybe they’ll work for you too.
It’s easy to look at your pitch and to be pleased with your work; to feel that it has captured you perfectly and expressed what you are about and what you have to offer. It’s also irrelevant. Because, to be blunt, no-one’s as interested in your pitch as you are. They’re really only interested in themselves and what you can do for them. They probably hear similar claims and ideas everywhere they turn.
When you’re hard at work on ambitious projects, it’s a given that the team is pushing the boundaries of what would have been considered sensible. I choose those words carefully – “would have”, because these projects are always about ways forward but are often judged on references back; and “sensible” because that’s the filter that so many people put across the recommendations they get.
This article in the New Yorker recently revealed that the iconic Got Milk? campaign actually failed to reverse declining milk consumption and has now been all but scrapped. It’s a reminder to all of us who create and promote ideas that awareness (to the point of ubiquity), even for an idea that’s good for us and makes sense, is no guarantee of success.
If you’re pitching for a new piece of business, especially in a competitive situation, ask “What will happen for them [the people who’ve put the business out to pitch] if everything goes to plan?” Knowing that enables you to plan an approach to make that level of success happen.
The purpose of a face-to-face pitch is only partly to make the case for why you should be hired. The other part, the bigger part in my view, is that you’re looking to see behind the corporate face and to gauge the likelihood for mutual respect and profitability. Reciprocity. And in that sense, a pitch is always a two-way process – you’re judging whether you’re interested in doing business with them as much as they are judging their interest in you. You should be watching – as much as you are being watched. So many people forget that a pitch is a conversation not a monologue – and every good conversation is an interview by another name. By that I mean that you are looking to find out as much about what’s happening in their world as they’re prepared to tell you. And you’re looking to tell the person you’re talking to as much as they want to know, as honestly as you can. Listen carefully to what is said – and pay close attention …
As I explained in this post, the purpose of a pitch is not to sell what you do. It’s to explain in the clearest terms why someone should look forward to doing business with you. And while you’re explaining your story, you can bet that every other participant in the pitch will be telling theirs. It’s well worth surmising where your story lies and what their story/stories might be: 1. The authority – the trusted source of knowledge. This is a brand and credentials story. It focuses on being the market leader and on the ability to take matters in hand and deal with problems efficiently and effectively. The emphasis is on de-risking and delegation. Works wonders with clients looking for someone to take charge. 2. The safe bet – the best pair of hands. This is a reassurance story. It focuses on the proven and time-tested partner, diligent, hard-working, who always hits targets. Not necessarily the most exciting answer or the most original, but a choice that most will be more than happy with. …
The purpose of a pitch is not to sell what you do. It’s to explain in the clearest terms why someone should look forward to doing business with you. Don’t pitch to your prospect’s greatest wish. They already know that. Pitch to their greatest fear. Tell them the story of how you will help them overcome the risks they face to emerge triumphant. If you haven’t already done so, watch Nancy Duarte’s inspiring TED speech about how to structure a great presentation. As she says, every great presentation needs a combination of facts, insights and story. A pitch presentation, and indeed a pitch document, are no exceptions. To paraphrase Nancy, a pitch is your opportunity to change your own world by changing someone else’s. If you don’t want to follow Nancy’s great structure, try the Pixar story approach: Once upon a time there was ___. Every day, ___. One day ___. Because of that, ___. Because of that, ___. Until finally ___. Or take a leaf out of Get Them to See It Your Way, …
By Mark Di Somma So you’ve been asked to pitch for some business. The most natural thing in the world is to focus on your intentions – whether you want to pitch, how much resource you’re prepared to throw at it, the timing, the deliverables … What often goes unasked (and unanswered) is why the invitation to pitch is being made in the first place. That matters because it helps identify who your real competitors for the business are, and therefore whether you believe you have a genuine chance of winning the business on terms that are acceptable and sustainable to you. Six intentions Some organisations have to put their business out to pitch – it’s policy. Chances are they also do this a lot, so it’s a process for them – which means their intention is to do what they always do. They’re going to be looking for good process back. They need to see that in addition to taking away their problems you can and do do things by the book. Your biggest …
Brands and customers part company for all sorts of reasons. Relationships are tidal. We outgrow the need for a brand or product, our tastes or priorities shift, we don’t live where we lived or work where we worked or spend our time doing what we used to do all the time, perhaps we decide to pass on the latest upgrade. And, objectively, that’s a healthy thing. Those ebbs and flows provide markets with movement. They ensure that new players can enter and gain new customers and current players can change their position in a sector as they gain or lose followers. Wish them well Most brands have their heads around winning new customers. They seem less certain on how to say goodbye with good grace. But how you do that can, in the longer run, and in the context of your brand, be as important as how you welcome customers in the first place. Wishing them well on the next stage of their journey, and assisting them to start that stage in the best light, …
