The Art of Pitching – Best Practices

Winning more pitches is probably the single most skill that hugely impacts the
outcome of many a sale, meeting and deal. Pitching is also something that creates
shudder down the spine of even the most seasoned marketer. As with any skill, it takes
practice and a bit of expert advice to master the fine art of pitching. This white paper
presents few insights that will help you win more pitches.

Do not fear the cold approach. More clients are open to cold approach than you
imagine. Of course, you need to be unrelenting and creative in your approach to tilt
the outcome in your favor. Networking, recommendations and personal contacts are
important but they are not the only way to win pitches.

Focus on what you can offer, not on who you are. This advice may seem obvious
but still many agencies and agents repeat the same age-old mistake of talking too
much about themselves rather than focusing on what benefit they can bring to their
clients. Then again, it’s not about listing the features of your offering, but
demonstrating a real understanding of your client’s needs, wants and the value you
can add to their business.

Know where your competitors stand so that you can stand apart. All salesmen
and marketers believe that their approach of pitching is unique and that it would be
interesting to clients. On the contrary, many studies show that a lot of people pretty
much say the same thing. It really helps to see others while they pitch or contact an
independent pitch doctor to see where you stand in the crowd. Understand how your
competitors pitch and then design an outstanding pitch.

Keep your promises. If you are the incumbent, then obviously you should stick to all
the terms outlined in your agreement and deliver what you promised. It is very useful
to be frequently in touch with the client to explain your progress or lack of it under the
contractual obligations. Avoid over-pitching as it is counterproductive in the long run.
Use all your efforts to not to give your clients an opportunity to say, “They won on
inspiration, but failed in administration”.

Heal the relation. If the relationship between you and your client is strained during
your past contractual term, then you obviously need to re-work your strategy to make
things work again. One idea is to employ an independent consultant to look into what
has gone wrong and his or her suggestions to fix it.

Another idea is to work with the client for a complete pitch brief and use it as an
opportunity to make a fresh start. Be ready to make few compromises in order not to
lose the deal and prevent the client from moving to a competitor’s pitch. See what you
can change in the way you employ resources or strategy or change the costs involved
to make the deal more enticing to the client.
If you are new, then try to understand what is being said and what’s not. You
might find it difficult to understand the rationale behind why your client wants to
change. If you are not an incumbent, it is even more likely that the client does not
fully disclose the reason behind why he or she wants to change the incumbent,
especially if it involves petty politics or high costs or strained relationships. They
would probably rephrase or hide the actual reasons. So you need to read between the
lines to find out what the incumbent did so as not to repeat the same mistakes. Tread
carefully and understand both the risks and rewards of a deal with this client.

Make your RFI (Request for Information) as engaging as possible. Yes, you might
have filled the form a thousand times before but it would still be a mistake to take an
RFI proposal for granted. Don’t think of it as paperwork. It is something that must be
‘crafted’ rather than ‘worked’. If you are not well-versed with the words, then hire a
professional who can write an engaging copy.

Ensure that your RFI addresses the issues raised by the client and provides
satisfactory answers. It should provide all the information that client wishes to have.
Make it easier for them to evaluate your RFI against others. An RFI proposal
demonstrates the seriousness with which you pursue the client. The more interested
you seem, higher the chances of winning the pitch.

Avoid ‘cut and paste’ versions of RFI. If you must, then see that it isn’t identified as
such. Also avoid using generic sentences, promises, features and presentations. The
RFI is your first chance to differentiate yourself from the rest.

Develop chemistry in meetings. Readying yourself for the first meeting with the
client can cause both nervousness and excitement. First impressions are not
necessarily the best impressions but they are usually the strongest ones. So, be in
control and demonstrate your expertise without worrying too much about the outcome.

Be lucid and logical in your explanations. Instead of waiting for the client to
respond, ask questions in advance. This demonstrates your interest in learning more
about the client. Try to find out what matters most to the client so that you can tailor
your presentation to suit it and build a strong relationship. Research about the client
beforehand and offer some relevant ideas or suggestions. This is very important to
display your expertise and differentiate yourself from the rest.

Control the dynamics of the meeting. It is always better to be in control than to let
the client direct the flow of the session. Instead of being reactive, actively direct what
is being discussed in the meeting. You need to practically own it. Clients would see
this as a proof of your expertise, confidence and capability. Establish your credentials.
Even if you have explained everything about yourself in the RFI, do not assume that
the client would have taken the trouble to go through it. However, make sure that you
do not turn this into a lecture. Keep your purpose of building rapport in mind. Also do
not go overboard in promising what you cannot deliver.

Get your best team. Clients have probably seen hundreds of dazzling presentations in
their lifetime. The business world places so much emphasis on making presentations
that it is very difficult to separate a genuine presentation from a carefully
choreographed fluff. Clients can be extra distrustful and apprehensive when awarding
accounts to new people. Many people have lost faith in meetings and presentations
and prefer to personally interact with the actual person who does the job. So get the
best team you can get from your agency and field it. Have them explain ‘how’ they do
things rather than ‘what’ things they are capable of doing.

Practice makes it perfect. Many well-intentioned pitches fail due to lack of right
strategy and rigorous practice. Poor timing, poor presentation and poor structure of the
proposal, below par performance due of lack of rehearsal are the frequent reasons for
not being able to win pitches.

Strategize on what kind of strengths you want to present in depth to the client
and how those strengths would be valued by the client. Develop your positioning
strategy and reinforce it all along the pitch. Inject passion and energy into your
presentation. People won’t remember what you have said but they will surely
remember the way you have made them feel with your presentation.

Check, double check and re-check your brief and rehearse it. Do not let your team
members sit idly during presentation. Give them an active role and make it look like a
real team effort. Conduct mock Q&A sessions in your company and develop
impressive responses to the questions likely to be asked. It is in the Q&A sessions that
you get the best chance to differentiate yourself from the rest and demonstrate your
expertise.

Seal the contract. When the pitch is won, it’s time to face the real test. To make sure
that your experience of working with the client would be rewarding, plan mutually
agreeable working practices and communicate them clearly. Pre-empt any unforeseen
issues by having a sound strategy to troubleshoot any service dissatisfaction, poor
performance, creative differences between you and the client, poor financial
management and communication gaps.

Finally deliver what you have promised. Nothing works like a solid reputation and
reputation is built by delivering what you have promised. To conclude, maintaining a
healthy relationship, addressing the work issues in a quick and agreeable manner and
adapting the changes in the requirements of the client are three important things you
need to keep in mind to sustain a long term business relationship.