How’s your pitch?

This post is sponsored by Moving Bits. 

Many people have asked me: how does a hybrid agency as small as ours, with no support from a big-name network, get to work with the big-name clients that we do?

If you don’t know my company Moving Bits, or me, let me just say that we have several rather world-renowned businesses as our clients.

And I believe a large part of the answer (besides the fact that our small team is highly competent and very efficiently led by our GM/EP Michell Tan) is that we know how to pitch.

I love pitching: it is the favourite part of my job, and I’ve discovered that if you frame the client’s problem correctly, and develop your solution accordingly, you will get the gig six times out of 10. And if you bring your A-game to the pitch presentation and deliver it with passion and conviction, that score goes up to eight.

The two times we don’t get it, it’s because we failed to pitch correctly, or – and this happens more often than it should – we were invited just to make up the numbers and provide a benchmark estimate. The client was never serious in giving us the job anyway. 

So, what makes me an expert at pitching? I hear you ask. That is a fair question, so here goes. I’ve pitched for the World Bank and the Smithsonian Channel in Washington DC (successfully); A&E Networks in New York (unsuccessfully); Lionsgate and Warner Bros in Los Angeles (unsuccessfully); Walt Disney Imagineering in Hong Kong (successfully); Resorts World Genting, Genting SkyWorlds, and Sports Toto in Kuala Lumpur (successfully); and a whole host of big-name Singapore-based MNCs (successfully and unsuccessfully).

I have had a lifetime of pitching, and I’ve learned many lessons from both successes and failures – things like changing your approach depending on whether your audience is from the east or west. Or slowing down your speech so that everyone understands you. And, it pays to dress up when you’re the one standing in front of the room trying to get an audience of indifferent executives to root for you.

How you pitch is just as important as what you pitch. In this short article, I will attempt to help anyone interested in pitching increase their batting average. Not with strategy, etc, because there are a few dozen books on this topic written by people who are more qualified. That’s about what you pitch.

But I’m going to show you how to pitch – which I believe will work for anyone once you know your pitch is on point, that is, the idea you are presenting is the right one for that client’s particular problem. So with the “what” taken care of, you need to know “how”. It just ups your chances of success.

Rehearsing is the key

With a great presentation deck in place, you will want to start your rehearsals. If you are presenting with someone else, then rehearse together. You will want to time your rehearsals and make sure you hit the timing the client has accorded you. (Remember to build in time to take questions; it gives you a chance to clarify anything that may not have been totally understood.)

What you are trying to do is to achieve total mastery of your deck. You should be able to deliver it in your sleep without having to look at it. But, at the same time, you should never read off your deck. It is the kiss of death.

The more you know your material, the less you’ll feel chained to it, and the more confidence you’ll have to make a slight detour to comment on something that’s made headlines that day. Done judiciously, this adds spontaneity to your spiel and boosts recall of the pitch experience.

Once you’ve rehearsed (for big pitches, do it twice), you’re ready for the big day.

Suit up 

After all, Superman does, you should too. I’d suggest you suit up or at least dress extra nice (like it’s your wedding day or something like that) to demonstrate to the client how seriously you take the pitch. Psych yourself up and make sure you are the most enthusiastic person in the room.

I cannot tell you how often clients have said that besides having a great idea, they “loved our enthusiasm” after I have finished a presentation. And it is why they awarded us the job.

I mean, if you want your client to be excited about you and your agency, you have to reciprocate by showing the same enthusiasm for their product or service.

Stand up and move to the front of the room

So you’re in the room, and you are requested to start the presentation, stand up and make your way to the head of the table or wherever the projection screen is. This way, the audience doesn’t need to turn their collective heads from you speaking to what’s displayed on the screen and then back to you again when you start explaining, like at a tennis game.

Anything you can do to make your audience work less – do. Even if it means you have to work harder. After all, you do want their business, right? So do this right in the pitch, and you will win the business.

Listen up

Once you’ve presented, be ready for questions. Whatever you think you have prepared for, chances are you’ll get a question so far out of left field that you will have to think very quickly on your feet to provide a credible answer. Quick thinking is a great skill to train.

The ability to improvise when put on the spot is invaluable. I went to school for jazz improvisation, which helps me a lot whenever I’m presenting. You should find your way to train this skill.

One excellent way is watching a show such as Shark Tank and learning from watching others present and answer difficult questions. Or if your business is like ours where the pitch value is in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, then observing how real estate salespeople pitch multi-million dollar properties (Million Dollar Listing New York) will teach you what to do and what not to do.

The lessons I’ve picked up from watching these shows have been invaluable. And I use all their techniques not only while pitching, but when I am presenting creative work as well.

Drink up

Pitch is theatre, so treat your pitch like a performance. Just relax into it and you will kill it.

If you remember to work on these pointers, I promise you, you will get better over time, and once you internalise it, you will start loving the whole pitching process.

Plus, when your client calls you to let you know you’ve won the gig, it will be worth all the extra preparation that you’ve put into your presentation.

I hope these small, but important pointers help you when your turn comes around – best of luck on your next pitch.

Find out more at Moving Bits.