Pitching is an art, but it’s one which everyone in business should and could learn to master. While pitching may seem like a series of one-off events which takes place in front of investors in a board room, we are in fact pitching our businesses all the time. Every time you have a conversation with someone or explain your business model, you’re ‘selling’ your business by generating interest.
All too often, people forget that pitching is not simply about securing investment. It’s also about conveying your business idea and getting across your enthusiasm, because that’s what people really want to buy into. You need to break things down to ensure everyone can understand your big idea and to justify your place in the market. When it comes to making a big pitch, there are seven key principles you should work to.
Know your audience
Remember, you have been invited in and these people want to hear what you have to say. In order to give them what they want, you need to have got to know them before you walk into the room. Try to understand their interests and what they might want from the interaction, and also try to make them understand you. Ditch the jargon and acronyms in favour of plain language, because not everyone is in your industry and not everyone will be able to grasp the terminology you use as short-hand.
Know what you want from them
As well as understanding what they might want, you also need to understand what exactly you yourself want from the meeting. You have to be honest and realistic. Whether you’re looking for their investment, to hire them or to forge a business relationship, you need to make that plain right from the outset. This is, after all, a two-way transaction, and people value clarity because it saves everyone time in the long-run.
Nail a killer opener
Remember that the most important part of any pitch is the opening, because it’s the make or break as to whether you grab their attention. Start fast and with a really clear introduction, by following the ABCD rule. A is for ‘attention grabber’, your really punchy opening couple of sentences. B is for ‘benefit’, outlining what they will get out of this. C is for credentials, setting out why you are qualified to be the person for the job, and D is for ‘direction’, giving a breakdown of what you’re going to tell them and the order in which you’re delivering your pitch.
Tailor your pitch
Similar to knowing your audience, you need to ensure that each pitch is tailored to the people in front of you. Nobody opposite you wants you to fail or waste an hour of their time, so they’ll give you every opportunity to do well. They’re there to listen but you still need to keep your pitch deck short and sweet, by relying on as few slides as possible and prioritising images over text. If they’re spending too long reading the slides, then they’re not listening to the words coming out of your mouth.
Be prepared
While this sounds like common sense, it’s surprising how many people walk into a pitch completely unprepared. One of the biggest mis-steps is assuming that they have all the technology they’ve promised on the phone. Never assume that there will be the projectors, screens and blackout blinds you expect – always imagine the worst-case scenario and think through how you might overcome the situation. One of the best things you can do is to take in hard copies of your presentation to rely on should the worst come to the worst. These are handy to have anyway, even when the technology works, because they can often be more engaging than staring at a screen.
Make sure you listen
Remember, you have two ears and one mouth, so use them in that proportion. Once your presentation is done, the best thing to do is be quiet and listen to feedback or questions. You may well be using the same pitch elsewhere, so feedback is a constructive way to improve it for next time around, providing that is you’re sensible enough to act on it. Always be sure to follow up on your presentation as well. You don’t want people to forget about you, so send out a polite email just to say you’re happy to answer any questions they may have. You want this to be a dialogue, not a monologue.
Know you will get better
There is no such thing as the perfect pitch and we’re all of us learning and improving. It really is a case of getting better with practice, and the more pitches you do, the better you will get at it over time. Try running your pitch past friends, family and colleagues to gain a little extra practice time, and act on any feedback they might have. There will be times when you walk out of the board room with a bloody nose, but the key is to learn from those experiences and improve.
The most common mistake people make is over-complicating things, especially when it comes to language. Keep your pitch and slides as simple as possible to maintain people’s attention, and try to make your presentation tell a story, because you and your narrative are what people want to buy into. This is a conversation, so remember it’s two-sided and over time you will master the art of pitching.
