A Refresher on Preparing for New Business Pitches

Table of Contents

Summarized from Persuasion by Arlene Dickinson.

By Cathy-Anne O’Brien

We’ve been doing this PR thing for a while but to avoid becoming complacent, I found these tips to be a great reminder of how to help ensure a successful new business meeting.

1)   Go beyond the company website and LinkedIn profile. Really do your homework.  Do we clearly know what the prospect is looking for?

2)   Forget your agency-branded four-step process to developing a communications plan. Focus on the client benefits. What’s in it for the client is all that matters.

3)   Speak simply. Every communicator intuitively knows this but even we fall into that trap of overly using jargon and acronyms in an effort to look savvy and sophisticated.  This is not the way to impress someone – it’s a way to get them to tune you out pretty quickly.

4)   Establish an emotional or personal connect. And the sooner in the meeting, the better.  People want to work with people they like and creating a relationship and making a real connection will put you in a better position to win the business.

5)   Get the client to speak first. Avoid launching into a detailed overview of your firm and listing all your capabilities.  Instead, focus on getting the client to speak about their company, his or her responsibilities and pain points. The information learned here is invaluable and you’ll be able to tailor your pitch accordingly when it’s your turn to speak.

6)   Story tell.  This can be an art form.  And those who do it well will captivate their audience. It makes the pitching interesting and memorable – but ensure it’s brief and relevant.

7)   Leave the PowerPoint at home. I love this one. We often feel naked without our presentation.  But that’s the issue.  The PowerPoint presentation has become a crutch and creates a barrier between you and the client. It’s a sure way to prevent establishing a personal connection, not to mention boring them.  Know the presentation intimately but speak authentically and establish a dialogue.  Better to be imperfect and conversational than speaking verbatim and losing the chance to connect on a human level.

 

 

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