(P)itching to lose

Almost every pitch is a pitch that loses.

Think about that for a second.

Whenever you get the opportunity to pitch for new business, you are invariably stacked up against a group of competitors – all of which are as eager to win as you are.

Every single one of you will lose that pitch – except for that one winning agency.

Getting onto the winning side of the ledger is no easy feat. A great idea alone rarely wins straight out.

Yet, too many competitors will spend their time working on their ideas, their budgeting and their logistics., before throwing together a PowerPoint deck that shares the story.

That last statement is a bit of a trick. You don’t want to “share your story” – you want to sell your story.

Which means that you need to avoid the pitfalls that far, faaaaaaaaaaar too many pitch teams fall into. It’s like you’re “itching’ to lose.

Win more pitches. Stop doing these four “losing” things.

“Diminishing” loses – think more about your actual pitch.

72 hours to your pitch. Time to think about the deck!

Too often, in too many industries, leaders don’t think about the pitch situation until it’s too late.

That diminishes the importance of the pitch.

You know the scenario. It’s four days until you sit down with your buyer. Your own team has been working for weeks on developing product, marketing, timetables and budget. With time running out, you’re forced to shoehorn everything you want to say into a decent looking deck that outlines your company, your value proposition and your idea.

This is a recipe for disaster because you’re betting that an audience will feel about your idea the way you feel about your idea. But that requires persuasion and selling – things that need time and attention.

The clock starts on that time the instant you begin building a relationship. You are already pitching when you ask your potential client about the boundaries of an RFP. You pitch when you have cocktails with someone you eventually want to work with. You pitch in the way you shake their hand the first time they meet you.

Heck, this article is part of the pitch process. I want you to hire my company at some point for a keynote, workshop or coaching. To do that, I’m handing you as much value as I possibly can. It’s designed to create a favourable impression and advance the chances we have of working together.

Stop diminishing your pitch – start earlier.

Ask this question – Am I taking a strategic, long-term approach to my pitch.

“Autopilot” loses – don’t just iterate the last thing you did.

Grab your last deck, change the date, update the client logos.

If this is the way you’re pitching, you are just begging to lose.

Early in our careers, we learn a whole bunch of foundational skills – how to run a meeting, how to write an email and how to present an idea. Over time, we simply use this playbook of skills over and over again.

In short, we go into autopilot.

It makes sense. We have a bazillion things to do in any given day. Having a set of processes that we can rely on makes the day more manageable.

Except…

Except that pitching, presenting and communicating should not be one of these automated processes. Going into autopilot means you’re doing virtually the same thing you did last time.

Meanwhile, a smart competitor will be out there profiling the audience, turning the pitch into a multi-point campaign, and, most importantly – finding way after way to beat you.

Don’t go into autopilot with your pitches. Take the time to understand your pitch situation and build unique strategies to meet the needs of your unique audience.

Ask this question – Am I just doing a version of what I did last time, or am I responding to this particular pitch situation?

“Selfish” loses – pitching is poker.

Is there a dedicated “About Us” section in your presentation? If you answered yes, you just made one of the most critical mistakes in developing a pitch.

Pitching isn’t about you. It’s not about your awesome company, your brilliant product or your innovative solution. Instead – it’s about your audience. What they want, what they need and how they buy.

It’s not what you sell…it’s how they buy.

Your pitch needs to solve a problem, not push a product, and to do that you need to understand who your audience is, what they value, how they buy and how they reject.

It’s like the final scene in the Matt Damon film Rounders. He gets into a cab and says, “Kennedy Airport.’ The cab driver asks, “So, where are you headed?” Matt responds, “I’m going to Vegas.” The driver laughs and says, “Vegas, huh? Good luck, man.”

In a voiceover, Matt delivers the exclamation point to a film focused on just how much of poker is about skill. “People insist on calling it luck.”

If you focus on yourself and your ideas, you’re playing a slot machine – you’re leaving it to luck. If you take the time to understand how you meet the needs of the buyer, you’re playing poker, which is about analyzing the people at the table and playing them rather than playing the cards.

Ask this question – What does it take to win?

“Messy” loses – stand for something.

We are the global leader with a boutique mindset, delivering a premium experience at a cost anyone can afford.

Wait, what?

If your pitch barfs out a kitchen sink of benefits, you run the risk of being absolutely forgettable. If you stand for everything, you really stand for nothing.

Good pitches bring a perspective and make the buyer see themselves in that perspective.

That means your pitch needs to be about something memorable, useful and valuable.

Take a look at any successful television commercial. They don’t pitch you with every idea under the sun. They focus on one really, really good idea and make that idea connect to you.

Clean up your pitch. Know what your buyer wants, then deliver a pitch that activates that very thing.

Critical this critical question – Do I stand for something, or am I trying to pitch every single thing?

Diminishing. Autopilot. Selfish. Messy. These are some of the most common reasons you’re losing your pitches. The great news is that you can do something about every single one of them.