A pitch is a concise and compelling presentation of your value proposition to a potential customer, partner, or investor. It can be the difference between winning or losing a deal, securing or missing an opportunity, or gaining or losing trust. But how do you make your pitch perfect? Here are some tips to help you craft and deliver a pitch that stands out and convinces your audience.
Before you start working on your pitch, you need to understand who you are pitching to, what they care about, and what they expect from you. Research their background, goals, challenges, and preferences, and tailor your pitch accordingly. Use language and examples that resonate with them, and avoid jargon and assumptions that might confuse or alienate them. Show them that you have done your homework and that you can address their specific needs and pain points.
Knowing you audience goes deeper than surface value. Think shark tank, each VC has a tailored gift towards the beginning of the pitch. Look up the people prior to pitching, who's going to be there, what are their interest, what are past companies they invested in, why did they invest in those companies etc. While messaging and perception is important so is having a connection. If the people you are talking to can relate to where you at and where you are coming from its less about selling an idea and showing them you are the right team to execute.
Spot on. This is where many people miss out on connecting with the customer. When you do your background check, you are able to foresee some of their challenges or even understand some of their cultural elements, which allows you to connect to the customer at the very outset. It is also recommended to analyze some of the people you might be meeting during your first meeting, by browsing through their LinkedIn accounts to determine any common connections you could establish.
A well defined preparation is only possible if the audience segment is known. A ease of connect at start , a non-topic of communication to start off is always the best to grab attention, then a straight jump. Slowly capture the into the details of objective down the line.
Have a product that is needed by your target audience. Let the investors know how you are different than the competition. Get a mentor or coach in the industry.
Clarity: Keep your message clear and concise. Engagement: Capture interest from the start. Structure: Organize with a beginning, middle, and end. Relevance: Tailor to the audience's needs. Storytelling: Use compelling narratives. Visuals: Enhance with visuals. Practice: Rehearse and know your content. Timing: Stay within the allotted time. Confidence: Project confidence. Feedback: Seek and apply feedback. Adaptability: Adjust for different audiences. Credibility: Establish expertise. Impact: End with a strong call to action. Q&A Prep: Anticipate and prepare for questions. Body Language: Use positive body language.
A pitch should have a clear and specific objective that guides your content and structure. What do you want your audience to do, think, or feel after hearing your pitch? Do you want them to buy your product, invest in your company, partner with you, or refer you to someone else? Do you want them to trust you, like you, or remember you? Your objective should be SMART: specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. It should also be aligned with your audience's interests and motivations.
Outside of SMART, your objective should be impactful. If your pitch is to raise money what type of impact is that going to make, is on the every day person or a specific group of people, does it make their life easier what type of analytics or research has been conducted to substantiate these claims? Identify who your stakeholders are and those that you will influence with your pitch. Your objective should be a positive outcome that matters.
It is also important to identify your audience very clearly identifying who are technical, who are non technical (Ex: If we are to present something from the technical perspective). Your pitch needs to cover all of their perspectives without having to deep dive but provide confidence that you are able to provide a high level holistic view of your solutions.
Objective should carry a part of negotiation alongwith. Anything that hurt the other party, a crooked motif to the object will fail one or the other day in long run. he honest, realistic and Humble comminutor.
Your value proposition is the core of your pitch. It is the statement that summarizes how your solution solves your audience's problem, why your solution is better than the alternatives, and what benefits your solution offers. Your value proposition should be concise, clear, and compelling. It should answer the question: why should your audience care about what you have to say? To craft your value proposition, use the following formula: For [target segment], who [have a problem], our [solution] is a [category] that [provides value]. Unlike [competitors], we [differentiate].
I would actually say that it's more about the VALUE, than the value PROPOSITION. I've found that if you provide value in conversations right from the start, by sharing your expertise and conceptually talking through ideas and solutions of your prospect's mandate - before it's even about your own product - you build trust and establish competence. One of my customers recently told me that they went with our product because we were the only vendor to truly understand their project and brainstorm ideas around it, before even mentioning our own product even once. This in turn means that sellers have to become experts of their respective fields, not only their own product. Which is a trend I truly believe in in B2B, anyway.
Crafting and articulating an authentic narrative about the value of what you’re selling, will naturally allow your audience to see how, when and why they’ll use it. Once the intended audience sees themselves using a product, the value that it brings will sell itself. Most products created and sold by Apple are great examples of this, especially the introduction and use of the iPhone. Not only did Apple show the value of carrying an entire record collection in our pockets with the iPod, they went on to sell the narrative of how our lives would be better with the ability to also stay connected.
Value propositions oftentimes are overstated. To build and maintain trust with customers, it's essential for businesses to ensure that their value propositions are accurate, transparent, and aligned with what they can genuinely deliver. Making realistic promises and consistently delivering on them is key to building a positive reputation and fostering long-term customer loyalty. When value propositions are truthful and aligned with the actual customer experience, it can lead to higher customer satisfaction and brand credibility. However, when value propositions are exaggerated or misrepresented, it can lead to disappointed customers, damaged reputation, and a loss of trust.
Perspective of mutual benefit, cost or revenue advantages to be clear for a best agreement to come by. Never sideline a customer for a adamant requirements and personal ego.
A pitch should have a logical and engaging structure that follows the AIDA model: Attention, Interest, Desire, and Action. First, you need to grab your audience's attention with a hook, a statement, a question, a story, or a statistic that captures their curiosity and makes them want to hear more. Second, you need to generate interest by explaining the problem that your audience faces and how your solution addresses it. Use facts, data, testimonials, or case studies to back up your claims and show credibility. Third, you need to create desire by highlighting the benefits and advantages of your solution and how it fits your audience's needs and goals. Use emotions, values, or social proof to appeal to your audience and make them feel connected to your solution. Fourth, you need to prompt action by telling your audience what you want them to do next and why they should do it now. Use a clear and strong call to action that specifies the steps and the urgency.
It is also important that the decks we use for the pitch is not very cluttered with text, but with just one sentence or a couple of words being very specific and clear.
A pitch is not only about what you say, but also how you say it. You need to practice your pitch until you can deliver it confidently, fluently, and persuasively. Use a timer, a recorder, or a mirror to check your timing, tone, and body language. Ask for feedback from someone who can give you honest and constructive criticism. Refine your pitch based on the feedback and practice again. Remember to adapt your pitch to different situations, formats, and audiences. You might need to shorten, lengthen, or customize your pitch depending on the context and the opportunity.
How much feedback you get and what you do with it matters. If you send it out, and 100 people provide 100 different types of feedback you will have to be selective on what you change. If you haven't read your pitch as often as you've pitched it you should take some time to reflect. Feedback & constructive criticism is a tool, if used during the "refinement period" of the pitch can be effective during revisions of the slides. Taking Q&A, turning it into data representation & visualization can be impactful, being able to answer 99% of questions with slides that matter and focusing the 1% of questions on "peaks of interest" or "investing questions" will help push the right people, asking the right questions, going in the right direction.
This is a very important element. Time is very important, and it is important that we value our customers time and stick to a clear time duration. It is also important that we are able to work around an elevated pitch, a medium duration pitch, in case there is an unexpected shortage of time to present the entire planned deck.
A pitch is not a one-way communication, but a dialogue with your audience. You need to be prepared to handle any objections or questions that might arise during or after your pitch. Objections are not necessarily negative, but rather signs of interest or curiosity. You need to acknowledge, address, and overcome them with facts, logic, or empathy. Questions are opportunities to clarify, elaborate, or reinforce your message. You need to listen, understand, and answer them with confidence and relevance. You also need to ask questions yourself to engage your audience, gauge their interest, and identify their needs.
Objections are easy once you have heard them all and know how to handle them. Don't get discouraged if it's the first time you have heard a new one. Instead ask the reasoning behind the objection and show interest. What may be an objection actually might lead to a connection if followed up on. "Hey investor, at the last pitch you asked X, here is what we came up with and how we are adjusting, I would like to have a follow up call on Y and why you should consider us." At the same time don't spend too much time with meaningless objections from people that may or may not understand the pitch, take construction criticism to a certain point but if the majority of the audience is giving positive feedback don't let the bad fish ruin your day.
When handling objections it is important that we have an open mind, not being over offensive or over soft, but being able to moderately handle the situation with ease, and clarity. Many tend to over explain things and lose the control and focus on handling the core objection. It also important to have a clear understanding of the question, and be able to address it to the point and also be open enough to acknowledge that we might not know the answer of the question at that moment, but be able to revert to the customer after clarifications.
I firmly believe in incorporating a personal touch by sharing relevant experiences and stories. This approach helps me connect with clients on a deeper level, allowing me to empathize with their pain points and effectively explain how I can assist them through a clear process. Above all, I always make a commitment to deliver high-quality work within the agreed-upon timeframe.
Thoroughly understand your audience's needs, values, and pain points. Tailoring your pitch to address what matters most to them will greatly increase your chances of success. A perfect pitch goes beyond facts; it tells a compelling story that connects with your audience on an emotional level, making your value proposition memorable and persuasive.
My most successful pitch ever was where I was asked to put forward a proposal. Instead of giving the client the sell which would have been easy, I told them it wasn't right for them but that we would work on it. They varied that honesty more than anything and instead of winning the one small segment of business, we secured the entire amount which was worth at least 20x more. Being confident enough to say its not right based on everything you're client has told you gives you everything you need to iterate and adapt, building long term value.
I like all the things mentioned in this article about pitching. However, I believe this is crucial even before pitching to discuss & listen to the customers: - What are the main things you would like to achieve in this meeting? - We scheduled an hour, does this timing still ok for you? Also important to summarize the context: "Our understanding of the situation is the following...". It allow you to listen to them, add things you might have missed, include others people point of view that were not in the meeting before...
In all this, what's the most important is the coherence and the ability of the story to be remebered. Is it simple and effective enough? Is easy to remember?