How do you tailor your pitch and presentation for different settings? This is a crucial skill for any business development professional who wants to win over potential clients, partners, or investors. In this article, you will learn some tips and best practices for adapting your message, style, and delivery to suit various audiences, contexts, and goals.
Before you craft your pitch and presentation, you need to research and understand your audience. Who are they? What are their needs, pain points, and interests? How do they make decisions? ??? What are their expectations and preferences? The more you know about your audience, the more you can tailor your pitch and presentation to address their specific concerns, values, and motivations. For example, if you are pitching to a technical audience, you might want to focus more on the features and benefits of your solution, use relevant jargon and data, and demonstrate your credibility and expertise . If you are pitching to a non-technical audience, you might want to simplify your language, use stories and analogies , and highlight the impact and outcomes of your solution.
The pitch should not come across as a typical sales pitch. Instead, we should adopt a consultative approach, where we address the common problems and pain points experienced within the specific industry. This way, the stakeholders can easily connect these issues to their own challenges and consider potential solutions. It's important that the pitch is tailored to the individual needs and interests of the stakeholders because not everyone shares the same KPIs. They should see value in the pitch that directly pertains to their own circumstances.
The best way which I have figured is to know the audience and to identify the key take aways which the audience can have as they have invested time to listen to you which means you should add value into their learning and lastly it should be more of conversation and story telling so that people can relate with their lives....
Preparing the pitch in an adapted way begins with in-depth research on the target audience. Learning about what interests and occupies them, their needs and pain points. And from there I will look for areas of overlap between the service we offer and the unmet need.
Knowing your audience is really important and in that audience you have to find out who the decision maker is also, then only you can plan your tactics to get the maximum attention from the decision maker. Try story telling where required, and everyone expects a human touch so don't lose your touch to creating the rapport.
I’ve always believed in one thing which has worked amazingly for me, go with an educating mindset and personalize the pitch accordingly. Educate, don’t sell! Address the problem first, then come to the solution. It is very important to leave the prospect with some knowledge even if they are not a right fit. It leaves a door open for future collaborations and you earn a good connect in your network.
Another key factor to consider when tailoring your pitch and presentation is your goal. What do you want to achieve with your pitch and presentation? Do you want to inform, persuade, educate, or inspire your audience? Do you want to generate leads, close deals, raise funds, or build relationships? Depending on your goal, you might need to adjust your tone, content, and call to action. For example, if you want to inform your audience about your company or product, you might use a factual and informative tone, provide an overview of your value proposition and differentiation, and invite them to learn more or sign up for a demo. If you want to persuade your audience to buy from you or invest in you, you might use a more emotional and compelling tone, emphasize the problem and solution fit, and ask them to take action or commit to the next step.
Never try to sell anything, always try to solve the customers issue and offer them the solution. When we try to sell and use whatever tone it has limitations but when we offer solutions to the pain points that's where the conversion happens.
The first question I ask when prepping for a meeting (whether my meeting or with my team) is "what is the objective of this meeting?". So often, we prep our slides and our prep call without a clear understanding of the end goal. Without knowing where you are trying to get to, all the prep-work you are doing is significantly less effective than it (easily) could be.
Having a crystal clear view of the objective of the meeting is key. It is showing respect towards the people we meet with and who devote time to interact. It is also paying respect to our own time. Often, I find that beneath the ??objective?? is a ??question?? - what is the question the people we meet have, say ??can these guys help us,?? and for us the question is often ??can we work together.?? This approach helps be laser focus on the client’s needs and helps laying out possible ways we can help.
Define your goal: Where will you be pitching? Is it a formal or informal setting? How much time do you have? What kind of equipment and resources will be available to you?
One major hurdle in pitching is staying laser-focused. It's tempting to make your pitch all about how awesome your company or product is. After all, you're the expert, right? You want to dot all the I's and cross all the T's. I've been there, and if you're a founder, executive, or even a BDR, you can relate. However, that approach turns your pitch into a long-winded explanation. And let's be real, when you're explaining, you're losing. Make the story all about your goal—whether it's making a sale, raising funds, or closing a partnership. Doing this keeps you on point, letting you highlight only what's truly needed to hit that goal. This shift in focus ensures that your pitch packs the most punch, without losing anyone along the way.
The format of your pitch and presentation also depends on the setting and the audience. You might have to deliver your pitch and presentation in person, online, or over the phone. You might have to use slides, videos, demos, or props. You might have to follow a strict time limit, a specific structure, or a certain protocol. You need to choose the format that best suits your setting and audience, and prepare accordingly. For example, if you are delivering your pitch and presentation in person, you might want to use eye contact, gestures, and body language to engage your audience, use slides or visuals to support your message, and practice your delivery and timing. If you are delivering your pitch and presentation online, you might want to use a clear and confident voice, use interactive tools or polls to keep your audience's attention, and test your technology and equipment beforehand.
If you do decide to deliver your presentation via Powerpoint, remember two key rules: - A slide should read like a road sign, not a novel: Minimise the number of words used, try short clauses vs full sentences, and use the slide to guide the message you are sharing with the audience, not deliver it. - Do not read the slide word-for-word: Once you pull up the slide, people immediately read the entire thing. If you now re-read what is on screen, it's not very engaging and people tend to zone out. TL;DR: Keep the slide to high-level bullet points and never read the slide verbatim
In my experience tailoring your pitch and presentation should be specific, but always keep in mind that you are potentially conveying your message to at least 3 types of listeners - visual, auditory, and kinesthetic. Most presentations and pitches nowadays focus on visuals (images, graphics, videos). You as a presenter will have to add the audio part with your voice, and intonation. When possible include something physical(3D printed model where applicable) for kinesthetics.
Whilst I don't disagree with the points here, it ignores one important point. Choose a format which suits you! If you're not comfortable and confident it doesn't matter what your message is, you won't convey it. Presenting is as much about creating an environment you feel able to operate as anything else. Too many people add elements to a presentation that derail them, because they think they should. Just find a way to be you.
Choose your format: What do you want to achieve with your pitch or presentation? Are you trying to sell a product or service? Raise money? Get a job? Inspire action?
A lot of Sellers throw the kitchen sink at their Buyers when creating Proposals Here's why that dooms them to fail Too often, decks turn 20 pages long... Who the H-E-??-?? is gonna read that? Honestly, no one. Instead, Get to the point, by using this flow: 1. What's changed in the world Why is the sticking with the status quo a risk to them? Why are they at risk of getting left behind? 2. their Problem What do you need to solve? 3. Cost of Inaction What's the risk of sticking with old alternatives? What do they stand to lose? 4. the Solution What do they stand to gain? These 4 slides will be 10x more powerful than your 20 page deck. #Pitching #Proposals #Sales
Your style is how you communicate your pitch and presentation. It includes your language, tone, voice, humor, and personality. Your style should reflect your brand, your values, and your purpose, but it should also adapt to your audience, your goal, and your format. You need to find the right balance between being authentic and being appropriate. For example, if you are pitching to a formal and conservative audience, you might want to use a more professional and respectful style, avoid slang or jargon, and follow the etiquette and norms of the setting. If you are pitching to a casual and creative audience, you might want to use a more relaxed and friendly style, use humor or anecdotes, and show some flair and originality.
That's true, you should have your own way of presentation and you shouldn't simply copy your mentor or colleagues because selling is not an easy thing and to close a high percentage of your leads you have to tailor your presentation in a personal way which will resonate with the target lead. Simply following a standard may not give optimal output.
I usually don't stick to one style. I prefer to change the style as per the client. It helped me so far as well. But I am open to considering different strategies, if anyone can enlighten me.
The best way to adapt style is practice. Do as much public speaking as you can. I was awful at it, terrified. That will halt any consideration of style you might have. So first get a feel for being in the scenario and then allow yourself room to explore what suits you. Far too much emphasis is placed on the audience here.
"Be yourself." explore what suits you. and adjust the style according to the audience Your style is the means through which you convey your pitch and presentation. It encompasses your language, tone, voice, humour, and personality. It is crucial for your style to align with your brand, values, and purpose.
Use the right language and style if you are pitching to a technical audience, you may want to use more jargon and data. If you are pitching to a general audience, you need to simplify and explain your concepts.
One of the best ways to tailor your pitch and presentation for different settings is to solicit feedback from your audience, your peers, or your mentors. Feedback can help you identify your strengths and weaknesses, improve your message and delivery, and address any gaps or questions. You can solicit feedback before, during, or after your pitch and presentation, depending on your situation and objective. For example, before your pitch and presentation, you might want to ask for feedback from someone who knows your audience or your industry, and incorporate their suggestions or insights. During your pitch and presentation, you might want to ask for feedback from your audience, and respond to their comments or concerns. After your pitch and presentation, you might want to ask for feedback from your audience, your peers, or your mentors, and evaluate your performance and results.
Tailoring your pitch and presentation for different settings is not a one-size-fits-all approach. It requires research, planning, practice, and feedback. By following these tips and best practices, you can increase your chances of delivering a pitch and presentation that resonates with your audience, aligns with your goal, and stands out from the crowd.
One thing that most people don't like is to ask for feedback because of the urgency to close that chapter and move on to the next one right? But that's where most of the people are wrong because there will always be room for us to improve and be better than before and grow to a great extent but how can we do that without getting the real feedback? So don't stand back and start asking for feedback and grow.
I always recommend to those preparing a pitch to first practice with someone who knows nothing about their business. This helps with clarity and understanding what it is you are pitching and what outcome you are looking for. T Next can be from those in your industry and then finally ask for those you have pitched to.
Feedback is invaluable for anyone in business development. It demonstrates to customers that their input matters, fostering a sense of being heard and valued.
This article has beautifully covered everything that was necessary to be covered. The success of your pitch and presentation depends on how much MORE you know about the industry, the competition, the company and the people you are pitching and the way you present it to them.