Pitching—it’s often said to be one of the most daunting tasks in business. People will tell you it’s the elevator pitch, the fine-tuned script, the moment you stand in front of investors or potential clients that’s the real challenge. But here’s the truth: Pitching is actually the easiest part of the process.
Yes, you read that right.
The difficult part lies in finding who to pitch to. The preparation, research, and strategy that come before you even open your mouth or send that email—that’s where the heavy lifting happens. So, if you're sweating over your pitch, you're focusing on the wrong thing. The key is to focus on the pre-pitch work.
Let’s break this down and explain why finding your ideal customer or audience is much harder than delivering the actual pitch and why this pre-pitch stage is crucial for your success.
Pitching Made Easy: The 6 Steps to Perfecting the Art
When you’re ready to pitch, it’s all about understanding your audience. And that’s easy—if you’ve done your homework. You just need to answer these questions:
- Who is your ideal customer? Who do you want to sell to? This might seem obvious, but you’d be surprised how many companies don’t have this nailed down. Knowing your target audience inside and out is the foundation of a good pitch.
- What are their demands? Customers want solutions, not just products. Understand their pain points and what they are truly looking for. Speak to their needs, not just your features.
- What do they like to hear? Every audience has a language they resonate with. What kind of messaging will make your pitch feel relevant and relatable to them? For example, if your ideal customer is data-driven, lead with metrics and stats. If they’re more emotionally motivated, appeal to the impact your product can have on their lives.
- How do they like to listen? Some people love detailed presentations; others prefer short, punchy summaries. Tailor the format of your pitch to their preferences. Are they busy and need quick, direct points? Or do they appreciate a deep dive?
- When should they be approached? Timing is crucial. Even the best pitch in the world will fall flat if the timing is off. Know your customer’s buying cycle, budget schedules, and general habits. If you hit them at the wrong time, even a perfect pitch can go unnoticed.
- What format works best for them? Email? A Zoom call? In person? A video pitch? Understand the format they’re most likely to engage with and respond to. Don’t send a formal presentation to someone who thrives on casual conversations, and don’t show up unprepared to someone who expects detailed documentation.
These six steps make pitching a walk in the park—if you’ve done your homework. Now, let’s talk about why that homework (finding the right people to pitch to) is the hardest part.
The Hardest Part: Finding Your Perfect Audience
This is where most companies stumble. Pitching isn’t about walking into a room of people and dazzling them with your charm. It’s about knowing exactly who to talk to and how to reach them. And that’s where things get tough.
Here’s what makes finding your audience so tricky:
- Understanding Your Product’s Core Features You need to know your product inside and out—its top features, benefits, and potential uses. But more than that, you need to know how those features can be used or even misused. You should anticipate how your audience might try to apply your product in unexpected ways or challenge its limitations.
- Knowing How These Features Help It’s not enough to list features—you have to know how those features directly solve problems for your audience. What specific needs does your product meet? How does it make life easier, more efficient, or more enjoyable for the person you’re pitching to?
- Identifying Who Would Want to Buy This is where the real detective work comes in. You need to analyze your market and ask: Who needs this? And not just theoretically—who is willing to actually pay for it? More importantly, who will pay for it happily? This means identifying customers who have both the need and the budget.
- Crafting the Irresistible Offer What’s the one thing that would make your potential customer say, “I can’t say no to this”? This might be a unique feature, a time-limited offer, or simply the solution they’ve been waiting for. If your pitch doesn’t have an immediate converter, you risk being ignored.
- Finding the Right Time to Pitch Timing is everything, right? But figuring out when to pitch is one of the hardest aspects of business. Is the customer in a buying cycle? Are they feeling pressure to solve a problem now? It’s all about knowing when they’re ready to make a decision.
- Choosing the Best Channels for Your Pitch Do you know where your ideal customer spends their time? Are they more active on LinkedIn or responding to cold emails? Do they prefer phone calls or face-to-face meetings? Finding out how to reach your customer takes research, and getting it wrong can mean wasted efforts and missed opportunities.
The Reality: Why Most Companies Fail Before They Even Pitch
Most companies fail in the pitching process because they haven’t nailed down who they’re talking to. They make vague assumptions, throw a few buzzwords into their pitch, and then wonder why the audience isn’t responding.
Here’s the thing: pitching isn’t about the pitch. It’s about preparing for the pitch. You need to:
- Study your product’s features and benefits in depth.
- Understand who your real audience is—not just anyone who might be interested, but those who will pay for your product.
- Identify the “can’t say no” offer that will get your audience excited.
- Know where your audience lives—in terms of both mindset and communication channels.
Conclusion: Master the Pre-Pitch, and the Pitch Will Take Care of Itself
The hardest part of pitching isn’t the pitch—it’s everything that happens before. Finding your perfect audience, knowing what they care about, and understanding how to reach them is what sets successful pitches apart from failures.
So, the next time you’re preparing a pitch, don’t sweat the moment you stand in front of someone. Focus on finding who should be in the room. That’s the real challenge—and the most rewarding one.
Once you get that right, the pitch itself? A piece of cake.
