Differentiating Your Company Pitch

Over my career, I have done my fair share of pitching all types of deals. And in my current role, I have the amazing opportunity to meet founders and leaders regularly on the ‘receiving end’ of pitches. I can honestly say – with just slight exaggeration – that I have heard it all. With 1,000s of pitches under my belt from both sides of the table, I have found a few key elements common amongst the most successful conversations.?Crafting your pitch and anticipating tough Q&A is critical–it will make-or-break the conversation with your audience. I recently posted a quick tweet thread on Twitter, and many folks asked me to expand and post here on LinkedIn. Hopefully you find the content useful in updating your approach and incorporating outside perspectives. ?

Be specific and create clarity?

?Chances are your pitch meeting is short–30 minutes or slightly more if you are lucky. That means on any given day, you are competing for attention amongst your audience’s dozens of priorities. You need to have a memorable conversation. Not one with buzzwords or sparkle (see tip #3) – but one with specificity and clarity. A lack of specificity and clarity will quickly dampen the mood in a pitch meeting. It signals one or potentially multiple issues: a shallow understanding of customer need, inadequate validation, or an inability to focus.??

?Tip #1: Come to your pitch meeting with clear and direct statements about your product category, market context, and customer needs. Don’t just stop at the ‘what’–talk about how. How do you solve your customers’ problems, how do you measure success, and how do you learn, iterate, and improve. Demonstrate proof through customer examples and by stating your strongest market segments, geographies, or industries.??

?Know your competition?

?Every product has competition. Even the most innovative ideas have barriers standing in the way. If it is not direct apples-to-apples competition–it might be product substitutes, customer complacency, or other challenging market perceptions. Not acknowledging competition may send a variety of hard and soft signals. For example, a product that is in search of a solution that may never materialize. Or a lack of growth mindset and coachability.??

?Tip #2: Be educated and forthcoming about your competition and related factors that might limit growth. Even better–have direct statements and evidence that demonstrates why you win and why you don’t win. And remember that competition is good. It provides validation of customer need and opportunity.?

?Kill the buzzwords?

?Without a doubt–the person or people sitting across from you have read the latest industry news stories, analyst reports, social media and more. They’ve heard ALL the buzzwords. All of them. Over and over. Do your best to eliminate buzzwords and phrases from your pitch. If you start to hear things like, “If I said this more directly,” or, “Can you describe this more specifically,” your audience is likely seeking clarity and subtly asking you to cut to the chase.?

?Tip #3: Use plain and simple language. Be specific (see tip #1) in the way you describe your company, market, and product fit. I say this with lots of love and admiration for marketers: buzzwords and catchy phrases that would otherwise be acceptable in advertising campaigns have no place in business pitches.?

?Encourage action??

?In most cases–you will have requested the meeting with your audience. While they will likely do their own research, this is your time to demonstrate the value of your product, idea, or partnership that you are pitching. If your conversation is left open-ended–with no inspiration or conversation on next steps–you risk status quo, stagnation, and squandered opportunity.???

?Tip #4: Come prepared with 1-3 specific ideas or asks of your audience. Demonstrate that you have done your homework, too, and paint the picture of opportunity. Provide examples of how you might be ‘better together’ for your potential customers. While you might not get the specific action you have asked for – you will likely take at least one step forward or learning away with you.?

?Understand decision-making systems?

?Investment, partnership, and acquisition decisions are complex–especially within large companies. They involve many stakeholders across business functions. Ignoring this reality is a quick way to turn off your pitch audience. One of my top frustrations is people who only want to speak with the ‘titles’ and call-in special favors to do so. The ‘titles’ make decisions based on the teams–the ‘do-ers’ who are close to the work.?

?Tip #5: Deliberately seek opportunities to learn about your pitch audience’s decision-making process. Network and ask questions. Work with the people on the ground before you go for the boss. Not only will you learn critical information – you will likely build momentum and influence the decision makers along the way.?

?I am a HUGE fan of the energy, optimism, hustle and innovation from the start-up community. If you are within this group – I hope you found this advice helpful. Please let me know what you think!?Feedback is a gift!