MONOS: A simple template for pitching

It's a rainy Friday afternoon in January. I get a phone call from a former BBC colleague. She’s leading an MBA in International Media Business and needs to inspire her students, who deliver an in-person pitch as part of their course. Their response to creating a pitch is passive, but as anyone who has had to pitch knows, it is active—competitive, especially when others are vying for the same investment or commission.?

When we’re new to pitching, our questions are:

• What do you say, and how much?
• Does it differ if it's a verbal pitch, an elevator pitch or a pitch deck?
• Is there an easy template or structure that is quick and flexible??

As an associate lecturer on the Entrepreneurship MBA course at Coventry University, I developed the pitch-contest-winning framework called MONOS. It is an acronym which stands for Market Overview, Opportunity, Numbers, Operations, and Sales Strategy.

The MONOS template ensures our pitch covers all essential aspects of our creative business idea, from market research to strategic planning. Addressing each component provides a comprehensive and compelling case for our creative venture and a great start for attracting interest and investment.

Whether it's a digital or in-person pitch, we can use the MONOS template to present many slides in a deck or communicate the headlines as an elevator pitch. I developed it for pitching for investment funding but can also work for content pitching. The structure is the same. You would need to know which audience and performance metrics (the Numbers) are essential to your commissioner or publisher and tailor your research to suit.

Yes, research. The key to confident pitching is having done the work to back up our words. We can speak with our full chest when we know what we’re pitching is sound and backed up by data. It does mean putting some hours in to get the research in order. When I am asked to ‘busk’ a pitch it really puts me off. Pitching without preparing is a punt, often relying on personality to persuade the buyer. It can work, but having solid research always wins.

An example of the MONOS pitching framework goes like this:

In the UK, there are 4.65 million families with two or more children, the target audience for our new daily podcast series, The Second Child Syndrome. The Second Child Syndrome shares parents' experiences juggling more than one child's practical, emotional and well-being needs. Our show offers a timely space to sound off anonymously by voice notes, get advice from the hosts, and get online support from our audience community. The show will also tour in its third season. Parenting podcasts consistently feature in the Top 50 and are a draw for approximately ￡50K of sponsorship per season (13 episodes) at the current market rate. The production team has already worked with three award-winning podcast titles, including Donald Trump’s Best Children Ever podcast - and is in conversation is a celebrity couple who have just announced they are pregnant with their second child to host the new series. The podcast will attract product sponsors for each episode and create a ‘Second Child Syndrome’ subscription community where listeners can sign up for exclusive benefits and member discounts. This community is the call-to-action for all social media promotion.

Here’s how it works as a template:

Market Overview

In the UK, there are 4.65 million families with two or more children, the target audience for our new daily podcast series, The Second Child Syndrome.?

Opportunity

The Second Child Syndrome shares parents' experiences juggling more than one child's practical, emotional and well-being needs. Our show offers a timely space to sound off anonymously by voice notes, get advice from the hosts, and get online support from our audience community. The show will also tour in its third season.

Numbers

Parenting podcasts consistently feature in the Top 50 and are a draw for approximately ￡50K of sponsorship per season (13 episodes) at the current market rate.?

Operations

The production team has already worked with three award-winning podcast titles, including Donald Trump’s Best Children Ever podcast - and is in conversation is a celebrity couple who have just announced they are pregnant with their second child to host the new series.?

Sales Strategy

The podcast will attract product sponsors for each episode and create a ‘Second Child Syndrome’ subscription community where listeners can sign up for exclusive benefits and member discounts. This community is the call-to-action for all social media promotion.

Now, let's break down the structure.

M - Market Overview

Investors need to see the big picture. Show them your idea and their investment are part of a thriving sector or niche. They need to understand the potential of making money with you. It's easier to convince them they will be part of a ￡40 million growing market than suggesting they may get a return on their ￡4000 investment. It pays to go big. Understanding the market is essential for any creative entrepreneur. This will mean researching your target audience, identifying trends, and assessing the demand for your product or service. By demonstrating a deep understanding of the market, you show potential investors or collaborators that you have a clear vision of where your offering fits within the industry landscape.

O - Opportunity:

This is what you want to talk about. This is the meat - the idea, the concept, the script, the project, the thing you want their investment for. Highlight the unique opportunity your concept presents. What problem does it solve? What gap in the market does it fill? Clearly articulate the value proposition and explain why your idea stands out from competitors. Emphasise the potential for growth and scalability to attract interest from investors seeking promising opportunities. Talk about the possibility of initial revenues, derivatives and intellectual property.

N - Numbers:

We may not like numbers. Creatives enjoy creating to make something, and ascribing numbers to it doesn't feel sexy. Even if you want an investor to support the art for art's sake, you must demonstrate that it is worth spending their cash with you rather than elsewhere. They will want to know what's in it for them. Your numbers provide credibility and demonstrate the viability and value of your idea. Present financial projections, revenue models, and key performance indicators (KPIs) to illustrate the potential return on investment. Be realistic and transparent about your financial projections, as investors will scrutinise the numbers to assess the viability of your business. You may need some expert help here. You also must discover your investor's other ambitions, such as diversity and inclusion, reaching a different demographic, and achieving Corporate Social Responsibility objectives. Your project could help them in other ways.

O - Operations and Team:

How is your team set up to achieve success? Here is where students (and businesses) usually come unstuck. Having a good understanding of your day-to-day operations is critical to success. Think about it this way: you've just talked about extraordinary financial results, so now prove to your investor you have the right people in place who know what they're doing. Detail your operational plan, including production processes, distribution channels, and resource allocation. Showcase your ability to execute the idea efficiently and effectively. Address any potential operational challenges and demonstrate how you plan to overcome them. A well-defined operational strategy instills confidence in stakeholders and shows that you have thought through the practical aspects of bringing your idea to market.

S - Sales Strategy:

How are you going to reach your consumers? Outline your overall strategy for attracting their attention and engaging in a transaction. Your sales strategy should include ideas for marketing, sales, and long-term growth plans. Discuss how you will position your product or service in a new or existing market and how to differentiate yourself from competitors. A comprehensive strategy demonstrates your foresight and strategic thinking, convincing investors you have a clear roadmap for success.

MONOS gives you a simple way of delivering a pitch that is rounded enough to, at least, get you to the next stage of negotiation. The keys to successful pitching are clarity and confidence. The common mistake we make as creators is to spend a lot of our pitch on the Opportunity - ignoring the size of our potential audience, that we are experts in delivering this kind of content, how much return on investment the content will make for the investor or commissioner. With these boxes ticked in our pitches, our proposition is compelling. It has all the information needed to make a decision. That's what we want.

I hope that helps. Give it a go, and let me know how you get on. Oh, a side note: Originally, ‘Numbers’ was titled ‘Finances’. However, my love of 2000s Rap and Samuel L Jackson couldn’t let me deliver a framework called Mo’ Fos with a straight face.

For more insights on the creative industry and audio production tips, subscribe to our newsletter.

###