Pitchingtowin
AMedComms Networkingevent– 2May2018
AdrianBrownConsulting
• 25yearsofhealthcarecommunications
• Communicationtrainingservicessince2016
• Wellversedinpitchingfornewbusiness
Thepitchprocess
Whatispitchingallabout?
• Showourskills• Togiveourclienttheanswer
• Demonstratetalent• Solveaproblem• Growbusiness• Tolearn• Improveclientrelations• Provideourclientswithsolutions
Whatispitchingallabout?
• Showourskills• Togiveourclienttheanswer
• Demonstratetalent• Solveaproblem• Growbusiness• Tolearn• Improveclientrelations• Provideourclientswithsolutions
WINNING!
Commitmenttopitchingiskey
• Ifyouarenot100%committedtowinningthendon’tpitch
• Professionalsportspersonsdon’thalfheartedlytrytowinanOlympicmedal
Solvingtheproblemisnotenough
• Clientswanttosee:• Acohesiveteam• Awarenessandunderstandingofbusinessneeds
• Sharedambitionfortheirbusinessgoal
• Valueformoney• Ateamwhoareenthusiastic,stimulatingandfun
Howdoinferiorcompetitorswin?
• Doingthesoftstuffsuperbly
• Quicklyestablishstrongclientrelationships
• Superiorpitchexecution
Whydowelose?
• Wedon’tlearnfromourmistakes
Essentialingredientsforpitchsuccess
Winning
Be organised
Know your audience
Solve the problem
Price properly
Practice
Great presentation
Momentum
Feedback
Beorganized
• Gooduseoftime• Mostappropriatepitchteam• KickoffmeetingASAP• Involveseniorcolleagues• Arrangeregular/scheduledprogressmeetings
• Timelinefordeliverables• Pre-pitchmeetingwithyourclientintheirdiary
• Preparea‘pitchbible’
Pitchbible
• Theclientbrief• Deskresearchonthemarket,product,organizationandcompetition
• Newstoriesandpressreleases• Biographies/Linked- Inprofilesoftheclientsatthepitch
• Examplesofclientwork• Competitoranalysis• Timingplanforthepitch• Issuestoberesolved,questionstobeasked,actionstobetaken
Knowyouraudience
• Theclientistheaudience• Gettoknowthem• Identifythekeydecisionmakers
• Askquestions• Checktoseewhetherprocurementareinvolved
• Matchyourteamtothekeypersonalitiesintheclientteam
Focusontheclientsdesiredoutcome
• Increasedsales• Betteraccesstotheircustomers• Greateraccesstothemosteffectivemediachannels• Improvedprofileandreputationintheirsector• Consistencyofmessagesacrossallcommunications• Moreeffectiveuseoftheirtime• Ameasureableandgoodreturnontheirinvestment
Priceproperly
• Priceappropriately• Promoteservicevalue• Don’tbebulliedbyprocurementdepartments
• Preparedetailedbudgets• Knowyourfigures• Pricewithpride
Practice
• Referbacktothebrief• Askforfeedbackfromacolleague
• Rehearse3times• Choosegoodpresenters• Beengagedandinterested• Tellastory• Pitchonapostcard• Prepareforquestions
Greatpresentation
• Gettotheclient’sofficesearly
• Planfortransportissues• Setupearly• Golastifpossible• Keepitsimple• Haveabeginning,middleandend
• Smile
Momentum
• Keepthemomentumgoingafterthepitch
• Followuponanyquestionsinthepitchwithmoredetailedanswerswithin12hours
• Summarizewhytheyshouldchooseyou
Feedback
• Askforthiswhetheryouwinorlose
• Ifyoulose,takethenewsgraciously
• Neverloseanopportunitytolearn
• Ifyouwin,constructivefeedbackcanhelptohoneyourteam’sskills
Winningkeypoints
• Plan,plan,plan• Committothepitch• Assemblethebestteam• Knowyourclientandtheirproduct
• Tailoryourpresentation• Practicemakesperfect• Beenthusiastic• Followup
Threethingstoremember
1. PitchingisaboutWINNING2. Youmustidentifythespecificneedsofyour
targetaudience3. Focusyourpresentationonwhatyouraudience
willbeleftwithAFTERyouhavedoneyourwork
Rememberthis