Any agency depends on winning business pitches, but the chances of success can be slim, especially given the unstable economy and cutthroat business environment of today. The most frequently asked question is what makes a successful business pitch.
Your pitch should be made, not broken, by your written submission.
Create a plan for the transition to give clients peace of mind
Don't make an engaging, flawless presentation your main objective.
During your presentation, welcome questions.
Senior leaders participating in the presentation are not always advantageous
1) Your pitch should be made, not broken, by your written submission.
Based on your written submission, potential clients make an important first judgment about you and how well you comprehend their business challenges. How can your submission strengthen rather than weaken your pitch, then? Basically, make sure that your submission clearly and succinctly addresses the points in the client brief. A novel-like submission will make the client's job more difficult. Instead, provide a chronological and bulleted response to the question. Remember that your client will assess you against their brief item by item. This straightforward and crucial tactic has been used by many successful pitches.2) Create a plan for the transition to give clients peace of mind
In addition to showing the client that you can solve their business problem, you must reassure them that the transition from their current agency to you will go smoothly. Here is where having a solid transition plan is essential. It demonstrates your genuine understanding of your client and your readiness to work quickly with them. If you don't, even your ability to plan and carry out campaigns may not be sufficient. Better agencies have lost business pitches in my experience because they failed to persuade the client that there would be little to no risk and disruption. Every aspect of business, including how you'll obtain information from the current agency, guarantee continuity on deals, and, most importantly, hire the right people for the project, should be covered in the three to six-month transition plan.3) Don't make an engaging, flawless presentation your main objective.
A winning presentation is not always entertaining. Teams have been known to put a lot of emphasis on their delivery and making it seem like "show time," but clients are only evaluating a portion of presentations. Agencies that are knowledgeable in their field will appear more assured than those who are attempting to put on an impressive show. In a similar vein, feeling anxious is acceptable. A team that exhibits some anxiety during a business pitch demonstrates that they are invested in the project's success. Clients want companies that can solve problems, not ones that just talk and do nothing. Having some performance anxiety is acceptable as long as you demonstrate the value of your solution.4) During your presentation, welcome questions.
Handling questions during business pitches are important. Asking questions is a client's way of expressing interest and possibly a try to get you to speak about what they are interested in. It's probably a sign that your presentation is unique and cutting-edge as well. It's a good idea to practice answering questions prior to a pitch so that you feel confident doing so throughout the presentation.5) Senior leaders participating in the presentation are not always advantageous
Including the top brass in the presentation doesn't guarantee that the pitch will go your way. Even though you might think it demonstrates commitment, having them present can occasionally hurt the presentation, especially if their answers demonstrate their ignorance of practical issues. It makes more sense from the client's perspective to use the presentation to get to know the working team and the agency lead who will take charge in an emergency. The agency team can demonstrate its credibility in this way as well.These five suggestions have helped many teams and other agencies win numerous business pitches over the years, and hope they will help you and your teams succeed as well.
