Building Relationships In A Pitch

I was recently published in iMedia Communications with an article on 10 relationship tips to win the pitch.

10 relationship tips to win the pitch:

It’s not always easy to discern what makes the best creative. Which qualities are the most important? One thing is for sure: The best presentation usually wins. But what makes a winning presentation? Consider the six-easel approach, for example. It’s low tech but high touch and shows off an agency’s talent. It’s a strategy focused on creative approach, rather than actual materials. Often format and style win over content due to the all-important emotional factor. Your presentation should be like that runaway Hollywood blockbuster film: filled with suspense, highs, lows, and a thrilling climax. You want to elicit an emotional response.

As they say, go read the whole thing. Some outstanding tips on how to create a winning presentation.

This is your chance… don’t blow it!

Most ad agencies usually see pitch opportunities in one of two ways. First, many agencies view presentations as a game of chance or luck. Here the thinking continues that if an agency makes enough presentations, an opportunity to be selected will come up. Just do your best and hope for some good luck.

The second false belief is “the best creative always wins.” This is rarely the case. The agency that presents the best usually wins the presentation if its creative is appropriate. Winning custom presentations is all in understanding the prospect’s needs, their selection process, the personalities involved and the strategies that will fit best.

Winning Ad Agency Pitch Presentations.

Our Presenting To Win training is designed to show you how to win. This is need-to-know information for all members of the agency staff involved in developing and making custom presentations to prospects.

Presenting To Win Deliverables:

Mastery of the best presenting techniques
Increased productivity as participants learn what’s important in a presentation, how to save time and agency resources, and how to keep the agency’s normal work flowing while the agency prepares for a major presentation
Better pitch strategy as participants learn how to win over key members of the prospect review panel prior to the actual presentation, how to tantalize the prospect after the presentation
An understanding of how to transform the agency’s own offices into a powerful closing machine
Information on how to work with agency search consultants to win them over before the pitch

Some of our top posts on how to win: