The Official
Moosylvania Blog

We all make pitches every single day of our lives. From
“Would you like fries with that?” to “Will you marry me?”, proposals permeate
our lives.

If this is so common on a personal level, why isn’t everyone an
expert at pitching new business on a professional level?

Obviously, it’s not that easy. Nothing in new business is
black and white – you have to be flexible and adapt to the needs of each
potential client. Pitching is an art that, once perfected, still doesn’t guarantee
a win every time…but wouldn’t you rather know you couldn’t have done anything
better than wonder what you did wrong?

Here’s a quick look at five naughty and nice behaviors to
keep in mind when you’re on the pitcher’s mound.

Naughty List

1. Pursuing
   EVERY opportunity. Think about new
   business the way you think about marriage – are you compatible? Do you
   have what it takes to make a happy long-term commitment? If
   not, don’t waste the time and resources required for an effective pitch.

2. Telling
   clients they’re wrong. If we want
   clients to treat us as experts in our field, we need to treat them as
   experts in theirs. If they identify a problem, solve it. If they come to
   you not knowing the problem, figure it out and then solve it. Just don’t
   pretend to know more than they do about their day-to-day biz. That’s
   insulting.

3. Talking
   at them instead of to them. This
   isn’t lecture hall. If you bore them, what does that indicate about future
   working relationships? Keeping clients engaged and excited is half the battle.

4. Badmouthing
   the competition. This isn’t a
   mudslinging fight. Don’t even acknowledge the competition – you’re selling
   YOUR expertise and talent. Mentioning anyone else just takes focus away
   from that. Should the client bring up another agency, politely sidestep
   and move on.

5. Presenting
   every ounce of research you have. Presentations
   are your chance to shine. Highlight the research and insights you
   developed, but leave the fine print in the appendix. They’ll thank you.

Nice List

1. Treating
   clients like partners. It’s not
   always possible, but if the opportunity arises to use the client as an
   asset, do it. Absorb their insights, learn their biases and make them feel
   like part of the team.

2. Doing
   your homework. Sometimes clients
   provide you with insights and sometimes they don’t. Either way, take the
   time and make the investment in your own research. Look at the target
   demographic, evaluate competitive sets, test your creative – whatever is
   appropriate to your situation.

3. Presenting
   in an appropriate format. Know your
   audience and where you’ll be presenting. Do you need boards? An electronic
   presentation? Both? Neither? What about leave behinds? Should you bring
   thematic props to engage the client, or keep things more formal? Each
   pitch is different – adjust accordingly.

4. Keeping
   things interesting. We’ve all sat
   through awful presentations. Don’t inflict that on others. Present with
   passion, excitement and a sense of humor, and don’t read from a slide. Use
   visuals with big images and brief headlines to serve as a background for
   what you have to say.

5. Following
   up. After the presentation, send a
   thank-you to the client. This can be as elaborate or simple as you deem
   appropriate, but it’s important. Thank the client again for the
   opportunity and make sure they know you’re available should any questions
   arise. If they know you’re easy to work with, that’s just one more gold
   star by your name.