Winning new business isn’t just about building fancy slide decks – it’s proving you’re the right long-term partner. Clients aren’t buying services; they’re investing in expertise and a vision for success.
Having been at the coalface of hundreds of pitches ranging from small owner-manager businesses through to some of the biggest international brands and with a couple of decades of experience, Simon and I know a thing or two about pitches. Over the last 2 years we’ve helped dozens of agencies sharpen their approach and land high-value clients, so we wanted to share our insights to ensure your next pitch wins.
1. Do Your Homework
Research matters. You need to be able to show you genuinely understand their market, unique challenges, and broader business goals, so spend time doing your homework. Alongside the business, research the people in the room, and their experience and try to get a feel for what they are interested in seeing from your response.
2. Bring the RIGHT team
Prospects are wary of pitch teams. What they don’t want is the A-Team showing up for the pitch and then never seeing them again. Think about the balance of people in the room from your side, ensuring you include people who will work on the account. If you need to and the pitch warrants it, take a senior team member to show the importance.
3. Articulate Your Unique Value Proposition
Clearly explain why your agency is the ideal partner, emphasising unique strengths and capabilities, whether that’s tech, industry experience, people, or a combination of them all.
4. Deliver a Compelling ‘Lean-In’ Moment
Grab their attention early, and deliver a surprising insight or bold statement that creates attention.
5. Demonstrate Competitor Insight
Show you understand their market landscape and explain how your approach will give them the edge over the competition.
6. Show Relevant Results Throughout
Show proof of success with case studies that directly align with the client’s industry and objectives. Validate these with social proof including quotes and ideally a short testimonial video. Ensure to weave in short case studies throughout to build trust as you go through the presentation.
7. Use Data to Back Everything
Great ideas need evidence so use solid numbers to validate your approach, rather than leaving it to subjectivity.
8. Showcase Creative Concepts
Bring campaign ideas to life using visuals and mockups the prospect can relate to. So, here’s the insight, here’s the idea, and here’s how it could look.
9. Ensure Clear Signposting in Your Deck
Design your presentation for easy navigation. This will facilitate internal sharing and understanding among client stakeholders, it also serves as handover prompts if you have multiple people presenting.
10. Outline a Clear Plan
Be specific about how you’ll tackle their brief – timelines like a 90-day plan or key milestones throughout the project along with exactly who does what.
11. Detail Onboarding and Transition Plans
Switching to a new agency can be a daunting experience for a client so ensure you explain how you will integrate with the client’s existing processes and teams to ensure a smooth transition.
12. Provide Transparent Pricing
Offer clear fee structures and a detailed breakdown of costs to establish trust and set measurable goals.
13. Address Potential Risks and Issues
Proactively acknowledge and detail challenges and show how you’ll mitigate them.
14. Establish Cultural Alignment & Show Your Passion
If everything else is too close to call, the ‘people fit’ can often decide the winner. Therefore, let genuine passion for their business shine through and highlight shared values and working styles.
15. Keep it Engaging and Interactive
Encourage questions, create a dialogue, and ensure real-time alignment with the client.
16. Define Specific Next Steps
End with clear actions – what happens tomorrow, next week, and next month then set a meeting for post-pitch feedback! Plan your follow-ups and remember not to simply check in but to ensure you add value with each touchpoint after the pitch.
17. Provide a Thoughtful Leave-Behind
A physical reminder keeps you top-of-mind plus it’s a nice little touch. We used to give away everything from branded notebooks and reusable coffee cups which always went down well! Alternatively, print the pitch decks out into a glossy leave-behind. (Remember don’t hand them out until the end otherwise the audience will be thumbing through them rather than listening to you.)
18. Rehearse & Polish
Granted there will always be those decks that need turning around in a very short timeline but it’s important to make time to run through, rehearse and polish (ideally not on the train journey there!) Rehearsed pitches land well rather than being unsure who delivers what part.
19. Keep an Eye on the Clock
Don’t overrun (unless you’ve cleared it first). Keep momentum throughout while ensuring you land all key points.
20. Ask for Feedback
Feel free to ask for feedback throughout the presentation. This will allow you to focus more on the parts that the client considers important and also if there are any gaps in what you present, follow up with additional points as sometimes it’s impossible to include and major on everything!
There’s plenty more but get these right and you’ll be well on your way to success!
