Why start with your pitch?
Get it right and it can propel your business, get it wrong and the consequences are significant
Fundamental business strategy
Gone are the days when the ‘if you build it, they will come’ mentality leads you to success. In our fast-paced and competitive world of business we have to work extra hard to win people over. The customer is king and they’re active in your sales and marketing process.
Successful businesses of our modern age don’t just consider the customer in the funnel, their whole business centres around them. They build products and/or services that are developed with a deep understanding of the customer and their needs. They’re solving real problems!
When we help people develop their pitch it isn’t just about making it into an engaging story that will persuade and delight an audience, it goes deep into their business strategy. The impact they are trying to have, the problems they are solving, and who (very specifically) will value their solution.
The role of your pitch
Whilst a great pitch tells a good story, it is the elements within it and how your tailor it for different audiences and siuations that will set you apart from your competition. A great pitch requires you to detail the impact you have on people (or planet) and the outcomes you create, the problem you solve, who you solve it for and why they should choose you. This is important for:
Clarity and focus in your business, giving you strategy and direction
Understanding your position in the market and what you can do to stand out
Getting super focused on who to target, saving you resources trying to reach a large market
Developing resources that consistently nurture your audience to take action
(Most obviously) attracting investors, partners and customers when you tailor your pitch for the different audiences and platforms
Converting and retaining customers with consistency of message
Attracting and retaining talent
You can’t have a great pitch without a great strategy
You may have heard the expression ‘to put lipstick on a pig’ and even the best storytellers can’t build a great pitch if the business strategy is mediocre.
Purpose & Impact
In order to provide the audience with a clear understanding of the purpose of your business and get them to buy-in to what you’re selling, you need to be clear on your purpose and impact.
Outcome: Gain clarity of focus and direction as a business.
Market Position
In order to demonstrate why your audience should choose you over an alternative you need to understand your market position.
Outcome: You and your team are clear on your key differentiators and what makes you unique.
Target Customers
In order to connect with the right audience or demonstrate the viability of the market opportunity, you need to understand your target market.
Outcome: Get a depth of understanding of who you should be targeting to save resources.
Brand & Messaging
In order to portray the perception of your business that you want your audience to have of your business and get to the heart of your value, you need to develop your brand and messaging.
Outcome: Your brand story and Unique Value Proposition can be weaved throughout all of your customer touchpoints, not just in your pitch.
With those key strategic pieces in place, you will now be better equipped to develop an impactful business pitch.
Why a good pitch is important for you
Startups
Pitching well can make or break your Startup, whether you’re early-stage or scaling, your pitch is the most important tool in your toolbox. Developing a great pitch will help you to:
Truly determine and detail the problem you are solving, the outcomes your solution provides and why it’s better than the alternatives
Understand and focus on a specific market that has the greatest need for your solution
Captivate investors, partners and customers so they are compelled to sign up
SMEs
Regardless of whether you’re B2B or B2C, you need to be able to persuade an audience to engage or purchase from you. You may do this in sales meetings, at trade events or in marketing materials. By developing a great pitch you can:
Communicate what it is you do and for whom and why it’s better than the competition in any duration on any platform in any situation
Drive sales for any product/service
Win contracts, tenders, grants or bank applications
Expand into new markets
Win over new partners or suppliers
Executives
You may be pitching an idea to leadership or a leader who pitches ideas regularly, the fundamentals of a great pitch and the strategy behind it are still very important. Developing a great pitch helps you:
Get into the minds of your audience and what matters to them, so you can tailor your pitch to their goals
Present with a clear structure, detailing the predicted outcomes and benefits
Show your professionalism, confidence and builds trust that you know what you’re talking about
Persuade people to take action
The results from a great pitch
“You’ve allowed me to think incredibly clearly about what our product is, who our target consumer is, what problem we’re solving and so much more. I’m sure you’ll be excited to know that as of the 10th of this month, we’ve got nearly $1m in confirmed orders and in the past month have scaled up ten-fold!
— Daniel, Medihood
The consequences of an average pitch
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Missed opportunities
They can be investors, partners, or customers; people are inundated with companies pitching to them. A weak pitch will cause people to lose interest quickly and you risk missing your opportunity to capture their attention in that moment.
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Lack of new customers
A lacklustre pitch won’t get people racing to do business with you. If you don’t have a strong message throughout the customer journey that details why your solution will make their lives better, chances are they won’t be convinced to purchase from you.
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Loss of competitive edge
In fiercely competitive markets, a compelling pitch (backed by a sound business strategy), sets you apart from the competition, giving you a unique advantage. If your competitor has a better pitch they can easily steal market share.
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Reputation impact
Your pitch is a reflection of your business’s professionalism and credibility. An unimpressive pitch can lead to negative perceptions of your company, making it challenging to build a strong brand reputation.
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Difficulty scaling the business
As you seek to scale, a strong pitch becomes even more critical. Without it, expansion plans may face obstacles and resistance from potential partners and investors. Your business growth may plateau or progress at a slower pace than you desire.
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Lack of clarity and communication
A poorly constructed pitch (and supporting business strategy) can impact internal operations. You may find it difficult to attract talent, get the most from existing employees and drain on your resources - because it takes longer to reach your desired outcomes.
It’s all in the pitch
Every single one of our programs starts with refining or developing a business pitch because if you don’t have the fundamentals of what your business is here to do and who it serves you’ll end up having to work harder to get any results from any activity, be that marketing, digital or innovation.
Developing a compelling pitch is also the fastest way to get more impact from anything you do. We help you go beyond the basics of putting together a pitch deck and narrative and help you get super-focused on accelerating the growth of your business.
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