Pitch to Win
Few things can make you feel more vulnerable than pitching your work. It’s easy to start to second guess yourself and your talents. However, if you take the necessary steps to create a thought-out plan, you will go into any pitch feeling prepared and confident. In this blog, we want to highlight important aspects to consider as you prepare to master the perfect pitch for your design work.
There are many components that go into winning design jobs. You need to invest time crafting how you word your proposal and everything you want to highlight within it. The key is to understand where to invest your time. Many hours are typically spent figuring out how long we think it will take to complete a project and calculating the budget and not nearly enough time is spent on the actual presentation to your potential client. If you are not preparing and practicing your pitch to potential clients, it could cost you clients in the long run.
Know the “Why”
It is virtually impossible to pitch anything without knowing the reasoning behind it. Any design project should be built around a main goal, purpose, and driving concept. Use what you learned from your strategy sessions to frame your conversation. Something can be visually stunning, but without a clear vision, it will almost certainly miss the mark.
Brainstorm Before You Design
When planning your proposal, it is absolutely necessary to take some time to brainstorm what you want to include. There are plenty of brainstorming tools out there like solo and collaborative mind mapping, white boards, Ideaboardz, Realtime Board, Ideament, and Mind Genius just to name a few. The crucial aspect is to think about everything you could possibly want to include in the proposal. Jot down anything that comes to mind. Take your list or mind map and organize your ideas. A brainstorming session will often help you develop the structure and design layout of your proposal or pitch. This will save you time in the long run.
Perfecting Your Pitch
First things first, nothing you say matters if you don’t form a relationship with your client. You can have a perfect proposal, but if your client doesn’t feel a connection, your chances of landing the gig are slim to none. When you are pitching a new client on why they should choose you over your competitors, you need to do more than read from a paper proposal to win them over. You need to craft a thoughtful proposal and know the information when you present it.
Plan out the key messages you want to convey in your presentation. What is it that you want your potential client to remember about you, your business, and your proposal? Do you want to highlight your experience in their market niche, your expertise with a particular technology, your creative strengths, or testimonials of satisfied clients? Plan to come up with two or three messages you want your potential client to remember about you.
Be A Storyteller
An effective public speaker doesn’t lecture, they tell stories. Instead of just graphs or bullets about your company or showing slides of your portfolio that your potential client could easily see on your website, tell a story about how you increased a client’s revenues by redesigning their product page or how you increased traffic by redesigning navigation from looking at a client’s analytics. Show examples, but tell the story and engage your potential clients.
Your mission is to take the client on your creative journey with the presentation. Putting a design in context is extremely impactful and will take an idea to something tactile for your client to grasp on to. A pitch is a journey for the client that depicts how you arrived at certain decisions, why you went in certain directions, and your vision as to where the design is headed. Know your client’s problem and not only offer, but show them the solution!
Emphasize Your Key Points
Ideally, you want your client to remember two or three key things from your presentation. State these points at the beginning of your presentation as an introduction. Proceed to go into detail about them during your presentation. Lastly, be sure to summarize these key points when you wrap up your presentation. This method ensures your key points are driven home with your client.
Don’t Be Afraid to Ask Questions
The last impression you want to give off is being a know it all or overbearing. You must be willing to listen to the emotions and thoughts of your client during your pitch. Having the confidence to listen to all feedback shows you understand their concerns and helps form a relationship. The goal is to show genuine concern for the problem your client needs solved. Learn as much as you can about your client. What you are your client’s wants, likes, and needs? Many people make the mistake of thinking when they meet with a new client that they need to know everything. Taking the time to ask your potential client thoughtful questions not only shows you are interested in them and what they do, but also provides you will valuable information which will only assist you in providing them with a workable solution and delivering a stellar product that exceeds expectations.
In conclusion, your pitch and presentation carry a lot of weight in your client’s decision-making process. Invest your time and effort to create a presentation that resonates with your client and illustrates who you are as a designer. Use your creativity in your pitch to set yourself apart from the rest. Effective pitching shows not only that you know how to design something amazing, but can sell it too!
