Pitch, Perfect.
Let’s face it – no one has and will ever love a wall of text, especially when you are stuck in a work cubicle reading it. Unless you are a century-old librarian or a code-crunching droid (either of which we hope you’re not – we don’t deal too well with “Back in my time…” lectures or malfunctioning robots).
Endless hours of cold-calling, door-knocking, and painful networking sessions have led up to this – a golden opportunity to pitch for a potential client. Whether this is a RFP (Request for Proposal) document, a formal presentation or even both, it’s an uphill task ahead. As you gather your team, it’s easy to fall back on the well-tested and familiar. Afterall, we always want to do something “different but not too different” right?
To the initiated, the days of pitching with a rigorously-prepared, well-formatted Word document or Powerpoint presentation (complete with one too many bullet points and excessive text acrobatics) are long over. But to the majority, the days where clients embrace over-the-top, guns blazing-style presentations are not quite here yet. So how can you strike a balance between lulling your to-be clients to sleep and sending them running from the boardroom in fear?
If you’ve been following us for a bit, you know that at Spring Seeker, we love our movies and turn to the silver screen whenever we can for advice to life’s hardest questions. So this time, let’s take cue from the Barden Bellas of Pitch Perfect fame, who managed to break through tradition while staying true to their aca-roots. Oh, and win the ICCA Championships at the same time (just like how you’re totally going to own that pitch).
Enough is enough – even if you’re new
Just because you’re new to the group doesn’t mean you have to jump on board the group’s doomed voyage to Boredom-Town. Assess the team’s abilities and current situation and don’t be afraid to call them out on outdated practices, like how Beca did when she had enough of performing “The Sign” and its accompanying hand choreography for the ten-thousandth time. So change now, and not after your ten-thousandth boring proposal – because by then, you would have morphed into a boring Word-proposal-advocate.
To the initiated, the days of pitching with a rigorously-prepared, well-formatted Word document or Powerpoint presentation (complete with one too many bullet points and excessive text acrobatics) are long over. But to the majority, the days where clients embrace over-the-top, guns blazing-style presentations are not quite here yet. So how can you strike a balance between lulling your to-be clients to sleep and sending them running from the boardroom in fear?
If you’ve been following us for a bit, you know that at Spring Seeker, we love our movies and turn to the silver screen whenever we can for advice to life’s hardest questions. So this time, let’s take cue from the Barden Bellas of Pitch Perfect fame, who managed to break through tradition while staying true to their aca-roots. Oh, and win the ICCA Championships at the same time (just like how you’re totally going to own that pitch).
Enough is enough – even if you’re new
Just because you’re new to the group doesn’t mean you have to jump on board the group’s doomed voyage to Boredom-Town. Assess the team’s abilities and current situation and don’t be afraid to call them out on outdated practices, like how Beca did when she had enough of performing “The Sign” and its accompanying hand choreography for the ten-thousandth time. So change now, and not after your ten-thousandth boring proposal – because by then, you would have morphed into a boring Word-proposal-advocate.
Diversify, diversify
A lesbian rapper, a mash-up enthusiast, a sassy exotic dancer (pirate dancing anyone?) with a big voice, a twirl-and-split dance expert, a beat-boxing Asian, the hot skinny girls, the girls next door – you get my drift.
Diversification is great when it comes to getting off the beaten path, afterall, there really is no better way to get new ideas than gathering members from beyond your circle. Furthermore, not only will it save your keyboard-bashing bids manager from tearing out his hair at designing a proposal or your consultant from getting cross-eyed from differentiating his Helveticas from Arials, the project will move faster with experts doing what they do best. Leaving work on time during pitch period has never been in closer grasp.
But of course, diversity inevitably brings about misalignment of objectives and expectations between individuals. If unmanaged, chaos, boardroom fistfights and uncoordinated flailing of hands are bound to ensue.
Diversification is great when it comes to getting off the beaten path, afterall, there really is no better way to get new ideas than gathering members from beyond your circle. Furthermore, not only will it save your keyboard-bashing bids manager from tearing out his hair at designing a proposal or your consultant from getting cross-eyed from differentiating his Helveticas from Arials, the project will move faster with experts doing what they do best. Leaving work on time during pitch period has never been in closer grasp.
But of course, diversity inevitably brings about misalignment of objectives and expectations between individuals. If unmanaged, chaos, boardroom fistfights and uncoordinated flailing of hands are bound to ensue.
So make the plan crystal clear to all and ensure they stick to it. Threats towards tardiness or suggestions of “let’s just do a standard proposal” must also be made – regularly.
In with the new, but not out with the old
The addition of the new Bellas with fresh, maverick ideas didn’t mean the departure of Aubrey and Chloe from the Bellas’ sorority house. Similarly, just because something is old doesn’t mean you have to toss it in the trash.
Instead, repurpose anything and everything. Have a stash of old case studies hidden in the depths of your archives? Previously created pitch proposals? Professional bios of the team that have been long forgotten? Pick the best of these, re-package them and reuse for your new pitch proposal. By doing so, you can not only cut down on production time (even further!) but also breathe new life into your dusty forgotten collaterals which can be reused (again!) after the pitch.
Packaging is EVERYTHING.
At the end of the day, it’s simple – people are drawn to pleasing aesthetics.
The addition of the new Bellas with fresh, maverick ideas didn’t mean the departure of Aubrey and Chloe from the Bellas’ sorority house. Similarly, just because something is old doesn’t mean you have to toss it in the trash.
Instead, repurpose anything and everything. Have a stash of old case studies hidden in the depths of your archives? Previously created pitch proposals? Professional bios of the team that have been long forgotten? Pick the best of these, re-package them and reuse for your new pitch proposal. By doing so, you can not only cut down on production time (even further!) but also breathe new life into your dusty forgotten collaterals which can be reused (again!) after the pitch.
Packaging is EVERYTHING.
At the end of the day, it’s simple – people are drawn to pleasing aesthetics.
In a sea of Word proposals, which will your client’s eye (and hopefully, contract-signing hand) will gravitate towards?
The strategic addition of photographs and appropriate iconography can do much to make the dreary task of proposal reading that much more exciting. Add a dash of colour and a sprinkle of good type choice to heighten readability. Further bolster the now-fancy template with excellent content and you are well on your way to the a proposal with both substance and style.
The strategic addition of photographs and appropriate iconography can do much to make the dreary task of proposal reading that much more exciting. Add a dash of colour and a sprinkle of good type choice to heighten readability. Further bolster the now-fancy template with excellent content and you are well on your way to the a proposal with both substance and style.
Originally published on Spring Seeker:
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http://bit.ly/1RtFeQj
