Pitch perfect

Last week, I walked in through the doors of a large organization to pitch to them the services my company provides. Any time you are pitching whether it is for a tender or even a date with that good looking girl you met in church always think about the audience - what do they want to hear and not what you want them to hear. audience. The truth is you will more likely than not already encounter prejudices or resistance even before you open your mouth. And this may not even have anything to do with your proposal.

You know not every pitch has to be a thirty slide PowerPoint master piece – certainly not when trying to woo miss thang standing in the corner. You can get your point across effectively in a number of different ways. Be different when that room full of people is expecting you to plug in your laptop or memory stick. Try just speaking from the heart, cleverly designed brochures, a short humorous video, anything but the default of clicking slide after slide.

As I walked into that room, even though it was daunting to face about 10 senior managers and their probing questions, I didn’t let that show - the minute you walk into that room you should transmit confidence, competence and reassurance and responsibility.

Start speaking slightly slower and lower than normal, as nerves tend to make us speed up or use the voice's higher register. For many of us we speak way too fast. It is not always what we say, but the way we say it that makes people retain the message.

To quote a line from a movie, “always be closing.” Reiterate to them (or that person) that you want their business. Many times we forget to close the sale simply by saying you want their business, that may very well be the last thing that sticks in their mind.

Remember, people buy from people – you are selling yourself as much as the idea or proposal.

Check out this interesting pitch to invest in music