Pitch presentations never fail to get my heart beating little quicker (and not always in a good way).
It may have something to do with the fact that the pitch presentation represents the final stage of a long, winding and often stressful road. The culmination of months of work.
It may be because there’s no place to hide. No nuance. The result is binary.
It may be that their often restrictive nature with little room to engage on a personal level.
In short, pitch presentations typically come served with a side order of stress.
Yet there are some that relish the process. They love the cut and thrust, the about-turns, the political games played by your adversary. The higher the stakes, the more excited they become.
My colleague Steve Robinson is one such individual. What makes his strike rate so high is that he not only loves the adrenaline-fuelled moment of pitching but also the journey getting there. Taking a ‘zen’ approach to constantly changing requirements, political wrangling of the competition and frequent, often contradictory, feedback from the prospect has paid huge dividends for our clients over the years.
In the first of a series of ‘In Conversation’ videos with key members of the Eyeful team, Steve talks through the long process of guiding a client towards winning a £400m opportunity. He talks through the power of taking a long term view of pitch presentations, having the strength of character to make significant changes late in the day and highlights the value that a clear, audience centric message can have when delivered in the right way at the key moment.
