Closing time: top presentation tips from pitching experts
It’s not easy out there. So, we’ve compiled some advice from new business experts about the best (and worst) ways to pitch. This time, look at best practices for making your final argument to a client.
Final presentation stages should aim to confirm a client's choice, rather than depend on a last-minute wow factor / Unsplash
You’ve answered RFIs and cleared the chemistry test – now it’s time to seal the deal. Final pitch presentations can be exercises in confirmation, but there’s plenty that can go wrong. Being unable to answer critical questions, leaning on theatrical flourishes rather than good ideas and work – or relying too much on senior staff – can send an effort askew.
According to Russell Oakley, co-founder of The Go Network, final presentation sessions are primarily for allaying client concerns rather than making a slam dunk.
“You’re an agency that they want to work with that you wouldn’t be there. They’re looking for the polish,” he says. As such, it’s best for agencies to use this stage to “double down” on their previous arguments and ideas.
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For Medialink’s David Muldoon: “Ultimately, the things that win a pitch are really good people and really good fundamentals: the best platforms, the best insights, the best tools.”
One of those fundamentals is personnel. Agencies need to make sure they have the creatives, planners or media buyers who are actually going to work on the account in the room working to win it, he says. That might mean CEOs or agency leaders taking a back seat.
“If they’re not going to be working on the business, I don’t want them to be doing all the talking,” says Muldoon.
“Experience matters and seniority can help dazzle, but ultimately… it is super important is that you have the people that are going to be working on your account.”
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Although it’s important to show depth on the bench, don’t be tempted to pack a room with a huge team, he adds.
“We encourage clients not to bring a cast of thousands,” he says. Medialink advises agencies to do the same – Muldoon suggests agencies provide the same number of people for a final presentation meeting as the client does.
“If a client brings eight people – their CMO, their chief media officer, their data, lead, etc – the agency should match that. The agency should bring people that can go toe to toe with the client on those topic areas.”
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That might not be feasible at indies and smaller shops, which have fewer staff not already fully occupied with existing clients. Muldoon advises bringing individuals with subject matter depth to the fore. “At smaller agencies, it’s important to have T-shaped individuals. So there are people that can talk strategically but can also go deep on a particular topic,” he says.
Finally, the team shouldn’t just ensure their faces are consistent – the message must be, too. Gill Huber of intermediary Oystercatchers says a final presentation “shouldn’t necessarily be a ‘ta-da’ moment; it should be about a combination of all the time you’ve spent together.”
She adds that final presentations are a great moment to begin discussing and exploring what a real working relationship with the client would actually resemble.
“You’re both on the same side driving their business forward. It’s about a relationship.” Oakley agrees and suggests demonstrating how a typical meeting schedule or professional relationship would work.
“This is how we’ll communicate with you; this is how we’ll work with you,” he says. “Play out timelines while being realistic about them. What they can expect to achieve, how you’d report on that on a weekly, monthly basis.”