The pitch doctor: Ruminations on retreat

Peter Rush on writing retreats and the ‘must attend’ business development conference of the year.

As I write this I am in a remote Languedoc mountainside hideaway and a resident in La Muse, a cosy writer’s retreat right out of the pages of Victor Hugo. It’s a creative space where they expect you to produce the work you promised them and yourself when application for one of their acclaimed three-week writing retreats. Therefore, by the time this is in your sticky little Christmas-y mitts, I will have completed my first book on what I think I know about pitching. Resist that riposte mon cheri, it will be free to readers of this esteemed organ first through a creative commons licence and on my new website at the start of 2010. The printed version will be available around Easter time if all goes well. If you can’t wait until then, I will be publishing each chapter, as inspired by Stephen Fry, as 140-character Tweets at twitter.com/peterush.
Before I journeyed to La Muse, I had the opportunity to attend the event on the business-development conference circuit that I always look forward to most. Every October, the UK Association of Proposal Management Professionals (UKAPMP) puts on a two-day conference for bid professionals. Every industry and sector is represented there. This year it was themed around ‘Winning-a roadmap to success’. And, as the only UK conference run exclusively by, and for, bid professionals, it is pure heaven for us legal tender and pitch specialists, as everyone you meet is engaged in the same challenges. If you haven’t been, get it in next year’s diary now. It’s a ‘must attend’ for anyone at the winning results end of tenders and pitches.
Progressive outfits like Liverpool’s Weightmans in the shape of Peter McPartland, its business development manager, are there stealing a march and getting free insider knowledge from savvy collaborators such as Heather Beeby, head of business development operations at BAE Systems. She scooped an award for a new tender process, the ‘business winning wheel’, which has radically simplified BAE’s complex international bid lifecycle management process. I was at the same game for Manchester client Pannone, which is also investing at the sharp end of business development to save time and money while simultaneously boosting its win rate. Both of us unanimously agreed that we got gold dust from all the workshops we attended and some great laughs too.
Held at the superbly run Heathrow Edwardian Raddisson, each day’s keynote speakers were worth the price of admission alone. Lord Karan Bilimoria of Chelsea, founder of Cobra Beer lifted the lid on his battles to grow his business and markets while proving that integrity and honesty still has a place when dealing with the biggest breweries in the world.
His big message was: “Don’t overlook India in the rush east to China. New thinking and behaviours there are creating tremendous entrepreneurial opportunities and the old barriers like corruption and red tape are diminishing fast.” This guy has his head right in vanguard of innovative 21st century business practice – a man worth watching closely, and listening to even more carefully, if you are tempted by the new India… Bangalore, Mumbai here I come.
Former magic circle lawyer, Sahar Hashemi, co-founder of Coffee Republic and author of Anyone Can Do It dispelled any fears I had about becoming an entrepreneur in this recession with her ‘19 rejections theory to find the right backer for your biz’ and her courageous ‘jump and a net will appear’ perspective. Backing every bullet point up with funky insights into just what pluck, bootstrapping and gritty engagement with life on life’s terms can achieve, she charmed us with soulful insights into making a go of it on her terms too. Her humanity shone through as did her acumen.
It surely augurs well for us to have business leaders who care so much about how they conduct themselves in business and who dare so successfully and so inspiringly too. People like this will innovate us out of our mess, I guess. Both speakers got us to believe that we can do it now for ourselves and with the businesses we love. Point your browsers at the UKAPMP site to see all the presentations for yourself.
I am now chair of the new northern chapter of UKAPMP. Interested bid professionals from law firms and indeed all professional services are most welcome to our inaugural meeting at Pannone’s Manchester offices in the new year. Our first bootcamp and networking event will feature a top consultant describing the fast changing face of public procurement and how to successfully engage with it in 2010. See you there? A little bird will tell you how. Tweet, tweet.

Peter Rush is a freelance pitch doctor. He can be contacted at peter@thepitchdoctor.com and via his blog at www.thepitchdoctor.com. You can also follow him on twitter.com/peterush.