The Pitch Doctor

My pitching creed

This is my third piece for this marvellous rag on the potential and reality of the magic of marketing in a legal context. So dear reader, as I hold the number three the dearest and most magical of all (and closer to my pitching heart than even the number one – me of course), I thought it time I shared with you a glimpse into my pitching soul; the philosophy underpinning it; and why I love pitching so very much. I hate it too. But l’ll keep that column dry for now lest the editor prematurely wield the unkindest cut of all.
As simple as ABC. Step one, step two and step three. Beginning, middle and end. Get my drift? The number three is universally regarded as creative and spiritual. To be really good at pitching you have to put in heart, soul and mind. Christians have the Holy Trinity and so do matrix fans. Hindus the triad of Shiva, Vishna and Brahma and the Kabalah has three sepiroth (don’t ask just google) lying above the abyss. Atheists have DNA, Dawkins and death. Punters have tricasts, Hong Kong, The Triads, and horses come third when not backed each-way. Three is the first prime. It’s pattern is ubiquitous in nature and in all our superb creations. Best, Crouyf and Pele. Lester Piggott, Willie Shoemaker and Tony McCoy. From all of these you can neither add nor subtract without diminishing the whole.
For me, three keeps my pitching simple. For example: we all face the paradox of the complex deal with perhaps 21 or more interconnected parts that must be explained in 2O impossible minutes. Panic ensues. But wait. What if:

We identify the three most compelling reasons for them to choose us, our team and our deal - from the clients’ perspective of course;
Choose our three most appropriate (not best, not most senior, nor loudest) people to bring the proposition alive and personify our brand and values;
And then divide the twenty one by three giving us a now manageable seven parts to our pitch and perhaps just nine slides to digest with three striking bullet points a slide with a stunning image on each to match the primary point

Bring on the champers methinks.
I will return in a future column to your introduction slide and clincher closer. There can only be one of those. You can go much deeper with one idea but later…
My pitching philosophy forces me to continually look at how I am constructing pitches and then deconstructing them and keep asking why is this working and why is this not? And how can I prove it, logically and emotionally to myself and others? The ever present challenge is how do you use this information to alter what you do and influence others to do the same or better. Let’s play the tray again. Three constants appear in every pitch. Money, creativity and time. You rarely get all three perfectly balanced but if you don’t pay them equal attention they’ll bite you in unwanted places and at times not of your choosing.
Why not lead on money, rather than leave it lurking until the end? Gucci said that quality is long remembered when price is forgotten. You offer the value proposition or are reassuringly expensive or exactly at the price your client wants to pay, because you have made it your business to find out beforehand.
With money out of the way we can now creatively engage with process and evidence how your proposition is different from the others. It will be your people, your smarts and increasingly how your technology is superior. Save me time, save me money, save me bother. Save me from myself.
Above the paddock at the Curragh racetrack in Kildare, where you’ll find the greenest fields in Ireland and the fastest horses too, the words ‘Time Reveals All’ stare down on us poor gamblers before and after every race. Three words that encapsulate the pitching game so well. Time is the only equally distributed resource in the world. We all get 24 hours. Canny pitch teams are watching the clock, carefully and continually and making time for planning, preparation and polishing. Three pequisites if you wish to be in the winners enclosure regularly.
Why do I love pitching so? What other role gets the adrenalin flowing as fast and full, sets new challenges every day and invites you to learn continually? And when the winning habits are established secures your future successes.
So what’s my pitching creed then? I believe everyone can be better at pitching: some of us can be brilliant at it. We are born into a species hardwired for communication, preloaded with the most adaptable and sophisticated communication software known to science. All you have to do is turn it on.
What are you waiting for?

Peter Rush is a freelance pitch doctor and tenders consultant. He can be contacted at thepitchdoctor@gmail.com