How to prepare a winning pitch

Business strategist, international speaker and author, Justin Cohen, shares his success secrets in his internationally acclaimed, six-step formula, Pitch to Win. Here’s how you can prepare for a multi-million Rand pitch and secure the bag.

GQ: What makes a pitch successful?

Justin Cohen: Boil it down to its essence and you’ll see that what you’re really pitching is a solution to a problem. No one ever said, ‘My life and business are perfect, now let me pay you to change it.’ The first step to a successful pitch is understanding what the problem is, and you can only do that by listening. We think of a pitch as a performance – and to some degree, it is – but this isn’t a repeat performance, like a Broadway play. Each pitch is different because every person or organisation you’re pitching to is different. Your pitch can be won before you even enter the room to present it: it’s about how well you tune in your offer to what your audience is looking for.

You can deliver an outstanding performance, but if you don’t address their needs, objectives and problems, then your performance probably won’t receive a standing ovation.

They don’t really care about you, your company or your list of features and benefits. They care about themselves: their needs, desires and pain. How you and your offering can help them is by addressing what they’re interested in, but you can’t show them that until you’ve taken the time to listen to what their needs are. When it comes to pitching, the best listeners win.

GQ: How do you get potential investors to trust you?

JC: Your pitch is a promise.

You can only get away with lying once. You’re not pitching to win cash, you’re pitching to win long-term relationships, which are built on complete trust and transparency. Like sport, pitching is a high-stakes competition where the incentive to cheat is high. Few people will pitch a bare-faced lie, but the obsession with winning can lead to a whiff of inauthenticity that reduces their chance of success.

Think of the stereotypical usedcar salesman: he’s slick and knows his stuff, but you sense he’s only telling you what you want to hear so he can make a fast buck. There’s nothing wrong with wanting the deal, but you need to remember why you want it. What you’re really pitching is your purpose – your reason for being. When you’re clear about that, you’re more likely to convey your sincerity and build trust.

GQ: How do you get people to buy into your vision?

JC: You have to be confident about what your vision is, and conviction is contagious. I like to tell people this story: two men are working on a building site in the middle ages. A passer-by asks them, ‘What are you doing?’ One of them replies, ‘I’m cutting stone. It’s hard and it’s boring – my back is killing me!’

The other replies, with shining eyes as he stares up at the sky, ‘I’m building a cathedral.’ Until you can see that cathedral, or whatever else your vision may be, no one else will. The most important person you need to sell is you. Once you’re clear about your vision, tell a story about it. Facts tell, stories sell. Nobody ever invested in a business without a very good reason. Telling people what your business is and how it works doesn’t answer questions about why it should exist, but telling them a story of the impact your product or service has on a customer’s life does. People sometimes resist stories because they don’t seem factual when they are, they’re just facts communicated with heart. We can’t feel for a number. We can only feel for human beings who’re like us, and if we don’t feel, we don’t act. People want to be moved emotionally before they can buy into your product or service.

GQ: What makes a person stand out?

JC: You know those people who walk into a room and the lights go on? And those who walk out of a room and the lights go on? Ask yourself: what happens when you walk into a room? How do people feel in your presence? It’s less about what you say and more about how you say it. Over 70 top companies in Europe were surveyed about the reasons behind a winning pitch. The number-one reason given was energy and enthusiasm, largely transmitted non-verbally. Over 50% of our communication is non-verbal: facial expressions, gestures and posture. Film yourself to see how you come across, and how your team responds to not only what you’re saying, but to your body language too.

GQ: What do potential investors look for that isn’t obvious?

JC: They often tell me that a good idea is a dime a dozen. What they’re looking for are good people, who aren’t just smart and creative, but resilient and resourceful too. They know how tough it is out there and they want to make sure you’ve got the tenacity to stick it out. They’re also looking at your social skills. Are you good with people, and can you resolve conflict and lead a team? Is it all about you and your ego, or are you really committed to building something bigger than you?

GQ: How do you not take rejection personally when your livelihood depends on the outcome of your pitch?

JC: We’re hardwired to hate rejection. It goes back to our caveman ancestors – if our tribe rejected us, we’d die. That isn’t the case today, but our brains still interpret rejection as a mortal threat. You’ve got to get over this rejection thing. It takes 12 exposures to a new product or person before people feel comfortable enough to buy into it. Don’t take rejection personally, and be willing to keep going. When it comes to pitching, “no” means “persuade me”, and the best way to do that is by adding value. That could be through providing additional information that’s useful or giving out a free sample.

Here’s how I advise people who grapple with rejection. Think of it as a vaccine – Karate training for the immune system. By implanting a tiny amount of the disease, the body learns to defend itself against it. If the rejection is the disease (as in something that makes you feel uneasy), the best way to defend yourself against it is to expose yourself to it. If you avoid it, you become more fearful of it.

The more you experience it, the more immune you become to it. By regularly offering your services, through big pitches or small, experiencing the inevitable rejection that will come, you’ll find it less and less scary. The key is to feel the fear and do it anyway. The more you pitch, the less scared and intimidated you’ll feel, which will increase your likelihood of winning.