Pitches are the scourge of the agency industry. They always cost a lot or even too much money and they are not always worthwhile. Even when setting up the pitch team, there are often problems: talents are tied up in paid client projects that have a “built-in right of way”. Later on, pitch projects often get out of hand in terms of costs, for example because pitch teams get bogged down due to a lack of leadership. External pitch teams are also only a limited solution, because the client wants to get to know the real players – the ones who will stay with him in the project. And then the pitch might even be lost because the strategy got lost in a confused project and the client wasn’t given a presentation. So the answer must be: Increase opportunities and control costs.

For me, your own talents and resources have “right of way” first, and I am happy to supplement where you are lacking and where I can. My focus as an external pitch consultant is to tap the potential of the team members. For me, this has a lot to do with motivation. In my experience, it motivates immensely that there is a clear and convincing line for the core message of the pitch. And that you have complete confidence in the presentation skills of the whole team – which is rarely disappointed when everyone is confident in the material. And this is exactly what I want to contribute to: formulating an irresistible story and enabling a team to tell it irresistibly.

My methodical approach is first to analyse all the buying decision-makers in the pitch-buying centre. This is expressed in personas including wishes, needs, fears, objections, etc., which I then like to hang in the “war room” as a pitch strategy. For the persuasiveness of the presentation, it’s a matter of training, giving feedback and fine-tuning. Then the “miracle of the dress rehearsal” becomes apparent – those who are confident in the material present it well.

My role is that of a trainer, prompter and director and certainly also that of a PowerPointer. “I design the slide deck – others present it” – this is a frequently desired and proven approach. And one more thing: Feel free to ask me about performance-based compensation. Depending on the pitch, I can charge part of my fee only if we win.