Ask.com's Sean X Cummings reveals the most common pitch killers and how to avoid them in your next bid for new business.
Introduction
Talk a lot about your agency history
Assume you know more than the client
Forget the client's budget constraints
Be oblivious to the client's other agencies
Ignore the RFP
Staff the pitch with who is available
Conclusion
Introduction
I am often dismayed, if not outright shocked, by the delusions that occur when agencies get involved in pitches. To be honest, I was once one of the delusional. I remember when our entire agency team would prepare for a pitch. The pace is such a frenetic, berserker time-crunch that you often feel joy in merely surviving it. In the post-pitch decompression, you believe you know when you've nailed it or when it all imploded.
But often, what you know is nothing.
Following are some great ways that you can completely blow your next pitch.
Next: Talk a lot about your agency history