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
There are no hard and fast rules for agencies in pitches. You could have the greatest work but not present it right. Someone on your team could say that one thing that just irks the client about their brand. You could continually refer to someone in the meeting by the wrong name or show up wearing or using a competitor's product. That's sure to kill your chances.
You can probably recite the first 10-15 slides of your presentation without a single cue, which is bad. Pitches are art, not science. What most agencies do when they confine it to process and slides is reduce the variance of that art.
If you are successful at winning business, just keep doing what you're doing and ignore everything I've said here. You may not know what it is, that magic you have in a pitch. It could be that the last couple of wins have given you that aura that clients can sense when they're in the room with you. Perhaps it's quiet confidence, without being arrogant. It's the same effect when you are interested in someone across the bar. Confidence is sexy, and no one wants to go home with the ugly agency.
But if you know you've nailed the pitch and just seem to keep missing a win, review whether you are making some obvious mistakes in your preparation. Sometimes what you know is not what you think.
Return to introduction
Sean X Cummings is director of marketing for Ask.com. Read full bio.
