Ideas are aimless until you make them happen. At LBi, we need to make our clients buy in to them. From our collective experiences, here are some practical tips on how to pitch, present, collaborate with, and excite clients.

1. How to sell ideas
London, April 28, 10 | | 1

2. How to sell ideas
City University HCID Open Day
April 21, 2010

3. I hold the view that ideas are
aimless until you make them
happen. In the commercial
context, the best ideas amount
to nothing if you can't get your
client to buy in to them.

4. 10 Practical tips

5. 1. Work with the imagination
of your audience
• Let people feel smart and engaged
• A client that feels some ownership of
an idea is almost half the battle won

6. 118 118

10. 2. Seed an idea and get advocates
• Many executives won’t get on board
unless they see others going for it first

11. Electrolux

13. 3. Be prepared
• Find out what you can about the people
you’ll pitch to
• Think about what questions your
audience may ask and have some
answers ready
• Don’t take things personally

14. Client X

19. 4. Structure your pitch
• Excitement can be developed by
building up toward a big reveal
• Themes that develop through a
presentation really help keep an
audience engaged

20. The White Company

22. 5. Give an idea a context that your
audience are already bought into
• Link your ideas to business objectives
and customer insights

23. Canon

26. 6. Do your research
• Change will always be strongly resisted
• Give your idea a foundation that your
audience understands

27. Unilever

29. 7. Give people an easy way to get on board
• Develop your idea of what ‘next steps’ need to
happen
• The ‘easiest’ route may not always be fastest
• Getting in on the ground floor to develop a
business case can be a great opportunity

30. Big high street bank

31. 8. Be surprising
• Nothing deflates a big idea faster than
the words “..but we know all this
already”

32. Generation Green

34. 9. Be positive
• Try to turn any negative issues on their head
• ‘Opportunities’ sell innovative ideas better than
‘Issues’
• Memorable phrases are great hooks
• If you get knocked back, learn from the
experience and come back stronger

35. UBS

36. 10. Dramatise, and have fun…
• Design how you communicate
• Good imagery can make an idea come to life
in the minds of the audience

37. Virgin Atlantic

38. The interview

39. 10 Practical tips
1. Work with the imagination 6. Do your research
of your audience
7. Give people an easy way to
2. Seed an idea and get get on board
advocates
8. Be surprising
3. Be prepared
9. Be positive
4. Structure your pitch
10. Dramatise, and have fun...
5. Give an idea a context that
your audience are already
bought into

40. THANK YOU FOR YOU TIME
GOOD LUCK!
Questions

41. www.LBi.co.uk
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