A visual deck designed to prompt discussion and get agency folk thinking about the challenges and behaviours of a winning pitch team. Notes include the narrative to support images.

1. BIG-STAKE
PITCH TRUTHS
As a rule of thumb, in my experience, I would that a pitch
becomes a big stake pitch as starts to kiss perhaps 5% of an
agencies total income.

2. Pitch Truth
Have high personal stakes for everyone involved. This drives certain types of behaviour you should be aware of and plan for.

3. Pitch Truth
Are career shaping. Getting involved in big stake pitches creates a unique agency bonding and working situation that transforms relationships.

4. Pitch Truth
The two previous points conspire to mean that there is the potential for a lot of
bull to be generated. It is a real skill to keep a pitch on course, and recognise
and ignore the irrelevant.

5. Pitch Truth
Working well together and collaborating is essential. But playing your role in a pitch should not be about
making friends, you should have a clear idea of your role and the value you add, and act accordingly. As
the expert in the pitch for the role you play. Having everyone have an opinion on everything leads to last
time and confusion. Be the expert you are. Collaboration and a shared view is essential. But remember
your role and why YOU are there.

6. Pitch Truth
Its enormously important that a pitch team is a team. The core team needs to get to a place where they think and act as one. This requires a time
investment to share thinking and expertise applied to the problem at hand. This needs to be iterative and ongoing. It typically looks like daily team catch-ups
on progress, and cross discipline problem solving.

7. Pitch Truth
A big stake pitch for an agency is a big event. They are incredibly competitive and impact
people and accounts directly and indirectly. Agencies often think of the pitch team as ‘those in
the room to present’. The truth is that big stake pitches are won by teams, not individuals. This
is especially true of the increasingly complex, multi channel marketing communications we face.

8. Pitch Truth
If you do not feel like this after a pitch you have not done enough. Everyone loses pitches. Big stake pitches are enormously competitive because of the big stakes. You should commit to one only if you are prepared to give it everything. I
recommend you look for a commitment from everyone involved in this. Every part of a big stake pitch needs to be as good as it can be. If you aren’t at the top of your game you will be beaten by someone who is.

9. Pitch Truth
People buy people. Pitch processes can be dehumanising. Find a way to humanise it. Share your passion/personality, show vulnerability or humanity.
Don’t become a machine.

10. Big
Stake
Pitch
Truths
#1
#2
#3
#4
#5
#6
#7
#8
Have high personal stakes
Are career shaping
Create copious bull
Demand expert behaviour
Require orchestration
Require a wide support team
Demand personal best
Passion/personality/humanity/vulnerability