Isn’t there anything more irritating than losing another business pitch? If you’re not overly confident about yourself, it’s enough to send you through a spiral of self-doubt and self-depreciation. Could it be that you’re not good enough for your job? Before you fall any deeper into the well of self-pity, it’s time to wake up and think positively. Okay, you lost another pitch. But it doesn’t mean your work is terrible. It only means that your pitch has missed your audience. That’s precisely why you need to take a step back and find out what winning pitches have in common.
Find out about the latest opportunity
More often than not, entrepreneurs fail to win hundreds of pitches in their lifetime. The majority of these losses occur because of lack of time, or because, more likely, they didn’t even know that there was an opportunity to present their services. If you’re hoping to find your next project via your LinkedIn network, you need to expand your hunting field. There are dedicated institutions that publish open projects in a variety of sectors – BidsConstruction lists government procurements all around the world for the building industry, for instance. You need to make sure that you know about all the latest projects in real time.
Create some brand noise
Let’s be honest: When you pitch to win a project, you are against competitors you probably didn’t even know, and others you fear or respect. The company you’re pitching to is most likely to know a few brand names too. In other words, when companies receive many proposals, they are more likely to know with a brand they have heard of. At a business level, it means you need to get yourself noticed in a crowded market. Thankfully, digital marketing makes it easier for introvert entrepreneurs to make some noise without needing to meet their target audience.
Design a killer portfolio
You need to have a portfolio you can shout about. The company that reads your pitch will want to know more about you, and that’s where it’s important to build an effective portfolio website. Every industry sector can create a user-friendly portfolio. In the construction sector, to carry on the previous example,
you will need to keep a clear layout that filters your work by industry, location, type of service, and project status. Other industry sectors will need to select the most relevant filter categories too. Additionally, while an image can speak a thousand words, you will also need descriptive and informative content alongside.
Prove your trustworthiness
Last, but certainly not least, is your KPI, key performance indicator(s). Every business monitors its performance through meaningful metrics, from sales, revenues to digital marketing and customer satisfaction. You can publish your KPI as a way to promote your business values and quality. For companies trying to select their next partner, knowing more about your customer relationship, digital presence or any other relevant metric can be the boost of confidence they need to pick you.
In short, winning a pitch is a long-term dedication that combines everything you put in the pitch documentation as well as everything your business has achieved before. So make a name for yourself and grab that winning place!
