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Pitch meetings present a unique opportunity to go beyond your proposal and create a face-to-face connection with your potential clients. Pulling off a successful pitch meeting is an essential part of closing a client and earning their business.

A pitch meeting is much more than just reviewing your proposal. It’s a chance to interact with potential clients, help them get to know your team, and build rapport.

Keep reading to discover a quick guide to pitch meetings.

A quick recap of RFIs and RFPs

It’s important to know the difference between a request for information (RFI) and a request for proposal (RFP). They require a different response and different information about your company and planning capabilities.

For an RFI, you are…

• Educating on your company’s general abilities
• Covering the unique benefits of your company
• Demonstrating broader capabilities

For an RFP, you are…

• Bringing a proposal for one specific project
• Presenting a specific solution for their RFP

Who should attend a pitch meeting?

• Bring who the clients want to see and meet: the actual team who will be doing the work
• Match the number of people you bring to the pitch meeting to the scale of the project and the number of people the potential client is involving in the project
• Bring people who can demonstrate expertise in key areas to win the client’s trust
• Be wary of bringing freelancers who have never worked as a team before – clients can see through this and want to see an experienced, dynamic team

What to cover during a pitch meeting

• Reinforce your key messages throughout the meeting
  • Tell them what you’re going to tell them
  • Tell them
  • Tell them what you told them
• Explain why they should hire you for this specific project. Emphasize your unique selling points (USPs). Touch on what makes your company different
• Do more than just review your proposal document. Use the face-to-face opportunity to create an interactive experience

How to prepare for a pitch meeting

• Rehearse to a cold audience who has no idea what you’re presenting to get unbiased feedback
• Rehearse with your team at least three times before the pitch meeting
• Make sure during rehearsals that your presentation is within the client’s time limit
• Prepare how you will answer difficult questions about your weaknesses so you can turn any drawbacks into assets

Quick tips for success at your next pitch meeting

• Create a genuine experience
• Don’t force it – some clients you’ll have chemistry with, but some you won’t
• Make sure you consider and most importantly, communicate, what makes you stand out. Your potential client will likely meet with several companies