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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
Learn More About This Topic…

Event & Meeting Management Fundamentals Certificate
Start Date: January 14, 2020
Length: 10 Weeks Online
Instructor: Kevin White, CSEP
CMP Clock Hours: 36
Thank you for this article! My big takeaway was the importance of the difference between RFP and RFI!
Have an amazing day!