Life is a Son of a Pitch

“When they call you crazy, remember that genius ideas don’t come from average minds” – Joker

Given the title of our latest session, it is only fitting to start this blog with a quote by the Joker. Throughout the session as well, our speaker made use of several quotes by the acclaimed villain making the session very lively and exciting.

On Thursday, the 23rd of April, from 11 AM-1 PM, team.i conducted the fifth session of the ‘team.i event edu series’ on the above mentioned topic. Our guest speaker for the day was Mr. Avinash, who managed to deliver his message in the most interesting and vivid manner.

Mr. Avinash Mantri, someone who has had several years of  experience working with management students, entrepreneurs, designers and self-start professionals. 

Through this session, we wanted to help businessmen, start ups and anyone whose business or venture requires dealing with clients and having to catalyze a business transaction through a remarkable pitch.

Understanding the dynamics of the business setting and how in order to sell a business idea, it must border on the line of insanity is very important. It is the top level management that makes the decisions and it becomes crucial to probe for the right answers in order to put forward a good pitch.

“Where there is a will, there is a won’t,” the concept that will significantly impact the psychology of any business man. We must understand that a client will always consider the option of not doing business with you, but we must not allow it to stagger our performance in delivering our idea.

Braving this possibility will bring out the confidence and the ease to put across the pitch in the best way possible.

There is no shortage of competition and other adverse factors that will stand in the face of you and success. Your manner of dealing with these adversities will reflect the reputation and quality of service provided by your business.

Getting a thorough understanding of your clients, their history, the verticals, the range of products and services, prowling their market, bumping into their customers and probing their competition will improve your chances of connecting with your client better.

The capacity to retain information is closely associated with something called the ‘crocodile brain’ which is the most primitive part of a human brain.

It is responsible for making hasty decisions, jumping to conclusions and inability to hold attention.

This is also the part of the brain that is best known for defining first impressions.

Which is why the first 30 seconds of any pitch launch is extremely crucial.

You can make or break your deal in those first 30 seconds. Your client gets a feel of what it is your business stands for, your ability to communicate and put across ideas in a manner he/she is impressed by.

Making use of a simple concept, the 3 figure rule can help you win over your clients in the very first meeting.

Mr. Avinash also stressed on the importance of decoding the brief or breaking down each aspect of your proposal to encourage discussion.

Putting across a pitch isn’t as much about bringing in business as it is about sharing an experience with your client. There needs to be a seamless connection that keeps them wanting to know more.

It must be episodic and should bring about a sense of curiosity and excitement in them.

Mr. Avinash covered each topic from the preparation to the delivery of the pitch. The importance of maintaining a smooth flow of communication from the very beginning and maintaining a professional sense of style and tone will significantly impact your proposal.

He also gave us a few pointers on how to collate our data and make use of the advancements of technological tools and applications to make the presentation more stimulating.

The ease of transition from older methods such as overhead projectors and jotting down points in post it’s to newer means of power-point presentations, PPT’s and other visual tools was also discussed.

Constantly evolving your ideas and understanding the power of the media that you use is necessary.

Pacing out your points of discussion rather than putting it all in front of the client at once will increase your chances of meeting with them a second and then a third time.

Putting yourself in the shoes of your client will help you understand them better and cater to their requirements accordingly. Excite, Engage, Elaborate, 3 words that will get your clients to seek out your brand.

The session was concluded with a questionnaire round where we discussed certain experiences that helped us better understand the concepts that were covered.

Mr. Avinash left us with a powerful message of how there will always be people who don’t believe in our work. That doesn’t matter.

What matters is how you perceive your work and the effort you put in to make it successful.

In case you missed out on this incredible learning opportunity, click here to get a copy of the recording https://bit.ly/2VOZGIK