From Snoring To Soaring: Working Out Why Your Current Pitch Is Sending Clients To Sleep
Even if you pitch to clients often, each meeting probably feels like a formative moment in your career. You likely step up there with a beating heart, shaking hands, and an undeniable sense of anticipation. This is it, you think. Only to turn around and see that half of your audience has their heads in their phones, and the other half are on the brink of falling asleep.
That can be hard, but you’ll probably convince yourself that it’s nothing personal. Clients see a load of pitches, right? Perhaps they’ve just had a long day. Unfortunately, while this kind of thinking makes some sense, it’s rarely accurate.
The simple fact is that a client will sit up for a great pitch, no matter how much they’ve travelled that day, or how many other similar companies they’ve seen. If you’re sending them to sleep, then we’re sorry to say that it’s a clear sign of a problem. But what is that problem, and how can you finally take your pitches from snoring to soaring? Keep on reading to find out.
# 1 - Static Slides
Imagine you are the client. You’re looking for new software, but you’ve attended ten pitches in the last week. Then another company comes along with a set of static slides filled with unmoving text and uninspiring images. Would you sit up and pay attention? Probably not.
When you lean too heavily on speaking over a static presentation, you automatically put yourself on the back foot. Remember, this is 2026, not 1997. Tech has moved on, and your pitch needs to move on, too. You certainly need to add a little more interest than you’ve got going on right now.
Obviously, your skills might not stretch this far, and we get that – you’re focused on sales, not design. But there’s still no excuse for slipping up here, considering that there are some fantastic presentation design agencies out there. By working with these experts, you can lean into a far more innovative presentation, complete with interactive animations and eye-catching visuals that tell a story clients actually want to listen to.
# 2 - Me-First Narratives
You want to make your brand relatable during this pitch, so perhaps you jump in with a story about why you developed this product, or what problem you’ve used your software to solve. It’s all very heartwarming, but do you know what? The client doesn’t care about you.
We’re sorry, but someone’s got to say it. Your part in this story is negligible. Besides, that client’s probably already researched your company, and will be fully aware of your touching origin story. Now they’re attending a pitch to find out what you can do for them.
We know what you’re thinking – obviously, you’re intelligent enough to include that information in your pitch already. But, ask yourself, are you doing so early enough? Because that personalised hook should never be an afterthought – it should be the beginning on which the rest of your presentation hangs.
Of course, this isn’t always easy. You’ll need to research that company’s pain points and paint a convincing tale about why your product is the right knight to slay those dragons. But, if you get this right, you’ll instantly have all eyes on you, rather than hearing the telltale sound of snoring.
# 3 - Shaky Research
Let’s say your presentation looks great and you’ve perfectly pitched how your product will help a client. You’ve even backed up those usage benefits with a few wild claims, like ‘best’ and ‘better than any of our competitors’. In other words, you’re putting on a groundbreaking show. So why are your clients still falling asleep?
Honestly, those high claims could be the problem. Sure, they sound impressive, but what are they actually saying about your products? And also, where are they coming from? These aren’t exactly solid, well-researched comparisons. They’re opinions at best, and ones your clients won’t care to hear.
Realistically, you need well-researched, fully verified, and data-driven stats, such as a spreadsheet outlining clear product ROI, or slides that show the percentage increases of client sales after introducing your products. These are solid findings, and they point a clear path to sales, rather than sleepy clients who can’t be bothered.
Takeaway
If you want to scale your business, you need to be pitch-perfect when you stand in front of clients. Each of these issues can stop that from happening, so it’s time to sort these kinks and take your next pitch from snoring to soaring at last.
