Name the room
Investors, a buyer, a client, a committee, and a person deciding whether to hire you are not waiting for the same sentence. Pick a guide below.
How to Pitch
The room decides the pitch. Investors, a buyer, a client, a committee, and a person deciding whether to hire you are not the same conversation. Pick the room, then use the structure.
Four things every pitch does
Leave one repeatable sentence
If they cannot say it after they leave, the pitch never left your head. Each guide puts that sentence in the quote.
Put proof next to the claim
A number, a customer you can name, or a thing you can show. If you do not have it, say what you saw. Do not borrow a market size.
Give the next step a date
Ending on a vision hands the decision back to the listener. An amount, a pilot, or an approval needs the date it is real.
Pick the room
How to Pitch to Investors
Pitch to investors by naming the cost of the problem, the proof you have, and the amount you are raising. They decide whether to take the meeting before they decide whether to write the cheque.
How to Pitch a Startup
Pitch a startup as the company, not as a fundraise. Customers, candidates, accelerators, and press should all hear the same first sentence. Only the ask changes.
How to Pitch an Idea
Pitch an idea as a problem you have watched, not as a product you have imagined. The listener should be able to see the workaround. They do not need a roadmap.
How to Pitch a Product
Pitch a product to the person who would use or buy it. Lead with the job and the thing they use today. The spec sheet is what they read after they care.
How to Pitch Yourself
Pitch yourself as the person who does a specific job for a specific kind of client. A résumé reads your history. A pitch gives the listener a reason to reply.
How to Pitch a Business
Pitch a business in the present tense. A buyer, a bank, a partner, or a franchisee is underwriting what the business is, not the story of what it might become.
How to Pitch to a Client
Pitch to a client by talking about their situation before you talk about your company. If the first minute still works with your name removed, it is a client pitch.
How to Pitch a Project
Pitch a project by naming the decision you need. A status update says how the work is going. A pitch asks someone to approve time, money, or their name.
How to Pitch a SaaS
Pitch a SaaS to the person who signs, not the person who clicks. Lead with the tool or the team they already pay, and how soon a first job is done in yours.
How to Pitch an App
Pitch an app by the first session, not by the feature list. The listener should know what happens after they tap the icon, and why it earns a place on the home screen.
How to Make a Pitch Video
A pitch video is the one-minute version of the conversation you want. It is not a trailer for a longer mystery. The decision, the proof, and the next step have to be in the film.
FAQ
How long should a pitch be?
The version that has to travel is about a minute, and it already contains the point. When they give you the room, go to three or ten minutes.
What is the difference between a pitch and a pitch deck?
A pitch is the few sentences they can repeat. A deck is what they flip while you talk. Send a one-minute film when you ask for the meeting.
How do I pitch if I do not like presenting?
Fill the brackets with facts, cut every sentence that has no fact, and read it. A one-minute film can say it before you walk in.
Should a pitch open with an introduction?
Only when they came to meet you. Investors, clients, and committees need the cost, the decision, or their own situation first.