Pitching Process Template
Quick Tip!
The three P’s of Pitch Presentations:
Polished: Ensure that all team members have looked through the presentation and fixed any grammatical or visual errors!
Professional: Wear Corps Polos! Engage in professional speech and actions.
Prepared: Practice the pitch! A successful pitch has thought and effort behind it.
Helpful Staff for this Topic
When pitching an idea, you should have confidence that your plan is the best course of action. At the Digital Corps, pitching is a way to help clients achieve their goals!
Intake Meetings
The pitching process typically begins with an intake meeting. Intake meetings are with the team, staff, and clients to discuss what the client is looking for in a potential project. The client illuminates a problem they want solved, and it’s up to the team to brainstorm ways to fix it! After listening to the client’s needs and brainstorming solutions, we begin preparing the pitch.
The Pitching Template: Breaking it Down
Every Digital Corps pitch uses a specific pitching template to ensure consistent content. Here’s a breakdown of each of the slides:
- Project Name: The client will typically provide a name for the project. Make sure to include this on the pitching template.
- Problems Defined: The problems defined section is a recap of the problems the client put forth in the intake meeting. Displaying them on the pitching presentation template shows that the team listened to the client’s needs, and worked together to find a solution to the specific problem that was addressed.
- Solutions Defined: This section of the pitching template explicitly states the solutions that will be used to solve the problems illustrated above.
- Student Impact: The student impact section highlights the benefits of working on and completing a project, from the perspectives of both a Corps employee and a student at Ball State University. This shows the client that the project isn’t just beneficial for them, but for Corps employees too!
- Corps Responsibilities: This section details the responsibilities of Corps members on the project. A few sentences like “creating content for a video package” and describing the steps to complete the project go here. This clearly outlines what needs to be done so the client knows the steps it takes to completion.
- Client Responsibilities: Client responsibilities are just that—what the client needs to do to aid the completion of the project. Some responsibilities normally include open communication and timely review of project assets.
- Timeline: The timeline section includes a vague, brief outline of how long it will take for project completion. Months are sufficient—if things change internally, those are changes that can be kept internal.
Pitching Etiquette
Once the pitching template has been filled out, it’s time for the actual pitch. Here’s some etiquette tips to remember when in a pitch meeting:
- Be Prepared. Make sure that the team has practiced the pitch presentation a few times. It’s important to have a solid presentation—the client should have confidence in the product we are preparing for them.
- Be Professional. Corps Polos are required for pitch presentations! They are a great visual display of professionalism, but ensure that your speech and actions during the presentation are professional as well.
- Listen and Adjust. Brandon leads pitch meetings. Watch for his lead. He’ll turn it over to the team when it’s time for the presentation.
- Be Selective With Information. Don’t give more information than necessary. This is especially important for the timeline.
Below is the actual pitch presentation template. As long as these steps are followed, a polished, professional, and prepared pitch presentation is sure to happen!
