Pitching your business is a common requirement, and often a daunting task, amongst clinic owners, aestheticians and entrepreneurs in aesthetics, beauty, or wellness. Knowing how to pitch, make it compelling and deliver it well is vital to engaging stakeholders such as prospective clients, suppliers, and the media with your brand. Delivering a ‘pitch’ is something you’re probably doing each day without realising it – every time someone asks “so what do you do?”. If you can pitch confidently and in a way which resonates with your target audience then you will gain valuable opportunities to boost or grow your business. You may think that some people are more suited to pitching, which may be true, but in our experience, the secret to delivering a great sales pitch is all in the planning and practise!
In this article, we explain the value of being able to deliver a perfect pitch and share our top tips on how to write a good pitch for your business or yourself.
What is a business pitch?
A ‘pitch’ is a rehearsed, carefully crafted statement which ‘sells’ you and your business to whoever you’re talking to. A good pitch will give the audience a clear understanding of the business and gain buy-in to your goal or objective. For example, you may pitch your brand to potential investors to secure funding or you may pitch your services to potential customers to secure bookings.
Pitches are not always presented face-to face, many are delivered via phone call, email, video or within marketing materials such as your website or a brochure.
The role of a sales or business pitch
Unfortunately, there is no-one-size fits all pitch – this is because each pitch you create will have its own set of goals or objectives and the content of each pitch should always be tailored to these. However, the primary role of every pitch is often to make a good first impression and to SELL!
Key occasions to use a pitch
You pitch more than you think, in fact you may already be quite experienced at pitching. As discussed earlier, pitches are delivered in writing as well as verbally. For example, each time you respond to an enquiry whether it’s from a client, journalist, or somebody else – you are more often than not pitching your brand or yourself to them. Below are some examples of when you may use a pitch:
- Responding to questions such as “so what do you do?”
- Responding to a customer enquiry and convincing them to come to you and not a competitor
- Introducing yourself to a journalist and trying to get them to write about you
- Sending your press release to a journalist and trying to get them to write about you
- To form the backbone of an advert
- Speaking at events
- At networking events each time you meet somebody new
- Your social media bio
- Your website homepage or about section
- A formal presentation to investors to secure funding
There are many more examples too! Basically, being able to pitch well is a great tool to have to in your personal and business toolkit as once you’ve mastered your pitch you will more than likely use it every day.
Key types of pitches
Many lucrative business relationships start with some form of pitch, ranging from the simple to all the detail. There are three key types of pitches, they vary in length and the situation where they are used:
- The Elevator Pitch: A very quick introduction of yourself or your business which lasts about 30 seconds. These are mostly used spontaneously to try and create interest and lead to meeting or longer conversation.
- The Espresso Pitch: Here you have a little more usually around two minutes to give your audience more detail and time to digest your message. A great format for prospective customers, media, and industry networking.
- The Extended Pitch: Typically a presentation between 5-10 minutes long that is used in more formal business settings with investors or trade.
Ideally you should prepare the above three versions of your pitch so that you are prepared for any situation.
How to write a good pitch in 6 steps
Figuring out how to talk about your business or even yourself in a way that’s both authentic and successful is hard but the trick is to prepare and rehearse until you truly believe what you are saying and know that your audience wants to hear it. First, we explain how to write a good pitch section-by-section. When used together the below messages will create a pitch that you will be proud to deliver:
1. Audience: Every successful pitch is designed to engage its audience and to share information with them that they are interested in. Are you pitching to the media, prospective customers, or a business? What do they need to know about you or your brand? You will need to prepare a separate pitch for each audience.
2. Introductions: Always begin by introducing yourself! Start by making a list of all the things you are and do, then select the facts that are most appealing or relevant to your audience. Your list may include:
- Your Name
- Job Title
- Experience
- Business/Brand Name
- Where you’re based
- Claims to fame etc.
3. Importance: Next be sure to mention your authority or influence in your industry. For example, have you received any awards or accreditations? You could tell a relatable story which includes some big results for patients or customers or even some impressive sales or growth figures. This is your opportunity to demonstrate how good you are so don’t be too humble!
4. Problem: Your audience need to understand what need or problem in the market your business meets or solves. Basically WHY does your business exist? This is a key piece of pitch so please elaborate. For example, why are you so passionate about this problem? what is the consequence of leaving this problem unresolved?
5. Your unique solution: Next, it’s time to explain WHY YOU. Again, don’t be too humble. Explain your USPs to your audience and how you work differently to your competition. Customer reviews or testimonials also work well in this section as they show listeners how your customers or patients feel after their experience with you.
6. Call to action: Always give your audience something to do with the information you’ve just shared with them. Calls to action vary by audience, some popular ones are:
- Book a consultation
- Make a purchase
- Request a sample
- Visit your website
- Collaborate on a project
Common mistakes to avoid when pitching
From talking too fast or too quietly and causing ‘death by PowerPoint’ with too many slides – these are just a few of the many mistakes to avoid when pitching your business or yourself. Try to stay relaxed and don’t rush what you have to say, you have an audience so take your time to deliver that awesome pitch you have created just for them.
The major mistake with pitches is that because they are a sales tool people often focus on what they want to say rather than tailoring their content to what the audience actually wants to hear. Adopting a sales-first approach is likely to disengage your audience rather than piquing their interest to want to learn more so you’ll be more likely to miss a sales opportunity rather than win one.
Build a complete brand message toolkit
Learning how to write a good pitch is only part of the marketing behind successful brands in the aesthetics, beauty, and wellness industries. Kendrick PR’s Founder Julia Kendrick has designed a fantastic marketing toolkit containing four modules of strategic guidance and practical tips to help you create the best brand messaging for your beauty brand, clinic, or business – it includes more guidance and training to help you deliver your powerful pitch too! Learn more about our How to Create Your Brand Message Toolkit and download your copy today.
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