southampton graphic & web design course 'pitching & qualification' presentation

Hello.

Apologies for the silly pictures! (…they tend to be memorable)

Firstly…

Does everyone know what a ‘pitch’ is?

Some of the principles I’ll chat about can be applied when looking for a job

WHO am I ?

@renemorency  

1999 - 2002

A student. . .

Graphic Designer

2003 - 2007

Founded Browser

2008 - onwards

The business side of design

Here to talk about…

Behind  the  heart  of  every  great  design  agency,  lies  a  great  business  mind  

www.browserlondon.com  

WHO ARE we

4 years old

Lots of long hard work (… on ironing boards)

Crazy but excellent office parties

Quite a few

We met lots of new friends (business & social)

Along the way

We’re a digital agency

Strategy

Innovation

Design/build UX UI Technical development

12 person team, and growing

Business development

Creative

Technical

Finance

WHy digital

It’s fast paced, exciting, fresh and always moving forward

Why digital

Why digital

Creation and innovation are always at the forefront

Projection mapping Shoreditch http://tiny.cc/0upmnw

Why digital

It’s a buoyant market at the moment, and it’s continuing to grow

Pitching & Qualification

Does everyone know what pitching is?

Pitch process (in a nut shell)

1. Receive brief and qualify

2. Internal meeting, research & concept creation

3. Craft the pitch and proposal document

4. Choose team to present present

Does everyone know what pitching is? 5. Present pitch

First, ask yourself…

Does  it  fit  with  our  Strategic  objec3ves?  

Will  it  help  us  get  to  where  we  want  to  be?  

Remember  your  mountain  

The Pitching rules

When not pitch

If the brief doesn’t fit with your specialty

Eg.  Will  pitching  for  an  ad  campaign  benefit  you  or  the  client?  

When the client won’t meet you face to face

When not pitch

Business  is  built  on  rela>onships,  get  a  feeling  for  their  needs  

When not pitch

If  you’re  too  busy  and  don’t  have  the  resource  available    (always  aim  to  put  in  100%)  

If  you  don’t  fit  into  their  criteria      (eg.  An  integrated  agency  required)    

When not pitch

When not pitch

If  the  budget  is  undisclosed  

It  could  be  £1  or  £100,000  

When not pitch

If  you  don’t  understand  the  Need  behind  the  project  

If  it  ain’t  broke  .  .  .  

When not pitch

If  you  don’t  know  the  basis  for  selec3on,  is  it  cost,  quality,  technology?  

When not pitch

If  their  expecta3ons  are  unaDainable/unrealis3c  

Example:  re-­‐build  ebay  

When not pitch

How  much  will  it  cost  us  to  pitch    (ie:  does  the  risk  jus3fy  the  reward?)    

Average  cost  per  pitch?  

Only  go  for  projects  you  know  you  stand  a  very  good  chance  of  winning  

And  lastly.  .  .  

When not pitch

Before A pitch

Before a pitch

Research!  Research!  Research!  

Before a pitch

What’s  the  company  background,  are  they  who  they  say  they  are  

Check  background  info    

Before a pitch

Find out who you’re pitching to (ie: Finance director or marketing director)

It’s best to prepare yourself for specific questions

Before a pitch

How  long  have  they  been  with  the  company/who  have  they  worked  with  before?  

Each and every person have their own objectives

Before a pitch

Who  else  is  pitching?    What  are  their  strengths  and  weaknesses?  

Before a pitch

What  does  the  pitch  criteria  consist  of?    why  were  we  asked  to  pitch?  

Before a pitch

Most  importantly  keep  in  touch  with  everyone  .  .  .  Become  friends!    You  never  know  where  their  next  job  will  be  -­‐  and  what  doors  could  open  

Fine tuning the pitch

Who do they want to see? Creative / technical team

What’s important to them? Visuals, team structure, financial stability

The proposal, who’s best to present it?

The value of Your knowledge

Listen to what they want - But explain what they need

We’re the experts, let them know our insider info The  next  big  thing  is…  

Example:  hSp://>ny.cc/qv3unw  

We’re the experts, let them know our insider info Example:  Flash  is  on  it’s  way  out  

Example:  hSp://>ny.cc/sy3unw  

Don’t just present, Put on A show!

Presenting a pitch

People buy into people (get the right people involved on the pitch)

Example:  hSp://>ny.cc/kk4unw  

Presenting a pitch

Show your credibility and examples of similar projects

Presenting a pitch

Try to proactively deal with objection and weaknesses (ie: responsive Vs web app)

See:  http://tiny.cc/htymmw  

Presenting a pitch

Confidence  is  assurance!

Explain how to maximise ROI, scalability and support

Presenting a pitch

Involve everyone in the room Remember – we’re designing for humans!

Capture  the  imagina>on!

Following Up the pitch

Call them! Keep in touch, it’s always good to talk

Following up the pitch

Call  them!

Following up the pitch

Tie up any loose ends Unanswered questions, clarification points, any additional info

about 2 weeks After the pitch…

All of the qualification and hard work paid off!

We get a call telling us we’ve won :)

Or we’ve lost :(

If so, we ask why we lost, and we learn from our mistakes

If that’s the case, then quite often . . .

It’s budget related It’s a very competitive market

Or. . .

We didn’t qualify the project correctly and made a mistake in the pitch direction

It’s something else… (e.g. our dress sense!)

Or. . .

Suggested resources

Books

‘Design is a job’ ISBN 10: 0-13-285836-3

‘Pitching to win’ ISBN 10: 190573624X

‘Paul Arden series’ ISBN 10: 0714843377

Links and blogs

www.gov.uk/designprinciples

www.browserlondon.com/blog

www.smashingmagazine.com

@browserlondon

@SmashingMag @dbushell

@elliotjaystocks

Twitter

@netmag

@verge

Keep in touch

@renemorency

/browserlondon

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