southampton graphic & web design course 'pitching & qualification' presentation
DESCRIPTION
13th November 2012: Slides to accompany a presentation to university students in Southampton. The presentation focuses on the 'Pitching & Qualification' process. By @renemorencyTRANSCRIPT
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
@netmag
@verge
Keep in touch
@renemorency
/browserlondon
in Search ‘rene morency’