Business clients can range from massive corporations to the small to medium enterprises. Each of these companies has different needs, and because of that, the pitches that target them should be unique, based on the company itself.
The larger clients tend to be the ones with more ad revenue to spend, and landing these clients offers an agency a chance to work on a larger scale. Valuable clients like these usually require a pitch that is well designed and appeals to their company values.
For agencies that have to craft the perfect pitch for these more significant clients, 13 experts from Forbes Agency Council share their best strategies below.
Members share their best tips for approaching (and landing) bigger clients.
Photos courtesy of the individual members
1. Leave It All On The Field
Getting into any large opportunity is difficult. When those pitches present themselves, mobilize the entire agency. Never worry about whether the client could steal your ideas or how many hours you are committing, because if you don’t go all in, you are just making it less likely you will win. In the end, be able to look in the mirror and feel like, win or lose, you gave your collective all. – Scott Elser, Digital Current
2. Become An Expert On The Company
It is essential to understand a prospect’s business complexities and the subtle variances in their audiences. Present specific and targeted campaign ideas that would generate traction with the top reporters for each audience. This will require thorough due diligence on your part to understand each reporter’s beat and to become well versed in market trends you may not have explicit experience with. – Catherine Seeds, Ketner Group Communications
3. Offer Insights And Recommendations
Pro service firms can gather incredible amounts of information about large public companies. Conduct research, discover issues the company has struggled with and use LinkedIn to identify decision-makers and influencers. Then recommend an approach to the issues based on your unique insights. This path shows the prospect that you care enough to really understand what they need. – Randy Shattuck, The Shattuck Group
4. Act Like They Are Already A Client
Important prospects appreciate a personal touch. If you behave like they are already a client, meaning, do your homework to understand the business, research competitors, create a strategy or approach, and yes, give them a sample project — you will undoubtedly impress them. As a smaller agency, you can distinguish yourself by demonstrating interest and hard work — that is the perfect pitch. – Francine Carb, Markitects, Inc.
5. Add Value For Their Bottom Line
Your perfect pitch is the value of your solution to the client’s bottom line. No one buys based on how cool we are. We buy based on what problem we solve and how it will help the client make a better return on their investment. Be honest, offer measurable results and be able to pivot. – Qamar Zaman, KISS PR
6. Highlight Your A-Team
For larger enterprise clients, trust and credibility plays a large factor in their decision-making process. So you should highlight the experience of your team and showcase success stories from clients in the same vertical. You should also remember to consistently follow up with them to see at what stage they are in their internal processes. – Nishank Khanna, Demand Roll
7. Look The Part To Win The Part
To win the opportunity, you have to look like you should win it. Prospects and clients expect an agency to not just sound good but look good. The creativity in the presentation, the buttoned-up response and the ability to look the part are a key component in making a strong impression. Substance will get you far and a well-designed presentation will get you attention. To win, you need both. – Ilissa Miller, IMiller Public Relations
8. Focus On Business Impact And Proof Points
From our years of providing business contact data, we know that targeting and reaching prospective clients, no matter their size, takes time and expertise. Our strategy for pitching larger-scale clients is to have proof points of our success with other similar size clients, in similar industries. The key is focusing on the impact we can have on the “whale’s” profits and revenues. – Paula Chiocchi, Outward Media, Inc.
9. Show What Makes You Different
In a world where everyone claims to do everything, what are the real differentiators that matter to this client? Sometimes it is hard to learn the deep problems as seen from the client’s perspective, but those insights serve to better address the larger client’s needs. These insights help you develop that “perfect pitch.” – Jim Caruso, M1PR, Inc. d/b/a MediaFirst PR – Atlanta
10. Get The Right Stakeholders On Board
When navigating the buyer’s journey (education to contract) with a larger-scale client, it’s important to ensure you have alignment from the beginning with the right stakeholders — from the decision-makers to the day-to-day contacts to the finance, privacy and legal teams. Make sure you are effectively reaching these various contacts so when the time it comes to execute, there are minimal hurdles. – Lori Paikin, NaviStone®
11. Kill Them With Honesty
Be open, honest and transparent. If you’re punching above your weight class, own it and tell them why that could be a benefit (lower overhead means lower fees, more tenacity, etc). If you haven’t had a client in their category, tell them why and how you’re planning on earning and keeping their business. They likely already know all about you; this could answer some questions and show character. – Dan Kahn, Kahn Media, Inc.
12. Focus Your Investment With ABM
In business-to-business, marketer surveys have shown that account-based marketing (ABM) frequently offers the highest return on investment. Identify and prioritize accounts with a process that quantifies which targets offer the best revenue potential. Then personalize your messaging and marketing investment for the key decision-makers to capture their attention and speak to the exact challenges they face in their roles. – Kim Charlton, PMG (Pinnacle Marketing Group)
13. Don’t Veer Away From Your Core
Large accounts can be tempting but often they have custom requirements which drag you away from your core and make your team unfocused. If your focus is growth and scaling, then this can be detrimental and the short-term win can actually set you back much further than by locking up valuable resources which could be used to push your entire business forward. – Zamir Javer, Jumpfactor
