Want to win a pitch? Respond quick (here’s how)

Want to win a pitch? You’ll need to respond quick. In a world of endless options, we often think that our clients will be combing the market for the very best deal, and the highest quality option. But we fail to consider one thing: people are busy. 

Brand marketers and agency creatives and producers are stacked. So they’ll ask for a quote from three or four people, and that’s it. And when quotes come back to them, they’ll present “a shortlist of the best options” to their boss (even though those were the only options they found).

With this in mind, speed becomes imperative to winning a pitch. If you respond quickly with clarity, you’ll be presented as the best option, and probably brought on for the project. 

So how do you increase speed? With preset rates, pitch templates, and a little risk. 

Preset Rates

Developing preset rates for your standard services helps in two ways. First, it automates the process for the future, and second, it makes you decide what your standard services are. When I started freelancing, I said yes to everything. I didn’t specialize in anything because I just needed any work I could get. I had to develop custom rates for every opportunity that came my way. This slowed me down, and lost me a lot of work.

Nowadays, I have three main services: copywriting, pre-production, and on-set production. I have set rates for all of these services. When someone asks, I just fire off my rates and move on with my day. There’s flexibility with these rates, though. If it’s a friend, I’ll cut them a deal. If it’s a stranger, I’ll add on 15% just in case they’re weird.

Pitch Templates

If your pitch requires creative development and in-depth planning, then you’ll probably need to present a pitch deck to win the job. Having a pitch deck template can save 4-6 hours of design and decision time. When a client needs an option by yesterday, the creatives who have pitch templates ready to go will be the ones who win. 

The beauty of a pitch deck template is that most of the information stays the same from pitch to pitch. If you have a description of your services, your expertise, or your rates, those pages can stay the the same. You might only need to swap out a few pictures for your current pitch. Additionally, a template with copywriting prompts can help you ensure you’re making a clear, concise, inspiring pitch every time. 

If you need a pitch deck template, you can download mine here. It’s free and it works. It has proven design and copywriting prompts to help you write the words that win projects. I’ve used it to lock over $1 million worth of projects for me and my clients. 

A Little Risk

Responding quickly to clients requires a little risk. Often, clients will ask if you’re available or if you have the bandwidth for a project before you’re 100% sure that you do. You can always say “no” later on after you’ve said “yes,” but once you say ”no,” you’re usually out for good. It’s tempting to wait before responding to the client until you’re sure you can take on the project. But  by the time you respond, it’ll be too late, and they’ll have found someone else. 

When someone reaches out, I almost always immediately say “yes, I can help you out.” Then I ask to get on a call as soon as I can. This helps me be one of the first on the phone with the client, which is a huge advantage. Then, I make it clear that I would love to work on the project with them, but I’m not 100% sure that I can. In either case, I let them know that I’ll help them find someone else if I can’t. This way I can keep them on the hook long enough to learn more about the project and figure out my own schedule. 

It’s true that there’s a little risk to this strategy. If it turns out that you can’t help on the project, or that you can’t find anyone else to help either, it’ll leave a bad taste in the client’s mouth. They might not call back again. But if you take too long to respond, and they find someone else, they probably won’t call you again either way! So it’s not that risky compared to the alternative. At the end of the day, people want to feel heard, they want to feel supported, and they wan’t to feel like they’re not doing everything all by themselves. And the first person to call back and offer to help gives the client that feeling. 

Remember, people are busy and time is of the essence. With preset rates, pitch templates, and a little risk, you can help these busy clients, and win your pitches in the process.