Are you tired of pursuing small jobs? Are you hungry to bag some big-name clients? Well, do we have a guide for you. Winning over high-profile clients that take your event planning business to the next level is easier than you think. All it takes is a successful pitch!
A winning pitch is the answer to that age-old question; “How do I get my foot in the door?” However, it’s less about highlighting your greatest hits and more about speaking to the client’s needs while presenting yourself as the professional, cost-effective answer they need.
While it can be intimidating to pitch high-profile clients, the more work you do ahead of time, the more confident you’ll feel. Our guide to creating a winning client pitch includes everything you need to appear as high profile as your prospective clients.
Focus on the client.
You know your brand inside and out. Take time to get to know your potential partner just as well. Every great client pitch starts the same way—research, research, research. Know their goals, values, and the pain points you can solve.
Research questions:
- What is their market/industry?
- Who is their audience?
- Are there potential customers they’ve missed?
- What is the client’s message/theme?
- What is their budget?
Don’t stop at the technical questions. Learn what values and interests guide the people you’ll be meeting. This forms the opening of your pitch, where you’ll connect on a human level, increasing the likelihood of success.
Put your client’s needs and goals at the center of your pitch, then connect each element back to this point throughout your presentation. Continuously circling back creates narrative cohesion and reassures the client that you want to give as much as you’ll get.
When you can, highlight where your goals and values align. You’ll frame your partnership as intuitive by illustrating these shared attributes. Remember, event planning is a human business, and people buy from people. Emphasize the relationship wherever you can.
Create a professional impression.
Like-minded individuals make the best partnerships. Present yourself with as much professionalism and confidence as your potential client, and they’ll be more likely to trust you with their event. Even beginning event planners can have their “Pretty Woman” moment with the right approach.
Finding your confidence
“Be confident” sounds like terrible advice, but a few simple tricks will create a prestigious impression. This quality is essential, as confidence reassures high-profile clients that you can handle their projects.
Use positive body language, including eye contact, smiling, and an upright posture. Use open-handed gestures, as these feel more inviting, communicating openness and honesty, whereas pointing comes across as antagonistic.
A well-timed pitch communicates respect for the client’s time and shows you’re confident enough that you don’t need to over explain. But don’t rush. Speak clearly and calmly. Rehearse beforehand so these gestures and speaking styles will feel natural. Regardless of your resume, if you act like a high-profile planner, they’ll see you as one.
Communicate professionally
Exhibit collaborative communication by inviting potential client(s) to ask questions. Ask what concerns they have that haven’t been addressed. It’s a gentle way to increase engagement while offering a taste of what it’ll be like to work with you. Moreover, you’ll have a chance to address anything your pitch missed.
Tailor the tone of your language to fit the event, brand, or industry you’re speaking to. This subtle, expert move displays a deep understanding of the event and increases the client’s confidence in your ability to cater to their audience.
After your presentation, be open to feedback. You’ll demonstrate flexibility and humility, essential for successful collaborations at the highest level. Remember, true experts embrace the gaps in their knowledge as a chance to grow.
Send a follow-up email thanking them for their time and linking your best contact methods. You’ll guarantee a strong, lasting impression. Even if you don’t get the job, you’ll establish a connection that may lead to more opportunities.
Animate your pitch with storytelling.
Engage potential clients with a story that’ll have them on the edge of their seats. Using narrative structure is a lively method for animating technical information, giving your client pitch an emotional punch that leaves a lasting impression.
Every great story has a beginning, middle, and end. Tell your story from the attendee’s perspective to offer a visceral experience of your planning capabilities.
Beginning
How will you introduce attendees to the event’s big idea(s)? What will they experience on the first day, and how will you manage the opening logistics? Weave in strategies or technology you have that minimize costs, like on-site badge printing or QR code check-in.
Middle
How will the sessions, decor, entertainment, and more expand on the event’s theme or message? This is the time to mention your relationships with vendors, suppliers, or high-profile speakers to enhance your value proposition. Emphasize the audience takeaways and how they feed into the client’s goals and values.
End
What is the “climax” of your event? How will you leave attendees with a strong impression of the event and your client’s brand? Include any ROI statistics from previous events to add credibility to your claims.
Emotional language is crucial for event storytelling. It centers the human experience, putting clients into the attendees’ shoes to stir up enthusiasm. If you can make your potential clients think, “I’d love to attend that event,” you will surely book the job!
Leverage creativity and flair.
Bring your vision to life with multimedia elements—design mock-ups of decor, booth layouts, branding, event marketing, and more. These elements add pizzazz to your verbal presentation, stirring your listeners’ imaginations and activating their emotional centers.
Share video content examples from previous events to demonstrate how you’ll present their event experience on social media and to add visual credibility to your brand. Demonstrate how you’ll engage their community by sharing early video promotion concepts.
Consider working with a professional photographer or videographer to create showstopping media. While you can find stunning images on sites like iStock, AI tools can create unique images tailored to your presentation for a fraction of the cost. You’ll present yourself as cutting-edge and cost-effective at the same time!
Multimedia elements keep listeners engaged with your pitch. As much as we hate to admit it, goldfish have longer attention spans than us. Incorporating visual media is essential for increasing attention; it provides vivid material that excites the mind.
Here’s a bold idea!
If you know a celebrity willing to give a keynote (it doesn’t have to be a Kardashian, just someone known in their industry), consider highlighting them in your pitch. They can create a video greeting or, if available, give the pitch for you! They’ll add prestige and increase client confidence in your ability to bring A-Level talent to their event experience.
Essential information for your pitch deck.
Knowing what to include in your pitch ensures a balanced presentation, not too long, not too short. You want to find that “just right” Goldilocks ratio.
Don’t jump right in with your bio, but start by highlighting why you want to work with the client. What about their company, event, or values excite you and your team? Frame your introduction within the context of why you’d make the perfect partnership.
Essential pitch sections
- Introduction & experience
- Client pain points & solutions
- Event experience narrative
- Budget requirements & savings
- Unique assets only you can bring
A budget section is inevitable, but consider it your opportunity to highlight cost-effectiveness. Events are expensive, so if you can save clients money through strategies or new technology, you’ll instantly frame your team as the prime choice.
While you want to focus on the positive, it’s wise to mention potential contingency plans. You’ll show yourself as an innovative, proactive event planner who can handle anything!
Pitch with the future in mind (conclusion).
Once you’ve researched, organized, and rehearsed your client pitch, there’s one last thing to keep in mind. Every client pitch is an opportunity to establish a connection. While the job in front of you may be exciting, it may take your event planning career to the next level, but leaving a good impression for the future is more important than booking the job.
You never know where a relationship will take you. That’s the magic of the event planner’s life! A no now may be a bigger yes later on, so pitch your potential clients with the confidence of knowing that, no matter what happens, you’ve planted a seed that may grow into a magnificent tree! You aren’t pitching for the job; you’re pitching for the future.
A long-term collaboration, now that’s what we call a #ClientWin!
