Adrian Brown, a training consultant in healthcare communications, argues that pitching is about winning – and outlines what he believes to be the essential ingredients for success. Recorded 2 May 2018 at a MedComms Networking event in Oxford.

Recorded 2 May 2018 at a MedComms Networking event in Oxford. Produced by NetworkPharma.tv

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ABSTRACT:

Pitching for new business is the lifeblood of agencies ‒ and something we all need to excel at if we are to thrive in an increasingly competitive climate.

Pitching is all about winning. Untold amounts of non-chargeable time, effort and talent go into pitches, so it is vital that every effort is made to win the sought-after work. However, winning pitches is about more than simply providing a solution to a client brief. Agencies equally need to showcase a cohesive and enthusiastic team who clearly understand the client’s business needs and are demonstrably fun to work with.

Commitment is key. In preparing for a pitch you will need to select the most appropriate team and organise accordingly. This means briefing early and quickly getting to grips with the underlying issues and needs of your client. Key to this is remembering that it is not what you can do for the client that is important, but the results this will achieve: it is vital to focus on the intended outcomes of your work and their impact on your client’s business. As the famous advertising quote goes: ‘People don’t want quarter inch drills. They want quarter inch holes’.

Written by Adrian Brown, a training consultant in healthcare communications

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We are building a library of free webcasts, like this one, for the global MedComms Community and others at http://www.networkpharma.tv and we’d welcome your suggestions for new topics and speakers.

Full details of this MedComms Networking event are at http://medcommsnetworking.com/event_020518.html

Adrian’s presentation (PDF format) is at http://medcommsnetworking.com/presentations/brown_020518.pdf

Adrian’s Linkedin page is at https://www.linkedin.com/in/adrian-brown-88b4224/

More about Adrian Brown Consulting can be found at http://adrianbrownconsulting.com/

Filming and technical direction by Mario Crispino, Freelance Cameraman & Editor

Editorial support by Penny Gray, Freelance Medical Writer

[For the avoidance of doubt: this video is intended to be freely accessible to all. Please feel free to share and use however you like. Cheers Peter Llewellyn, Director NetworkPharma Ltd and Founder of the MedComms Networking Community activity at http://www.medcommsnetworking.com]