The secrets of a successful virtual pitch

This week on the PRmoment podcast we're talking about virtual pitching.Virtual pitching is clearly an area that's become more important during the Covid lockdowns and today we're going to be talking to three guests with different perspectives on the pitch processAndrew Bloch is Lead Consultant PR for the AAR, an agency referral company. Also on the show is Rebecca Wagstaffe, Business Development Director at 3 Monkeys Zeno and finally, we’ve got  Charlotte West, Executive Director, Global Corporate Communications at Lenovo to give a buy-side, client perspective on virtual pitching.Thanks so much as ever to the podcast sponsors, the PRCA.Don’t forget the entry deadline for the PRmoment Awards is this Friday, March 26th.1 mins Charlotte talks about her experiences of watching virtual pitches from the buy-side. 2 mins Creating that “pitch theatre” is much harder virtually and why this has levelled the playing field between large and small agencies.3 mins Why virtual pitching needs more preparation than face-to-face pitching.8 mins Why having an existing relationship with someone on the buy-side of the pitch is even more of an advantage in a virtual pitch.9 mins The simplicity of the presentation is the most important element.10 mins “The thread from the insight, to the strategy, to the idea has to be locked tight in (for a virtual pitch) - there is no winging it!”11 mins “Death by Powerpoint is even more brutal over Zoom”12 mins “If your pitch is disjointed, you’re much more exposed over video...you have to practice much more in a virtual environment”11 mins “The transitions are almost more important than the slides - we rehearse our transitions!”13 mins Virtual pitching “is trying to make an unnatural process as natural as possible - and that’s really hard.”14 mins “The chemistry is just as important as the idea”15 mins Why only 20-25% of ideas that are pitched ever happen.16 mins The panels top virtual pitch tips: set rules of engagement, treat the virtual space as a physical space, add your job title to your name on the video, get your “swatty” follow-up right, speak slowly, put your video on, make the pitch more of a workshop format.20 mins What is the process of refinement and rehearsal that you need to go through?24 mins Send a recording of the pitch is a great idea and timestamp the key moments.25 mins Is there a preferred pitch platform?23 mins Andrew talks about AAR’s new rapid pitch process27 mins What is the best time length for a pitch?33 mins The panel share their most embarrassing pitch stories37 mins Are virtual pitches here to stay?