You finish your pitch…Dead silence? Crickets? 😬
You’ve pitched your idea, had an engaging conversation, and you can sense the meeting is coming to a close or should be. An awkwardness enters the space and you don’t quite know what else to say. Well, I’ve come up with six ways and must do’s in order to close your pitch effectively.
Six Ways To Close Your Pitch meeting before
- After you’ve finished your pitch, make sure to ask if they have any questions. This allows you to clear up anything that was unclear or confusing. The goal is to make sure the buyer has all they need to know to carry your project to the next person up.
- Ask if they want to hear about any other related information you’ve come up with regarding your project. For example, you may say, “would you like to hear some of my marketing ideas for this project?” Or you may say, “would you like for me to discuss some of the cross-promotional ideas I’ve come up with?” This lets the buyer know you’ve thought through every aspect of your project.
- Ask how does your project align with what they are looking for. You want to get right to the point, no bull crapping around at this point. You want to leave knowing if they could see your project fulfilling their mandate. Also, take really good notes of what they say so you can be able to tweak your project if you have to.
- Give a recap of anything they ask you to do so that you have clear instructions on what to do next. If you were unclear about anything, it can be cleared up before you leave.
- Ask them, “What are the next steps?”
- Ask for his or her email (if you don’t already have it), so that you can follow up. Follow up with an amazing email! Include action items requested, thank them for their time and let them know how amazing their team was. Add a note that gives more information about you. Maybe letting them know that you are a film director or that you have a skill they don’t already know about. Then ask again, “When should I expect to hear back from you?” this way you can know what to expect and take action thereafter.
I hope this helps put an end to that awkward feeling at the end of pitch meetings or enlighten you on how to close.Â