How to pitch persuasively

By Ben Sokolowski ’02

“Pitching” an idea (in Hollywood, on Bay Street, or even at school) means baring your heart and soul in the hopes of changing the opinion of the person sitting across from you. It is human nature for the buyer to walk in with the mindset of “no.” Their time and resources are finite, after all. I’ve made hundreds of pitches to Hollywood networks and studios over the years and learned a few tricks on how to change the “no” to a “yes.”

Connection

Preparation

Half the battle is convincing the buyer to work with you. If they like the idea but you are unprepared or come across poorly, the pitch is DOA. I rehearse my pitch just to the edge of ad nauseum. Yet that is not enough. My best pitches are the ones where I am not just regurgitating the words but truly living inside them. When I say something, the buyer must believe me. They won’t do this if I don’t wholeheartedly believe in myself or the idea.

If you can connect with the buyer on a “deeper level,” success will be easier to find. I usually start my pitches with a personal anecdote that touches on the core theme of the idea. I once sold a series to Fox about ghosts and opened the pitch by detailing family members I’ve lost whom I yearn to see again, even in spectral form. This was not me being poetic but rather trying to stir a positive emotion in the buyer. Perhaps they would remember someone close who had passed and now they are thinking warm thoughts and connecting them to my pitch.

Observation

Finally, be observant and flexible. In a meeting at CBS, I noticed that the executive had many baseball bobbleheads on his desk. During the prerequisite small talk, I brought up the firstplace Dodgers. That put a smile on his face and set the tone for the rest of the meeting. Anything you can do to make that connection… do it.

Communication

You could have the best idea in the world, but it’s worthless if you can’t convince someone else of that. Your presentation must be clear and engaging. If they don’t understand you or the product then a deal will be impossible. Therefore, communication is super important, if not more important than the product itself.