The Pitch Kit – Matthew Encina

Get serious results. Learn how to land more opportunities so your business can thrive.

What would your life be like if you won more clients?

What if you could get clients to buy-in and love your ideas?

What if you could take the pressure off yourself in high-stakes client meetings?

Pitching Sucks! I know.

The motion design industry, like many others, is a competitive one. It’s standard practice for any high-stakes opportunity to pitch ideas, to win new client work.

In 2012, my early years as a young creative director at Blind, I was responsible for landing new clients. But job after job, I lost to our competitors. I was only closing 1/4 opportunities, losing hundreds of thousands of dollars in potential revenue. Every pitch I lost shortened our business’ runway.

The client feedback I got as to why they didn’t choose my idea:

• “Your pitch treatment felt off brand.”
• “The other companies had a better understanding of what we wanted”
• “You didn’t show us how you would execute the idea.”
• “You were too expensive.”

I was frustrated, disappointed and began to doubt myself. I spent so many years trying to master my craft– I couldn’t understand why I was losing.

I wasn’t equipped with the know-how to win a client’s business. My understanding of pitching was “the best idea wins.” But how do you define the best idea? This was the critical piece of the puzzle I was missing.

For the next year I spent a lot of time working with experts to develop a better pitch process.

I worked with a business coach, Keir McLaren, to redefine my mindset going into client meetings. Dr. Holtzman, a professor of psychology, trained me on how to ask better questions. Chris Do, the owner of Blind, mentored me on everything he knew about listening, being present, and his process for design. And I read a ton of books on buyer psychology.

A year later I won 20 out of 22 pitches. I brought in the lions share of our companies revenue –$3.9 million. I started landing the biggest clients of my life, like Xbox and Coldplay. And I stopped wasting my time chasing bad ideas. By 2014, I finally understood how to present my ideas in a valuable way to my clients. All because I knew how to surface the clients’ goals, objections, and ideas upfront – before I made anything.

I felt like I had discovered a cheat code for a video game. Pitching went from painful to pleasurable. Because I knew what questions to ask, and how to approach every pitch.

I regained my confidence.

To my surprise, this also resulted in more alignment with my clients and my internal crew. My team was working more autonomously. And there were fewer surprises (direction changes) from clients after the project started.

This personal growth had little to do with my design skills, and everything to do with how I communicated. The art of pitching isn’t something that’s taught in school or our careers, but it’s such a critical skill in our line of work. So I feel compelled to help.

I know pitching is difficult. I’ve been there before. That’s why I’ve created The Pitch Kit.This is the framework that I’ve developed over the years of pitching in one the most competitive creative fields. It’s a simple and flexible framework that you can use to land more clients.

Ready to get started?

When you learned the framework inside The Pitch Kit, you will know how to tackle any pitch with confidence. Specifically, you will:

• Have a clear game plan. Know how to handle the creative brief, run your ideation process, and how to deliver your presentation.
• Gain clarity. In your first meeting, you’ll be able to define exactly what you need to create to win the pitch. Ask better questions. Eliminate possibilities. And establish, with your client, clear criteria for what a winning pitch should look like.
• Filter idea fast. Know how to evaluate your ideas, and speed up your process. Learn how to ideate, test, and refine ideas, based on the criteria you establish with your client.
• Air-tight pitches. Know what the client needs to see and hear, to award the job to you. Know how to structure your pitch deck and how to present it. Deliver effective pitches that address your client’s goals.

If you’re ready to win more clients, create more impactful work, and regain your confidence, The Pitch Kit is perfect for you.

Get Started

What is included in The Pitch Kit?

• The Pitch Kit Guide. 106 page PDF document to walk you through the entire pitch process. From creative kickoff meeting to ideation, to final presentation. Complete with examples, scripts, links, and answers to common problems and objections that arise during the pitch process.
• Worksheets. Make sure you get everything you need from the client meeting. Create a structure and filter for what should go into your pitch deck. Archive of real pitches
• An archive of REAL pitches put together by creative director Matthew Encina.

BONUS Content: Video Lecture

Also included is a lecture given by Matthew Encina (Creative Director), and Chris Do (Founder of Blind and The Futur). In these videos, Matthew and Chris discuss The Pitch Kit Framework, and how to gain the advantage with clients, during the pitch process.