Shownotes
If you are looking to secure partnerships with retailers or investors you need to know how to pitch your product. But how on earth do you do this?
I asked the perfect guest to join me on the podcast to share her expert insights, Kate Freeman.
Kate Freeman helps product businesses to make more revenue and most importantly more profit! Kate does this by helping them to secure wholesale retail listings, optimise their supply chain and maximise sustainability to drive growth. Kate has over 15 years experience and spent 10 of those years working for a leading female entrepreneur.
We discuss:
- The elements of a successful pitch
- The importance of through research and preparation
- How to structure your pitch
- Practical tips on delivering your pitch
- Follow up strategies for after the presentation
The goal is to leave you feeling inspired and ready to start pitching your product as soon as possible!
Useful Resources:
Episode 220: Kate Freeman: When & How To Scale Your Business
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Transcripts
Welcome to the bring your product idea to Life podcast. This is the podcast for you if you're getting started selling products or if you'd like to create your own product to sell.
I'm Vicki Weinberg, a product creation coach and Amazon expert. Every week I share friendly, practical advice as well as inspirational stories from small businesses. Let's get started. Hello.
Welcome to bring your product idea to life. Today, I am delighted to welcome Kate Freeman back onto the podcast. Kate helps product businesses to make more revenue and more importantly, profit.
And she does this by helping them secure wholesale retail listings, optimize their supply chain, and maximize sustainability to drive growth. Kate has over 15 years experience and spent ten of those years working for a leading female entrepreneur.
And I've invited Kate back onto the podcast to talk about pitching. So, pitching products, whether that's a to retailers or to investors, is something that came up in my Facebook group.
I have a free Facebook group, the product creators club. Find the link to that in the show notes if you'd like to join us.
And in that group, there was some discussion about pitching and lots of questions, and I managed to find Kate, an expert in the subject, to come along and answer everyone's questions on the podcast for us all to benefit from.
So if you have ever considered picking your products, or maybe you haven't considered it because you weren't sure what was involved, or maybe you were a little bit nervous, nervous about it, this is definitely the episode for you. There is lots and lots to learn here. Kate really breaks down the process and hopefully makes it much less scary.
And I should also add that if you would like to watch this interview between Kate and myself, you can do this on my YouTube channel. The channel is Vicki Weinberg and it is linked everywhere in the show notes for this episode. And I would love you to come over there.
There's a lot of content now, and I am adding to it all the time. So find the link to YouTube in the show notes. And I would love now to introduce you to Kate. So hi, Kate. Thank you so much for being here.
Kate Freeman:Hi. It's really nice to be back. So thank you for having me again.
Vicki Weinberg:Yeah, thank you. I love a returning guest. This is amazing.
And today you've come on, you come back onto the podcast to talk about pitching, which was a request from my Facebook group. So they would love an expert on pitching to come and answer all of our questions.
But before we get into that, can you please do a reintroduction to yourself for anyone who doesn't remember or hasn't listened to previous episode, although if you haven't, please go back and listen and tell everyone who you are all about your business and what you do. Thank you.
Kate Freeman:Yeah.
So I'm Kate, and for the last 15 years I've worked with entrepreneurial organizations and large consumer brands, taking them kind of from that startup through to the mature business and on that journey, working with them both on their direct to consumer sales, but also and predominantly based on my skillset into what I would call b two b. So business to business sales, that's working with different retailers, distributors to get products out into the marketplace by other channels.
But I'm also super passionate about sustainability.
So I work with a lot of my clients to help to implement more sustainability kind of practices into their business, but in a way that helps to increase profit. So yes, that's me in a nutshell.
Vicki Weinberg:Amazing. And you are the perfect person to talk to us about pitching and with all of your sales experience.
So let's start right at the beginning and for anyone who isn't entirely sure what we're talking about. So what is pitching and in what situations might we be expected to pitch our products?
Kate Freeman:Yeah, so pitching is basically where you're presenting your product and or brand to potential partners. You might be doing it out to investors or into different retailers.
And it's a way about communicating your brand's story, your messaging, kind of your value proposition, what your business is about and what your products do and how they benefit the end consumer. So that, in a nutshell, is it amazing.
Vicki Weinberg:Thank you.
So it sounds like there are definitely different scenarios in which we might be pitching our products, but if that's okay with you, Kate, I'm going to ask all the questions I have on pitching generally, and if you feel that there's something that might be slightly different for one scenario than another, please do let us know. So let's start off with what are the key elements of a successful product pitch?
What are the things that we absolutely have to have, whomever we're pitching to?
Kate Freeman:Yeah, so I think whoever you're pitching to, you need to have kind of total clarity around your brand and your brand offering the impact that it has. And you need to articulate really clearly what problem you're solving.
So you need to understand who your end consumer and user is and what challenges that they're facing to speak into that, to explain what you're kind of doing to resolve those problems.
But you also need to, and this is where it gets more complicated, particularly when you're pitching to retailers, is you've got to bring in as well what that retailer is looking for. So is that increased kind of category spend?
Is it bringing new customers into store so they've got their own retailer kind of wants and needs and challenges that you need to speak into.
But you also need to be able to articulate really clearly who your end consumer is and their problems and challenges and speak into that as well and kind of tie them up.
And that's why it's really, really important that you're picking, particularly with retailer pitching the right retailer for your brand so you know that your end customer, end user of your product is actually shopping in that retail environment because otherwise they'll just go, look, this doesn't fit with our consumer profile, probably not the right fit for us.
Or they might be like, oh, that doesn't fit our current consumer profile, but our vision for the brand and the businesses that we appeal to that type of consumer.
So this is something that we're interested to bring in, but obviously from an investor point of view, it's that clarity, it's what problem you're solving.
It's speaking into that the market trends and showing any kind of market demand, the potential where you're seeing growth, all of these kind of elements are really important in building a kind of positive pitch that really sells your product and brand.
Vicki Weinberg:Thank you.
So it sounds like while you're still talking about your brand and your products, you really have to tailor your pitch depending on who it is you're talking to and the outcome you're looking for.
Kate Freeman:Yep, totally. Yeah.
Vicki Weinberg:And so that also sounds a lot.
Kate Freeman:Of time spent, kind of.
So I was going to say just a lot of time spent researching, like ahead of that pitch meeting is like super, super important on who you're pitching to.
Vicki Weinberg:That's exactly what I was going to ask you. Ask you, Kate, we had the same thought at once, I think, which is I was going to ask exactly that. So should you be researching?
Okay, if I'm going to speak to this investor or this group of investors, I guess you want to find out as much as you can about who they are, what kind of things they've invested in previously. Just as much as you can. Because I guess information, as much information you have is really going to help you.
Kate Freeman:Yes. Yeah, totally.
And that's like, you know, big Internet researching and then down onto the person, the name that you're having to pitch to, like on their LinkedIn profile, have a look through all of that.
It's just the more information that you can have in front of you, the better, because it just also, I think, helps to fill you with a bit of confidence going into it, that you feel more in control of the situation, which obviously then helps with a kind of confident and clear pitch as well.
Vicki Weinberg:Definitely. And we'll talk a bit later, actually, if that's okay, about how to come across confidently when we're actually doing the pitch.
So given that there's quite a lot we need to get across, or it feels like quite a lot anyway, how can we structure our pitches so that they're concise? Because I guess we don't. We can't be talking for an hour, but they're still really impactful.
Kate Freeman:Yeah.
So, I mean, I would always have like a slide kind of deck or presentation deck that you are speaking kind of alongside and that makes sure that if you've got somebody that's very visual, they've got something that kind of draws them in, because obviously everyone takes information on board in a different way. So we need to make sure that your pitch deck, like, feeds for that.
Some people like to listen and hear to things, some people like the visual side of it.
And then you need to make sure that you've got numbers in there for the people that are more numbers focused so that you're covering a broad spectrum of people, but also ensures that they've got something after your pitch that they've got like a PDF version of the presentation, whatever, that they can refer back to if they need to, or they're thinking, oh, hang on, what was it that they said about X, Y and Zenith?
But also, I think presenting when you've got something alongside you, like a PowerPoint, if you lose your way a little bit or you get asked a question and that knocks you kind of off your train of thought, you can go, oh, hang on, where was I? And then, you know, your slides are there. Obviously, you're not going to stand there and read verbatim off a slide. Please, please do not do that.
But it's like a visual prompt for you. So I definitely have like some sort of presentation deck.
And I'd really start out with kind of like your brand, what your mission and vision is without going into the finite detail of it. But, you know, it's. We're here to change how consumers. I'm trying to think of something now, use beauty products.
If, you know, maybe you've got like a recycled beauty brand or something that uses recycled packaging and ingredients and things, that you're speaking into that and that, like overall general mission before moving into kind of the pain points that your target consumer is going to be experiencing and then how you resolve those with your kind of solution and the tangible benefits that you deliver. You want to be talking about the target consumer, obviously the added value. I also bring in pricing. You need to understand your numbers.
If you're pitching to a retailer, you're going to need to be able pitch all your pricing, the margins, those types of things, investors, it's going to be more general numbers about the value of the business, your growth trajectory, where you're seeing the business going. So you're going to need some numbers in there somewhere as well. But I try and keep it as we said, or use it.
You don't want to be stood there waffling on for an hour. You need to be able to allow them to ask questions as well.
Yes, hopefully that covers the kind of general main points that someone would be looking for and make it kind of sure that it really flows right and just keep practicing it.
And I think as you do that and pitch it as well, I think a really good piece of advice is if you can go and pitch it to someone that knows nothing about what you do or what your business is, and if they understand it, then you're probably hitting the nail on the head because it's difficult. Right.
When you live and breathe your brand, what might seem really obvious to you when you're explaining something may not be obvious to somebody that's not been living and breathing the business.
Vicki Weinberg:That makes sense. And I guess practicing anyway is a really good bit of advice. Even if you're practicing in front of a mirror.
I guess the more that you deliver it, the more confident you'll get in delivering it.
Kate Freeman:Yeah. Yeah.
Vicki Weinberg:That is so helpful. Thank you. I do have, of course, I have a few follow up questions. The one I was going to ask is you mentioned to leave room for questions.
Is there anything, can we preempt the questions we might be asked or is there anything we should have up our sleeve? Are there anything that in your experience, we will likely get asked?
So I'm just thinking, because the questions bit, especially if you're sort of person who you've prepared your presentation, you're really confident in what you're going to deliver. I feel like the questions bit might be where you could get thrown. I think for me that would definitely would be the bit I'd find the hardest.
How can we best prepare for questions that might ask?
Kate Freeman:I think you'll probably get asked something around like who your competitors are.
So I think having a really strong market knowledge of competitors in the marketplace, both direct and indirect competitors, is really important because you can then speak around that in terms of the value that you add and how you're different to them and why you're needed in the marketplace and that, and an investor will ask that, but also a retailer, and I think one thing I've definitely noticed with my clients is they often haven't quite joined the dots, particularly with retailer pitching that in order for your product to go in and be on shelf, somebody's got to come out. And so because they can't just keep making more and more shelf space. So someone's coming out of that shop in order for you to go in.
So you're having that really strong knowledge around who the competitors are and who you might be pitching basically against.
To win that space is really important so you can articulate your value and your proposition without obviously slating the competition because nobody wants to do that. But just, you know, being able to talk around that I think is really important.
You will always get asked questions around numbers, your pricing, and an investor will need to make sure that you understand the numbers of your business.
And a retailer will ask because they need to make their margin when they're trading with you and they won't want the conversation to go any further if you're not able to hit their margin requirements. So definitely questions around pricing, I think those will probably be the main ones that you'll kind of get asked about.
Vicki Weinberg:That's really helpful. Thank you. So you mentioned the slide deck and you mentioned making available afterwards, and I'm assuming the best way is by email.
I think the days are gone, aren't they, of having to bring a longer print out of your deck, perhaps?
Kate Freeman:Yes.
Vicki Weinberg:That's good. That's something people take.
Kate Freeman:I would.
Vicki Weinberg:That's good to know.
Kate Freeman:And also by doing it by email, you've got.
So I was just going to say by doing it by email as well, you've got their contact details, because often you might end up pitching to somebody that's different to who you've been speaking to on email to book the pitch, if that makes sense sake, say you've got the investors like Pa's details or something, versus the actual investors details. Then you've got their email as well to continue the conversation post pitch.
Vicki Weinberg:That's really helpful. Thank you. I was going to ask about your product. Should we be bringing our products along to the pitch?
Kate Freeman:Yeah, definitely.
And depending where you are in terms of and who you're pitching to, will determine whether you're happy to leave the products or some samples of the products with them, or whether you, you know, if it's still very much in development phase, you've got quite unique ip that's attached to it. You might be a bit more nervous about leaving that sample, which is absolutely fine.
And you can explain that to them because sometimes people like, particularly retailers, will not sign an NDA before you go into that meeting.
So, yes, if you're happy your products out in the marketplace or you're happy that, like, it's difficult to replicate, then, yeah, having some samples for somebody to leave the meeting with as well is another really nice idea.
Vicki Weinberg:It's a good idea. Thank you. So how about actually doing the pitch?
So do you have any tips for improving how we might deliver the pitch, presentation skills, that type of thing? Because I know you will have done a lot of pitches, Kate, so I'm sure this is something that you're very good at.
Kate Freeman:Yes, I've done a fair few in my time. So obviously, as we've said, to create the kind of presentation deck. So you've got something physical in front of you that you can refer to.
If you get knocked slightly off track by questions or a change of flow or people coming in and out of the room, practice it beforehand so it becomes kind of second nature to you, what you're talking about, either, as you said, Vicky, in front of a mirror or to friends like, however, you kind of feel comfortable. You may be sat down to pitch on a table with your laptop next to you, so it's really easy for you to click the slides through.
If you think that you're going to be kind of in a bigger environment where you're going to have to stand up around like a board table, for example, and you may not be near your presentation.
Either have someone with you who can click your slides through or buy one of those things that can like, click through, because the last thing you want to be doing is trying to get across the table to hit the slide, you know, to move the slides onto the next slide. So I think it's thinking through kind of practical things like that.
But if you're stood up, you know, try an open body language, don't have kind of crossed arms, smiling, apparently it helps to really relax you.
So to do that and just, it's really difficult to say, but like, just trying to stay calm, like in that moment and if you need so, kind of don't feel like you need to rush to answer something necessarily. What might, a pause might feel like eternity when you're stood there speaking is probably not that long, right.
Because you've got the adrenaline going. So don't be worried about that kind of pause and the break.
If you're feeling like you're rushing slightly, which naturally I think we do when we're stood up, particularly in front of a large group of people presenting. I mean, often if you're doing a retailer pitch, there will not be lots of people in the room. There may be you and another buyer or two buyers.
So you're not going to be sitting in an auditorium in any way. But yes, I think just know your products, know your numbers, prep everything, all your research.
When you think about it, you know, 90% of your energy is going to go into all of that work pre the pitch. And then the pitch is probably like, you know, the 10%, the actual delivery of it in terms of like, workload, distribution, just.
Yes, preparation is key, I think.
Vicki Weinberg:Thank you. That was really helpful. I can totally see that.
If you go into your pitch and you're really prepared and you know your numbers and you know the market, I think you can go in there feeling really good and hopefully that will then come across when you're actually pitching.
Kate Freeman:Yeah.
Vicki Weinberg:What do we do, though, if on the day it's all going wrong? Because we all have those days, however prepared we are, however capable we are, sometimes we just cannot string a sentence together.
Or maybe that's just me, but, you know, it happens.
Kate Freeman:Yeah, it does.
Vicki Weinberg:What do we do if we really get the sense that actually this isn't going well? Maybe you feel you're not representing yourself or your product to the best you can.
Do you have any advice for what we do in that situation other than panic?
Kate Freeman:Yeah, I think, yeah, try not to panic.
I think it's about taking that moment to just stop, just like without it being too obvious, like proper slow, deep breath and try and just relax your body. I guess if it's really, really going terribly, ask to nip out.
Say, I'm so sorry, can I go for, you know, I need to go to the loo or whatever and just try and break that, get yourself out of that environment. Just calm to then come back in a bit more collected.
But I think if there, if the person you're pitching to is losing engagement, I guess it's about trying to kind of re engage them, you know, and ask them some questions, like, is this aligning to what you're looking for? Like, do you have some concerns and try and reengage them in that way?
If you're feeling flustered that they're not giving you that positive feedback that you're looking for or if you're feeling a bit flummoxed, but there's one person in that room that seems to be giving you more positive energy back just for a little bit. Like, focus in on that one person and kind of draw in their, like, smiles and their positive responses. Right. Because that will help to calm you down.
And it sounds terrible, but for a moment, not worry about the other people in the room that aren't engaging because that will help to calm you to then be able to go, no, I've got this, and then you can kind of regroup and regather it. But I think also, like, we've got to remember the people that we're pitching to are people right, as well. They've got emotions.
They will totally understand it. Like, nobody's there to kind of get you or attack you. Like, it's not how the television makes out on Dragon's Den.
You know, they're not, that's obviously dramatized for television. Right. But generally people are there and they want to support you and they want you to succeed.
And, okay, you may not get the investment, they may not be what you're looking for, but they're not going to be so cutthroat to, like, you know, cut your dead in your tracks like, like they do on Dragon's Den. So I think try to take that out of it because I think a lot of people watch that and go, oh, that's pitching.
And it's like, well, it is, but it's the television that's, you know, so it's, it's slightly different in the environment that you'll actually be in, unless you are going to go on Dragons Den, in which case watch a lot of the episodes, because it is a bit like that to make the tv, you know, interesting and for us to want to watch it. Right.
Vicki Weinberg:That's so helpful. And I think you're right. A lot of us, when we think of pitching, we probably do think dragons Den standing up in front of a panel of people.
So I think it's really reassuring to know that the reality is it's not like that.
Kate Freeman:Yeah, totally. Yeah.
Vicki Weinberg:And I think also we, we're always our own biggest critics, right?
So I think often we might think, oh, I've done a terrible job of that pitch, but actually, from the other person inside, you've done a really good job. So worth always knowing that.
Kate Freeman:Yes.
Vicki Weinberg:Which leads me on to. So once we've, we've had the pitch, we've said goodbye, we've left. What are some of the best practices for following up afterwards?
How long do we leave it and what do we actually do?
Kate Freeman:So I think before you. You leave that room and step out of it, I'd always be asking, like, what are the next steps? What timelines are you working towards?
If it's a retailer you want to be asking, like, when are your ranging windows? So when I say that, I'm talking about like, a big retailer.
So a boots, Sainsbury's, a Harrods, Selfridges, they're going to have set ranging windows when they can bring something new in and something old goes out. So it's about finding out those timelines. Investors, it may be that they need to then put you forward to another stage.
You know, there may be more people that need to get involved in the investment. You might have just pitched to kind of the initial, I guess, gatekeeper to move it along forward.
So I'd always be finding out what the next steps are, the timeframes around it and what they might need from you. Sorry, next. In order to move.
Move things forward and what their expectations are of the next process, because you'll then leave with a clear kind of action plan of what you need to do. So any of that, like, oh, should I answer or should I follow up or what should I be doing? You've gained clarity from them in terms of what they need.
Vicki Weinberg:That's brilliant. Thank you. And if it goes, I don't know, let's say it's been a couple of weeks and you haven't heard anything.
Is it okay to get back in touch and just ask what status is?
Kate Freeman:Absolutely, yeah. Absolutely. Yeah. You must, must do that. But also, I think, what often. And this is like even pre pitch.
Right, this is so important because you're going to have to have gone through some, like, loopholes to get to that pitching point. You've probably sent a lot of emails, a lot of follow up reminders.
Something that a lot of my clients expect is like an instant result, like an instant answer from someone, oh, yes, come in next Thursday. It just sadly doesn't work like that. You need patience. It's gonna. It's not a, like, quick thing investment or, you know, retail or partner pitching.
Like, these things take time, but do follow up. Like, people are super busy, aren't they?
And things like slide and it's just about that kind of polite, like, nudged top of the inbox to try and keep things moving along.
Vicki Weinberg:Brilliant. Thank you. And let's say we eventually hear back. Maybe not eventually, maybe we hear sooner. And you know, the pitch has failed.
We're not going to get stocked with that retailer or the investor doesn't want to invest within us. Is there anything we can learn from a failed pitch that we can perhaps take forward to our next one?
Kate Freeman:Yeah, I mean, there's always so much you can learn right from that no. I think, first of all, don't take it to heart. Right? And no doesn't mean no forever.
It might just mean no right now that you're not the right fit, you're not what they're looking for or they feel that the brand's not where it needs to be in order to work in their environment.
So I just try and find out from them why you've got the no and what you could do to move the process forward to get a yes going forward, because you can then use that and implement that learning on the next pitch. Or it may help you to go. Actually, do you know what? That wasn't totally the right fit. That was really helpful feedback.
We actually need to go in this direction, not the direction we thought we needed to go in. So just ask questions and try and dig a bit deeper on that no.
But also take to heart, that's not a no forever and it's not going to be a no for everyone. And it's difficult right here in that no. And it may not have gone well, but this is just a stepping stone along the way.
And each little step that we take, you learn something. It teaches you more and it helps you to fine tune kind of your value, your offer and how you're pitching. So, yes, don't take it personally.
Vicki Weinberg:That's really good advice. This has all been so useful.
Thank you so much, Kate, because you've taken us through the whole process and I really hope that everyone feels a lot more confident now about giving pictures and maybe actually even going after pictures, because it can be something that I think is incredibly daunting. So hopefully this has given some confidence to go and find some opportunities.
But before you leave us, I would love to know what is your number one piece of advice when it comes to pitching our products?
Kate Freeman:Patience. I mentioned it earlier, patience. Patience. To get the pitch. It might take time. Do not give up. Just keep persisting.
And patience, when you're in the room, don't try and rush through things like you've got time.
Be calm, be collected, and patience to like you may get that meeting, don't rush to put it in right give yourself a bit of a window to, like, prepare fully for that, for the pitch, for the meeting.
Because the more prep, as we've said before, and I know we keep saying it, but honestly, the more prep you can do beforehand, so it becomes second nature, the better. Once you've done loads of pitches, you'll be like, I don't need all this, like, time and preparation.
I can do this, you know, standing on my head in my sleep. I feel really confident about it. Then you can, like, go, yeah, you know what? I could do it tomorrow.
That's fine, because all you need to do is your research about who you're pitching to. But I think if you're early doors and you're, like, pitching kind of career, shall we call it, or process within your business, just have patience.
Like, these things take time. They need time spent on them. So don't rush.
Vicki Weinberg:That's really helpful. Thank you. And it sounds like one of these things where actually getting your first one out of, when I say out of the way, you know what I mean?
Getting your first one done is probably incredibly useful because nothing's as scary as the first time doing anything.
Kate Freeman:Yeah, exactly.
And actually, maybe sometimes it's better not going after your ideal dream investor retailer partner, whoever it is, and picking, like, maybe someone two, three down on the list. So that by the time you get to the dream one, you're like, sailing and swimming through it and you're like, oh, I can do this with ease.
And you're not doing that on your first go with the person that you're desperate to kind of win over.
Vicki Weinberg:That's brilliant advice. Thank you so much, Kate. So I'm going to put links to everywhere people can find you in the show notes for the episode.
Thank you so much for coming back on the podcast. Don't rule out coming on a fair time. I'm sure I can find something to ask you about. And, yeah, thank you so much.
Kate Freeman:No, thank you for having me.
Vicki Weinberg:Thank you so much for listening. Right to the end of this episode, do remember that you can get the fullback catalogue and lots of free resources on my website, vickywineberg.com.
please do remember to rate and review this episode if you've enjoyed it and also share it with a friend who you think might find it useful. Thank you again and see you next week.
