So you have a big presentation coming up?

Well, ok. Here are my two cents on making the most of these valuable pitching opportunities:

Explain yourself very early in the process, and make sure it doesn’t last more than 1 minute.

Each time you speak, think of the “little man” in the room saying “so what” or “prove it”.

Do your homework. Know your audience and know their business.

The rule of 10/20/30 is a great one to live by: 10 slides, 20 minutes, 30 point font text.

Making these tips habitual in my own proposal presentations has been, I believe, the difference in many a pitch.

Negotiating with some of the biggest music artists, agencies and talent agents has given me some insights into the music industry that work well in many aspects of our lives:

• Always make sure every request you make is in writing – even down to the smallest detail. Record labels and artists may say that they agree to something in principal, but if it’s not in writing then it’s not going to happen. The artists and agents have so many things asked of them that they can only rely on what they are contractually obligated to do and that’s all that can be expected. Some items you might to want to consider are Public Relations appearances, radio show promotions, concert shout-outs, venue signage and tying them in some way to your product/client outside of the concert arena. Also, you will have no legal recourse other than producing old email trails, etc, which frankly don’t have a lot of credibility to help your case. This applies in so many ways – financial, agreements, insertion orders, contracts, etc and is just way to cover everyone involved.

• Ensure that you have covered your bases with all entities that need to be involved. I have seen deals almost lost due to not ensuring that all stakeholders have approved and reviewed every document, detail and deliverable. And in this day and age of management turnover, you need to make sure that any new managers and executives review previously agreed to programs and get their buy-in as well.
• If you are producing your own event, remember that insurance is typically involved in some way. You and your company have to be covered in case of every possible scenario – artists not showing up, catering issues or safety hazards. Be sure and ask the venue about insurance and possible options/vendors.

If you get a chance (and have big enough budgets) see if you can directly talk to the agent or talent themselves. There are so many barriers between you and them that frequently the requests or strategic insight can get lost. The biggest names in the industry are out to do great things that haven’t been done before – and it’s challenging to make it happen but it can be an award-winning effort when done right. And looks darn good on the resume!