It goes wIthout saying that the end game in any pitch is to convert the prospect into a client. Companies that are good at pitching will win more pitches, and have a better conversion rate, than those that are not, even though they may be similiar in other aspects of their performance.

This obvious truth holds across all types of business, where pitching is equally competitive,  but it tends to be more publicly discussed in advertising than other fields.   The award winning TV series Mad Men spices its drama with pitches but it is the trade magazine Campaign that leads the way with its league tables.

The most recent of these just published is the AAR’s Pitching Tables for 2008. This reveals that “the best performing agency in terms of pitch conversion was Team Saatchi which converted all of the five pitches it competed in”.  No other agency achieved a 100% strike rate!

Having handed over to managing director, Sophie Hooper, three years ago, I have a good idea of their pitch winning formula.  Great ideas, of course.  As important, if not more so, intensity, infectious energy, a very real sense of team, and making the prospect feel like the most important person in the world.

A simple formula brilliantly executed.  Congratulations Team!