Perfect Pitch: The Art of Selling Ideas and Winning New Business (Adweek Books) [Hardcover]

"...pitching is a necessary evil, and here Steel dispenses his wisdom on how to come through the other side" (The Drum, October 17th 2008)

A professional “pitching coach” for one of the world’s largest marketing conglomerates, Jon Steel shares his secrets and explains how you can create presentations and pitches that win hearts, minds, and new business. He identifies the dos and don’ts and uses real–world examples to prove his points. If you make pitches for new business, this is the perfect book for you.

"What is the most moving, compelling, and ultimately persuasive argument you ever heard? I′ll bet that very few people think of an argument they heard in a conference room presentation."

During his phenomenal twenty–year career in advertising, Jon Steel has won more than ninety percent of the new business he has pitched, winning multi–million dollar contracts from clients like Nike, Sony, Pepsi, Porsche, and Hewlett–Packard. Now this professional "pitching coach" for one of the world′s largest marketing communication conglomerates shares his secrets. Steel explains how you really create presentations that win hearts, minds, and new business. He also draws on intriguing presentation examples from the real world—including the O. J. Simpson trial, Bill Clinton′s presidential debates, the speeches of Sir Winston Churchill and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and even his own marriage proposal to his wife.

Steel identifies the "presentation crimes" committed every day across the business world and the pillars on which all successful presentations are built. He discusses audience psychology, the importance of listening, and how to use real–world examples to make points more powerfully. Perfect Pitch covers every aspect of the pitch process, from assembling a presentation team to rehearsals and the preparation of compelling leave–behind documents.

A must–read for advertising and sales professionals, this book is a should–read for anyone who makes pitches of any sort—from sales professionals to Realtors who list and sell houses to business executives who want to seal deals. The book ends with an inside look at London′s successful dark horse bid for the 2012 Olympics—a perfect pitch.

Praise for Perfect Pitch

"Good ideas are so frequently undermined by bad presentations that it is almost tragic. Steel not only understands the art of persuasion, he cuts a swath through the bad habits that dominate so much of business communication. This is an absolute must–read for anyone whose success hinges on the ability to get others to act on an idea."
—Shelly Lazarus, Chairman and CEO, Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide

"If you′re in sales—and who isn′t these days?—you need this book. Steel is felt by many to be among the finest new business presentation architects in the last twenty years. His book represents pearls of wisdom from a master."
—David Verklin, CEO, Carat Americas

"I have seen Jon Steel present on several occasions and I′m happy to report that he writes as well as he presents. I recommend this book to anyone who has to engage and persuade an audience for a living."
—Simon Clift, Chief Marketing Officer, Unilever PLC

"In our business we live and die by the quality of our work and the quality of our new business presentations. Now, Steel has written the bible on presentations. I′m patiently waiting for him to write the other bible we all need."
—Mike Hughes, President and Creative Director, The Martin Agency

JON STEEL is an accidental advertising professional, a co–creator of the famous "got milk?®" ad campaign, and the bestselling author of Truth, Lies, and Advertising: The Art of Account Planning, from Wiley. He is currently a new business and training consultant for WPP, one of the world′s largest marketing communication conglomerates. Among other awards, Steel has received eleven gold Effies from the American Marketing Association for Advertising Effectiveness, a David Ogilvy Gold Award, and a Blue Peter badge for a letter he wrote, at age ten, to the UK′s most popular and enduring children′s television program.