You have a number of options if you want to show, not tell, a potential client how their project could come to life with your agency. Some have stood the test of time: Pitch decks were part of the agency repertoire long before the days of Mad Men. But to showcase digital designs in a more dynamic, interactive setting, a pitch website supports digital elements and a flexible structure for further exploration.
Pitch sites let your work tell the story you’re pitching. To show prospects your skills and expertise, create your pitch site with your agency’s narrative baked in so that your work can speak for itself.
What’s the story?
Your pitch website should include a clear understanding of your audience and their pain points. Show that you’ve done your research, both about their industry at large and the specific challenges they’re facing.
The specifics of the site can vary with the size of the contract and the scope of the prospect’s needs. Like other pitch collateral, don’t hesitate to reuse your strongest material to make your case.
If the contract is large and comprehensive enough, you may want to build a bespoke microsite that gives the client a taste of the experience you have in mind to create for them. Alternatively, your story can be assembled as a showcase of agency highlights that speak to the job at hand.
In either case, tailor your presentation to accentuate designs that resonate with their branding preferences and industry best practices.
Each sample you share should comprise a success story about how your work helps address a pain point, small or large — and should relate in some way to the success story the client wants to be able to tell. If they’re concerned with lead generation, for example, walking them through a user path that demonstrates how a five-click lead capture process can be reduced to one click. Give clients a dynamic demonstration of the results they're most excited about and that you're best positioned to deliver in order to effectively personalize the experience and set both parties up for success.
Keep it moving
Another important element of storytelling: keeping your audience engaged and never try their patience. To accomplish this:
Each sample should be one or two landing pages max, and you should make it clear that this is just the beginning of what the prospect can expect from your future partnership.
Incorporate industry-relevant dynamic elements like video and unique typefaces to catch their attention quickly and prove how their site will stand out.
Even if most of the site is off-the-rack, consider customizing an inspiration hub to illustrate ideas you’re thinking about without having to flesh them all out right away, and make sure to prioritize speaking about your prospect’s solutions over your solution’s features.
Show, not tell … But also tell a little bit
In a perfect world, your work would be so self-explanatory that no commentary is necessary. It would also make pitch meetings much, much shorter.
In reality, you still are responsible for guiding the narrative. Another advantage of a pitch site over a static pitch deck is that you can be responsive to the flow of the conversation, easily navigating to just the right example that will address a point that’s arisen.
You should also consider in advance whether you want to share access to the pitch site with the potential client. It may be most familiar and comfortable to assume the role of presenter to share everything you want to see, but allowing them to explore further on their own is also a powerful way to encourage client affinity with your work. (Just be sure that your pitch site doesn’t include awkward dead ends or naked code!)
Painting the big picture
Finally, bear in mind that your pitch site doesn’t have to be an island. Instead, it can be a jumping-off point for your prospect to explore your agency’s work in the wild. Underscoring points about your capabilities with deep links back to your corporate site or to actual client sites will emphasize the real-world results you offer.
Prospects should come away from demo pitches feeling like they have a full sense of your agency’s capabilities, and have an idea of what to expect a working partnership to look like. Presenting your pitch via a site gives you ready access to the examples you need regardless of the way the conversation turns — just make sure you’re spinning a tale that ties it all together.
.jpg)
