The return of Lord Mandelson(!!) must be a dream come true for newspaper editors. He’s like the perfect pantomime villain and a rich source for juicy, or is it salacious, editorial.  Everyday, in all titles, there is comment on the latest in a seemingly never ending stream  of his ‘close to the wind’ activities.

One in partIcular caught my eye.  It was in today’s Daily Mail.

What made the story so persuasive, such a clever pitch, was the way it was juxtaposed with another, apparently, unrelated one.

On the left hand page,8, a forest of ‘For Sale’ signs’ pictured with the headline “120 FAMILIES A DAY LOSE THE BATTLE TO PAY THEIR MORTGAGE”

On the opposite page, a photo of Lord M with smug smile, rubbing his hands together, under the headline “FIT FOR AN OLIGARCH! OR HOW MANDY IS STAYING IN A £5,500-A-NIGHT MOSCOW HOTEL SUITE…

Of course, it was not so long ago that Mandy made his own mortgage story.

An article in the Sunday Times today discusses a new book by ‘top voice coach’ Caroline Gaynor. The title of the book is not mentioned but it sounds interesting.  Contributions from a number of well-known actors show how they combat nerves to give an impression of supreme confidence, a frequent theme of recent posts.

Some of their tips which, the author says, hold true for interviews and speeches.  (And, of course, for pitches)

 ’Never stand with your arms folded.  It looks defensive.’

‘In shy moments, stand tall and relax your knees to raise confidence.’

‘Make fear your friend.  Channel the adrenaline it produces to sharpen your performance’.

Apparently the marvellous Dame Helen Mirren, for her acceptance speech at last year’s Oscars, practised her words and delivery for days even though she did not know she would win!

A lesson for us lesser mortals.  (The Best practice guides suggest a minimum of three rehearsals.

This is a chapter headline from ‘ Whatever you think, think the opposite’, one of Paul Arden’s witty and perceptive books. It concludes:

“In an interview, it is better to listen carefully to what the interviewers have to say than put on a show of your own brilliance. That way they will be interested in you without you saying a word”. 

A pitch is a form of interview and having sat through a number of rehearsals recently, I know how easy it is to fall into the trap of talking at  the prospect, rather than with.  Communication is, or should be, a two way street.

This is why rehearsal is essential.   (Best Practice Guide)

Encourage interaction and leave plenty of time for questions.  More than has been asked for, not less!

Starting in  September, confidence, the ’sine qua non’ of successful pitches, has been a  regular topic.  During those few weeks Gordon has gone from ’cow’rin’, tim’rous’ to roaring ‘beastie’, giving us more confidence in the process.

Something similiar is happening with the English football team.  Give or take, it’s the same bunch of players, same old skills, same formations, same tactics but now winning and winning well.  Why?  In one word, confidence.

“Capello gives players ring of confidence on path to higher ground” A headline in the Times which says Capello believes England’s rapid improvement is largely down to increased confidence, with the Italian eradicating a climate of fear and beginning the process of instilling a winning mentality.

” We have the confidence”, Capello said.  “Sometimes there have been moments when we have not played so well, but we are always confident of scoring goals to win the game.  Confidence is the most important thing for a team”.

As it is for any team pitching. And the key role for management, mentor or coach in the lead-up to the pitch is one of boosting confidence.  Not last-minute nitpicking.

Capello’s command of English may not be that great, but the body language, the crossed arms and those spectacles shout confidence in any language!

WOW. As they might say in politics.  A few weeks ago it was all Cameron.  Today it’s all Gordon, suddenly achieving a hero status that requires no surname.  Cometh the hour, cometh the man!

And it is all about confidence. His confidence is rubbing off on us, on the media, on the markets and on other world leaders. Some press comment:

“Brown to pitch rescue plan to EU….this could be his Falkland moment..”

“The hunched, hunted man of a few weeks ago replaced by a confident even swaggering figure……His chin is up.  His stride has lengthened.  His shoulders have straightened.  He has even taken to cracking jokes…He casually squelched David Cameron..”

“He has acted boldly and decisively, showing great stature and gravitas”. A frontbencher, reflecting on this new found confidence, said  ” First Britain, then Europe, now the World”.

The spirit of Churchill has been evoked   And why not.  It was Churchill’s confidence that did so much to inspire during the crisis of war.  It is Gordon’s confidence now at work in this crisis.

Of course Churchill, once the crisis was over,  lost the election.  Will this be Gordon’s lot?

These steps were developed from the site’s Best Practice guide and are now a feature article currently up on www.gorkanapr.com  ‘ This is a must for PRs and journalists who want to keep their finger on the pulse.  It is the only resource that helps put journalists in touch  with the right professionals’.

Pitches are “once in a lifetime” opportunities. The “perfect” pitch process can make the difference between success and failure. It will make great thinking and great ideas even better. Make the process itself a winning experience.

Pitch your best people at their best

1Winning is all. Pick the team most likely to win. Not simply because

they  are available or have relevant experience. Note that sometimes the person best qualified to deliver part of the content may be not be the right person in terms of pitch performance and chemistry.

Questions to answer

Who, really, is taking the decision? How can you identify, and involve

them, early on? What are they looking for? What are their “pain”

issues? How will they take the decision? Who are you competing against? How are you better? How are you different? What is your story? How do you  tell it, emotionally and attitudinally?

Ruthless timing plan

Create it on day one. Days wasted at start can’t be replaced. Fix key

review dates, immovably, in diaries early – key to success.

All meetings fixed should take priority over all other agency and client meetings. Difficult given client service orientation but entirely possible (think holidays) .Rehearsal dates, in particular, fixed in stone.

Clarify roles and responsibilities

Leadership, actual and perceived, is key to winning. The team leader

is responsible for delivering the pitch, and must be allowed to lead.

Beware too much democracy.  RASCI - a recognised model for organising projects, is well suited for pitching. R, the pitch leader responsible, A, the management Approver, the people in the team who Support, those you Consult with and those who need to be Informed.)

Answer the brief!

Seems obvious, but so easy to be diverted.  Make sure you answer the

actual brief before going wider, particularly if pitching to committee

where brave decisions are rare .Plan and rehearse all briefing or interim meetings with prospects, and use them to listen, seriously listen. More important than talking at them. Keep on delving to understand the real issues.

  Keep on courting

From the first client contact, the process should ensure that everything

possible is done to develop the relationship!  Review this daily.

Constantly review “casting and chemistry”. People buy people.

Aim to have the prospect rooting for you by pitch day. Seek frequent,

relevant, opportunities to meet.

 Rehearse. Rehearse. Rehearse.

Make all rehearsals mandatory.  Clear diaries well in advance. Build

forward- thinking about the pitch  into daily progress meetings. Hold “walk-through” rehearsal several days in advance. Use this to plan pitch experience and theatre, roles and timings. Aim for two full rehearsals, key to confidence on the day.

As the headlines of £500 BILLION here and $700 BILLION  there, meaningless figures to most of us, hit the news we are constantly reminded that it’s all about restoring “confidence” in the markets.  Since it is the markets and governments that created the mess, this is proving difficult.

However, in the absence for most of us (all of us?) of any understanding of what may, or may not work, we rely on our feelings about the spokespeople.  Do they make me feel confident?

Right now, even if he contributed to the mess, Gordon Brown with his background of experience, coupled with his Scottish prudence, does appear more confident than his novice rival.  The very dullness of ‘old’ Darling at this time works in his favour. 

Perhaps anticipated by William Pitt, who in 1766, said in a speech in the House of Commons-”Confidence is a plant of slow growth in an aged bosom: youth is the season of credulity”.

The lack of confidence in business is, in all sectors, translating into pressure on suppliers.  Often this leads to calls for a pitch.  ’We are not sure what the future holds but it won’t cost anything to pressure our advisers’.

In the pitch, they will say they are looking, in these tough times, for improved performance, efficiencies and lower cost!  All the rational stuff.  But what they will be responding to are the companies, the  people who are confident.  And who inspire confidence.

…..rehearse, rehearse, rehearse……………………………..(Best Practice Guide)

Yesterday at around 7.30, coming out of my local newsagent,  I  had to  pause to avoid an early morning jogger.  In his now trademark black shorts and vest, it was David Cameron, looking fit and moving at a good pace.

This was not, it seemed to me, someone running for the photo opportunity.  There was no entourage. This was someone, like many in high pressure jobs, running to stay fit.  The fitter you are the more energy you have and right now Cameron, and his team, exude more of it than Gordon Brown’s team.  One of the reasons they are more attractive to more people.

In one of the best practice guides on this site, Managing Energy, I look at ways at ‘amplifying’ energy.  One of them reads: “Consider introducing ‘hybrid vigour’, the concept of cross-fertilisation for enhanced performance in breeding.  In teams, changing the mix of people can re-invigorate.”

Could the introduction of Peter Mandelson be an experiment in hybrid vigour?  However much he polarises opinon,  he will undoubtedly bring new energy to the Cabinet, something sorely needed.

When times are tough, and the financial climate could not be tougher, strong leadership is called for. This is as true in the commercial as in the political world.   In both, leadership can be defined by the ability to inspire confidence.

In the US, Bush fatally ‘wounded’ by virtue of being yesterday’s man, is failing to lead.  Here Brown despite,for him, a strong conference performance, is not inspiring confidence.

Cameron, on the other hand, the “novice” is pre-empting the leadership role.  Yesterday, at the Tory party conference, he made an unexpected platform appearance.  Here are some of the words used by Quentin Letts, a master of ‘body language’ observation.

“…….he not only gently removed the political initiative from Gordon Brown……..but also showed himself a supremo of tone and steady-the-buffs composure.”

“He did not produce any single, platinum phrase yesterday.  He did not need to.  The art - the duty - of the national politician is to find the delivery, the performance, to match the audiences expectations”.

Is this not the art, the duty, of all who pitch?