Tips on pitching creative work to clients with excerpts from Luke Sullivan's "Hey Whipple Squeeze This" and Peter Coughter's "The Art of the Pitch"

1. THE BEST WORK
AND THE BEST
IDEAS STILL AREN’T
ENOUGH

2. A person can have the greatest idea in the
world. But if that person can’t convince
enough other people, it doesn’t matter.
!
*Gregory Burns

6. YOU’RE IN THE
COMMUNICATION
BUSINESS
Luke Sullivan: Hey Whipple Squeeze This

7. If we expect people to follow us, we must
inspire them to do so. We must stand up
and be a leader.
!
*Peter Coughter: The Art of the Pitch

8. IDEAS DESERVE A
CHANCE TO LIVE
Peter Coughter: The Art of the Pitch

9. YOUR IDEA WILL BE
JUDGED IN A SMALL
FRACTION OF THE TIME
IT TOOK TO CREATE IT

10. CLARITY
CONVICTION
GRACE
Peter Coughter: The Art of the Pitch

11. It is a fact of agency life that, with very few
exceptions, the highest paid people in the
agency are the best presenters.
!
*Peter Coughter: The Art of the Pitch

12. SOME TIPS:

13. LEARN THE
AUDIENCE’S
CULTURE & TONE

14. ASK YOURSELF:
WHAT DO YOU LIKE ABOUT
PRESENTATIONS?
WHAT DO YOU HATE?
Peter Coughter: The Art of the Pitch

15. PRESENT YOUR
OWN WORK,
IF YOU CAN
Luke Sullivan: Hey Whipple Squeeze This

16. What will make you more proud at the end
of the day: The chance to hear yourself
talk for an hour or the chance to hear your
work talked about for years?
!
*Darren Moran, DraftFCB

17. IN ORDER TO BUY
THE WORK, THEY’RE
GOING TO HAVE TO
BUY YOU.
Peter Coughter: The Art of the Pitch

18. REMEMBER, YOU’RE
BEING JUDGED
Luke Sullivan: Hey Whipple Squeeze This

19. DRESS THE PART
Peter Coughter: The Art of the Pitch

20. BBC Radio news presenters were required
to wear tuxedos up until World War II.
!
*Peter Coughter: The Art of the Pitch

21. DON’T BE SLICK
OR FAKE
Luke Sullivan: Hey Whipple Squeeze This

22. BE YOURSELF
BE SMART
BE CRISP
Luke Sullivan: Hey Whipple Squeeze This

23. ENGAGE THE
AUDIENCE FROM
THE START
Peter Coughter: The Art of the Pitch

24. LEAVE YOUR
AUDIENCE WANTING
MORE
Peter Coughter: The Art of the Pitch

25. TALK ABOUT THEM,
NOT YOURSELF
Peter Coughter: The Art of the Pitch

26. DON’T PRESENT
YOUR WORK AS
‘RISK TAKING’
Luke Sullivan: Hey Whipple Squeeze This

27. CLIENTS WANT
CERTAINTY
Luke Sullivan: Hey Whipple Squeeze This

28. DON’T LEAD WITH
YOUR CHIN
Luke Sullivan: Hey Whipple Squeeze This

29. BE PASSIONATE
Luke Sullivan: Hey Whipple Squeeze This

31. TELL A GREAT
STORY

32. The most memorable stories are the ones
that are well told. By people, not
presenters. Human connections are
always more powerful than technological
fireworks.
!
*Gareth Kay

33. Photo Credit: AMC

36. SHOW THE
CREATIVE PROCESS
AS A STORY

37. PRACTICE
& PREPARE:

38. Take at least a fraction of the time you
spent inventing the work and create a way
to present the work. Put that creativity to
work in the name of creativity and do an
ad for your ads.
!
*Peter Coughter: The Art of the Pitch

39. DO NOT WING IT
Luke Sullivan: Hey Whipple Squeeze This

40. Remember, the appearance of spontaneity
is the product of preparation.
!
*Peter Coughter: The Art of the Pitch

41. TEAM WORK
COUNTS
Peter Coughter: The Art of the Pitch

42. KNOW WHY YOU
ARE THERE

43. ANTICIPATE EVERY
OBJECTION
Luke Sullivan: Hey Whipple Squeeze This

44. PITCH CONCEPTS TO
YOUR EXISTING
CLIENTS
Luke Sullivan: Hey Whipple Squeeze This

45. IF YOU’RE PITCHING
SPEC/EXECUTIONS,
MOCK IT UP

49. DON’T LEAVE YOUR
BEST WORK ON THE
AGENCY FLOOR
Luke Sullivan: Hey Whipple Squeeze This

50. NEVER SHOW WORK
YOU WOULDN’T
WANT THE CLIENT
TO BUY
Luke Sullivan: Hey Whipple Squeeze This

51. DO NOT MEMORIZE
Luke Sullivan: Hey Whipple Squeeze This

52. It is far better to speak from the heart, to
search for your words, even make the
occasional mistake, than it is to deliver a
perfect, memorized speech.
!
*Peter Coughter: The Art of the Pitch

54. SILENCE IS BETTER
THAN BULLSHIT

55. CREATE AN
OUTLINE, THEN
TOSS IT
Luke Sullivan: Hey Whipple Squeeze This

56. Watch a good actor sometime. He appears
to be saying what has just occurred to him.
He’s expressing an idea. A bad actor
appears to repeating what he memorizing.
It doesn’t seem in anyway genuine.
!
*Peter Coughter: The Art of the Pitch

57. ORGANIZING YOUR
PRESENTATION:

58. WHITE SPACE
EXISTS BEYOND
YOUR SLIDES

59. VISUALS > TEXT

60. AVOID SHOWING WHAT
YOU ARE SAYING AND
SAYING WHAT YOU ARE
SHOWING

61. DON’T HAND OUT
MATERIALS BEFORE
YOU PRESENT
Luke Sullivan: Hey Whipple Squeeze This

62. DON’T SHOW A
SLIDE BEFORE YOU
ARE READY
Peter Coughter: The Art of the Pitch

63. DON’T PACK YOUR
PRESENTATION FULL OF
NUMBERS, FACTS &
CHARTS

64. The audience does not care about how
much we know. The audience cares about
how interesting what we know is.
!
*Peter Coughter: The Art of the Pitch

65. KEEP IT SIMPLE
Luke Sullivan: Hey Whipple Squeeze This

67. Make a choice about what’s important and
let everything elso go.
!
*Zen Proverb
Peter Coughter: The Art of the Pitch

68. THEY AREN’T GOING
TO REMEMBER
WHAT YOU SAID
Peter Coughter: The Art of the Pitch

69. THEY WILL ONLY
REMEMBER WHAT
THEY THOUGHT
AND FELT
Peter Coughter: The Art of the Pitch

70. THE THINGS I’VE
LEARNED THROUGH
PITCHING:

71. THERE IS ALWAYS
ONE CRAZY

73. YOU DON’T HAVE TO
SOLVE THE PROBLEM
RIGHT THERE

74. LET THE CLIENT
HAVE OWNERSHIP

75. Don’t win all the battles and lose the war.
!
*Luke Sullivan: Hey Whipple Squeeze This

76. KNOW WHEN TO
SHUT UP

77. PAY ATTENTION

78. CHANGE UP HOW
YOU PRESENT

79. FIND A CONNECTION

80. ORDER YOUR
PRESENTATION
STRATEGICALLY

82. GIVE THEM WHAT
THEY WANT, THEN
WHAT THEY NEED
Robert Solomon: The Art of Client Service

83. UNDERSTAND THAT
BUYING CREATIVE
WORK IS HARD
Luke Sullivan: Hey Whipple Squeeze This

84. DEFEND YOUR WORK
WITH STRATEGY
Luke Sullivan: Hey Whipple Squeeze This

86. ASK WHY, DON’T
LET THEM TELL
YOU HOW

87. A great meeting is not the goal.
Great work is. Eyes on the prize.
!
*Mark Fenske, VCU Brandcenter

88. GO SLOW
ARTICULATE
BREATHE
RELAX

89. THEY’RE HUMAN,
JUST LIKE YOU

90. The trick is to understand that you are
simply talking with your audience,
sharing your thoughts. You’re not arguing.
You’re not selling. You’re having a
conversation. You’re giving them a gift.
!
*Peter Coughter: The Art of the Pitch

91. LEARN FROM
EVERY
PRESENTATION
Peter Coughter: The Art of the Pitch

92. THE BEST
PRESENTER
USUALLY WINS

93. LEAVE YOUR
AUDIENCE
WANTING MORE