Whether you’re looking for distribution for your film, looking for someone to buy your screenplay, or looking for an agent to represent you in the industry, every pitch has the same basic elements. This blog entry is an outline of what those elements are, and how to build a roadmap that will give you the very best chance of success when pitching.
Before we get started with building your pitch, there are two basic questions you need to ask yourself. In fact, this initial, crucial step is precisely where at least 50% of the actors, screenwriters, and other creative talent in the business shoot themselves in the foot when building a new business relationship.
Those two questions are:
What do you want?
What is this pitch about? In other words, specifically what are you hoping to achieve? Do you want an agent to sign you? Do you want someone to give you money? Make up your mind, and you’ll have something concrete to build your pitch towards.
Deciding what it is you want is one of the hardest things to do. As soon as you give a specific definition for success in any particular endeavor, you are also creating endless ways to fail. Like they say in the circus, don’t look down. Don’t worry about everything that can go wrong right now – we’ll address what we can later on in the pitch-building process, and everything else will take care of itself. For right now, define the endgame.
If you’re selling a script, getting a check is the endgame. If you’re looking for representation, it’s signing the contract. Ok?
Next question:
What can you give to get what you want?
In other words, what do you have to offer the person you’re pitching? If you’re selling a script, what have you done to ensure the script’s success as a film? If you’re pitching yourself to a representative, how much are you booking without them?
What’s in it for me? What do I get? That’s what every person in the world is thinking when you try to sell them something. You’d better have some unreasonably fantastic answers to that question before you open a business discussion.
During the pitch, you’re going to find new opportunities to give them “WAM WIG” (What’s in it for me? What do I get? ). Don’t rely on that. Organic processes only happen in rich soil, right? You’re only going to get to know this person if you’ve anticipated their needs and provided for them.
With that in mind, put some thought into what kinds of things would be way more valuable to the person you’re pitching than whatever it is you’re asking for. In the end, we all want a good deal. What’s going to make this a fantastic deal for them, right out of the gate?
Just as importantly, can you actually provide that?
So… Clearly, coming up with some careful, honest answers to these questions could potentially take months of research. Then again, maybe you already know the answers. Either way, let’s take a look at how to mold your value and goals into an actual presentation.
1) ENGAGE: This is where you tell the person you’re pitching who the hell you are, and what the hell you’re doing in their office (or on their phone). In other words, you need to clarify your relationship with this person, you need to clarify your goals, and you need to give them a heaping plateful of “What about me? What do I get?” What’s more, you need to do it RIGHT NOW. Then, RIGHT AWAY, you need to make sure the person you’re talking to has heard what you said.
If you’re asking for money to make a movie, something appropriate might be:
“Mr. Investor, my name is Tennyson E. Stead and I’m the producer and director of Sam Bailey. Right now, I’m going to make it painstakingly clear to you why it is you stand to make upwards of three times your money investing in this film.”
Then, I ask a question to see if they’re with me:
“First of all, are you aware of the overwhelming success of independent films like Slumdog Millionaire and District 9?”
Depending on what they say, I’ll know whether the investor is engaged. If all I get is a monosyllabic grunt, I need to give them another piece of WAM WIG and ask another question.
2) OPEN: As soon as there’s a lively response to the engage, it’s time to open the discussion… and contrary to popular belief, the only way to open a dialogue is by asking questions. Believe me, I know you’re just brimming with fantastic information to share. Every salesperson loves to talk, but for right now the best thing you can do is sit on it. Find out who this person is. Find out what they need. What’s more, find out if they already see the value in what you have to offer.
Asking questions is the only way you’re going to get any of these things done. If you’re asking for money, ask them what they know about the success of independent film. As them why they think movies like these have been so successful. Ask them what benefits an investment like this can have for their portfolio.
If you’re pitching to an agent, ask them why they think it’s valuable that you’ve been booking the shows you have, or what benefit there is to all the webisodes you’ve been filming.
Basically, you want to ask them questions that demand actual, complex responses. Stay away from yes or no questions.
In addition, it helps to ask questions that keep the conversation focused on your goal. Don’t be afraid to ask questions that keep the conversation on the topics you want to explore – after all, it’s your pitch! If this other person knew more than you about this topic, they’d be pitching you. For that reason, it’s good to use your questions to keep some control over the conversation.
Have a gigantic list of questions when you go into your pitch, and keep asking them until you’ve got the information you need to move forward, and you’ve established a rapport with them.
One other thing that helps is to ask a few questions that deal with the biggest risks behind what you’re proposing. When was the last time this investor decided to make an investment that might lose them their money? When was the last time this agent took on a client who had never booked a feature before?
When you ask these questions, you need to be prepared for the fear they can stir up. Have answers to the really tough questions handy, so when they ask them you’re in a position to reassure and comfort the person you’re proposing to do business with.
3) FEED: Now, you can talk. Start with the really big points, like the state of the overall film market (in the case of the investor) or the huge number of shows you’ve booked (in the case of the agent). Work your way down to the specifics from there, like how the investor recoups their money or the really close relationship you have with that one famous casting director.
The other thing to keep in mind here is that people only remember a small part of what you tell them. There are two things you can do to make this easier on them.
First of all, make sure every piece of information you give them is really, really important.
Secondly, always ask them a question that makes them respond to what you just said. If you’ve just told an investor that Sam Bailey shares a market with modern fantasies like Phenomenon and The Fisher King, ask them how they think those movies performed. If you’ve just told an agent you were featured on CSI, ask them how many viewers they think the show has.
4) ACTIVATE: Here’s the scary part. You need to get to the goal. If you’re talking to an investor, this is where you tell them to fill out the agreement and write the check. If you’re talking to an agent, this is where you ask for the contract.
Don’t be afraid to hear “No.” When you ask for the thing you want, people aren’t always going to tell you “Yes.” In fact, most of the people you wind up doing business with will tell you “no” up front. When they do, ask them what it is they need to get them onboard.
Now shut up and listen.
Maybe you can give them the things they need. Maybe not. Either way, the best way to make this person happy and maintain the relationship is to be honest with yourself. If you can give them what they need, give it to them and ask for the check. Ask for the contract. If there’s another, new “no” – find out what’s behind it and begin the activation process again.
If you can’t give them what they need, don’t try to fake it. Don’t tell them they’re wrong. Feel free to explore the issue, find out what they really mean by what they’re saying – but if you really can’t satisfy them, you’ve got to tell them. If you can, refer them to someone who can meet their needs better than you can. Do them a favor, and they’ll be happy to share their time with you in the future.
Pitching is a numbers game. Your job is to make your pitch as tight and likely to succeed as possible, and then to keep pitching until it does. Don’t be discouraged by any one individual “No”, and never be rude just because someone else is, or because they didn’t react the way you wanted them to. If things don’t work out, say “Thank You” and move on.
Definitely, practice this process before you pitch a valuable contact. Write your pitch down, rewrite it, rehearse it – practice it on the phone with your Mom and your friends. Do it in the mirror. Do it in your suit. Do it in your pajamas. Get comfortable with your roadmap, so you can pitch anytime and anywhere.
Most of all, don’t tell yourself that someone else will take care of this. Film, theater, interactive, and comics are all collaborative arts. That means we need to work with one another. At some point, those relationships need to ENGAGE. When we realize there’s a relationship worth pursuing, we need to OPEN them up. We FEED those relationships to keep them healthy. Then, when it’s time to work, we ACTIVATE our relationships and coordinate our efforts.
Take control of that process, and you’ll have a creative voice. Leave that communication up to others and you may get to practice your craft, but you’ll never be a collaborative artist.
Those are the basics of pitching, folks! Let me know if you have any questions!
-T
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