10 tips to pitch with confidence at Adobe

© 2015 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All Rights Reserved. Adobe Confidential.

10 tips to pitch ideas with confidenceMarie Perruchet | Author of “One Perfect Pitch” at McGraw-Hill

© 2015 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All Rights Reserved. Adobe Confidential. 2

How do you pitch your company Adobe?

- at a corporate event

- at a cocktail event

- in a bar

- at the gym

- in a 16-hour plane

- at a friend’s dinner


What’s your pitch?

The one-minute pitch isn’t about squeezing your whole business

concept into a short form and trying to speed-deliver it.


“What do you do again?” “Say that again?”

- check Twitter, LinkedIn or Facebook feed

- think about the 200 emails to catch-up with

- think about the long weekend

- pay attention to details


Delivering a pitch can happen anytime, anywhere with anyone


Pitching situations at Adobe

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- Pitch your immediate superior

- Develop your career and get a bonus

- Get buy-in from different groups

- Propose a new feature

- Run an effective meeting

- Pitch your new boss


- Stand out

- Be confident about yourself

- A pitch is meant to be told and shared by others


DOs

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- Keep it simple: “one idea, one sentence; one sentence, one

idea”

- Keep it structured

- Prepare, practice and polish


Recurrent mistakes when pitching

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- You have no pitch

- Getting to excited

- Overwhelming your audience with information


Adobe is _________________________


Anatomy of a perfect pitch

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We solve ___ (problem) by providing ___ (advantage) to help ___ (target) accomplish ___ (target’s goal). We ___make money) by charging ___ (customers) to get ___ (benefits). I am involved in this industry since ___ (expertise). It seems all these companies are doing this ___, but it’s not working.

This is how ___ I/we got to my insights (struggle, conflict and turning point) and this is why I am/we are good at doing this. And in the last (metrics- traction-progress), I/we got this response and from this insight, it gave me/us confidence that we (shared vision). What I am asking you is ___

The hook

Your journey as the hero

The conflict

The ask


Adobe opportunities

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I want to be part of your team

I want you to be in my team

I want to support your project

I will fund your idea

I want to accelerate your career

Do you have any open positions in your department?

Have you heard of anything?

What can I do to help?


The pitch got professional

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13,000 employees worldwide 1,300 San Francisco

Shorter formats

Fragmented formats


What’s your pitch?

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The pitch is a snapshot of the bigger story

Your one-minute pitch needs to encapsulate the bigger story

of your idea, product or business.

It needs to be packaged in the most digestible way for

audiences with short attention spans that are easily

distracted.

If it’s memorable, it will be retained and repeated by your

audience.


What’s your story?


Why storytelling?

Science - Paul Zak Studies - Bruno Bettelheim Experiments - Significant Objects


Get the buy-in from colleagues

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- Give them the elements to pitch for you

- Get to the point quickly

- Polish your hook

- Be precise - no jargon

- Have an ask


Example

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Here’s the problem ___

Here’s how our product/solution/actions can solve that

problem___

Finally, here’s why you can’t live without it ____


Example

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Language learner’s biggest barrier is the lack of opportunity to practice with

native speakers. They learn Spanish or French at school, but they never become

fluent. Or they learn on their own using a variety of resources, but they have no

one with whom to practice.

We have built a site where serious language learners can take tailored classes

and engage in video chat with native speakers from the comfort of their home.

The online language learning market is worth ___

90% of the language market is still offline, so there is a tremendous opportunity

and demand for our product.

Here’s what we’d like you to do___


Example

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___ biggest barrier is the lack of opportunity to ___. They ____, but they

never ___. Or they ___, but they ____.

We have built ___ where ____ can ___and engage in ____.

The ____ market is worth ___

There is a tremendous opportunity and demand for our product.

Here’s what we’d like you to do___


Structure

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- Act I: the hook

- Act II: show me

- Act III: transformation - sign-me up


Act I: the Hook

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- the momentum

- the achievements

- the problem


Act I: the Hook: the Momentum: why now?

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There are 50 times more Internet users (2.4 billion).

- A sudden cost reduction in the storage market - More reliable access to the internet - Better smartphone cameras - A new standard in the industry or a new compliance regulation

Explain the shift, breakthrough or innovation that presented the opportunity


Act I: the Hook: the Achievements

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Highlight your credentials from the very beginning.

Showcase your company’s revenue growth, user acquisition,

multiplied revenues or industry awards.

We have been number 1 at the Apple Store in the 26 countries for the past three months. In three months, we grew from a 150 square foot office to a 3.5 square foot building in the Flatiron area. We have received the approval from the VP ___.


Act I: the Hook: the Problem

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The audience needs to understand the pain point.

Know your audience and offer simple solutions to their

problems.

Why would I use your solution or your team to execute?

Millions of calls are dropped every day. Our company provides ___


Act II: Show me

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Think about your audience

Have a controlled narrative

Be concise


Act III: Transformation - Sign me up

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Show the execution and promise of a better future

Keep it focused

End with a bang


How do I tell my story?

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What makes you the expert at what you do?

- involvement

- see the world with your unique perspective

- convey passion

Our team has credibility because ____ (show that you have done it successfully in the past) I am ___. This is what I do ____ and I am the best at executing/strategizing/running it because ___


Make it exciting

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“We have 100,000 users”.

We signed up 100,000 users in only 45 days.

We sign up 1,000 paying customers every day.

In the past three weeks, we have added 10,000 new users to our site and are doubling that rate every day.


10 tips to pitch with confidence

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- Your pitch should be customized

- It’s a short story about yourself

- Structure

- Simplicity

- Think about your audience

- Show your passion

- Find your story

- Practice your pitch

- Don’t forget your ask

- You are ready


What’s next?

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Before writing

Before speaking


If you had to describe your company in a single sentence, what would it be?

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Adobe is ____


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10 tips to pitch with confidence at Adobe