SUCCESSFUL businessman and business mentor Robert Snook had some vital tips on “improving your pitch” when he gave a recent presentation.

The MD of MG Cannon told the gathering at the Chamber of Commerce 90 Minutes event: “You are all just one pitch away from landing a six-figure client.”

He told the audience of more than 50 people at The Chapel nightclub there had been many times when he had regretted being at networking events because of the standard of “pitching” by the people he had met. It made him wonder: “Why are we so bad at it?”

He said: “If you had met Steve Jobs, the founder of Apple, when he was alive and asked him what he did, do you think he would have said “I work in computers”?

He said “No, you would have got something awe-inspiring and engaging that made you want to learn more about him and his company, wouldn’t you?

“I started to think about the cost to all of us because we do not have a perfect pitch. All those opportunities we miss every day – your budgets, the projections you have for your business can be blown away by improving your pitch.”

He said “what do you do?” was a very difficult question to answer with power and clarity in just 30 seconds – the average attention span at a networking meeting.

“Why you do it, how you would deliver it and what the benefit is to them is not easy” he said.

“The fact is though, everyone in this room is just one pitch away from a new six-figure client.”

“Martin Luther King did not say: ‘I have an idea,’ did he? He said: ‘I have a dream.’ “What a difference between the two – a difference that captured the world in four words.”

Robert gave examples of local businesses that had worked with him on improving their pitch and have seen significant successes as a result.

He urged the audience to get a better return from their business community investment by using events like the Chamber 90 Minutes to practice their pitch and help others refine theirs. He added: “Until you have a perfect pitch, it’s your full-time job to get one.”

Chamber members who would like a coffee and some help with developing their perfect pitch can contact Robert on 07917893010 or Robert@mgcannon.com.