4 best books on pitching for new business? Let me pitch them to you!

Find the best self-tuition books on how to pitch and win new business – we review four of our favourites.

Perfect Pitch: The Art of Selling Ideas and Winning NewBusiness

Written by Jon Steel Published – October 2006 A professional “pitching coach” for one of the world’s largest marketing conglomerates, Jon Steel shares his secrets and explains how you can create presentations and pitches that win hearts, minds, and new business. He identifies the dos and don’ts and uses real-world examples to prove his points. If you make pitches for new business, this is the perfect book for you.

What people thought: “Perfect Pitch is a powerful call to arms to the lost art of presentation writing and, more importantly, making compelling arguments. It made me realize some bad habits I’ve fallen into which need correcting and the need to take back control from technology.” – Gareth Kay “Jon Steel is a rare breed of truly smart, creative thinkers. Though originally from an advertising background, The Perfect Pitch is by no means simply an “advertising book.” It is a book about ideas and how to sell them, regardless of your business.” – Amelia Torode  

The Art of the Pitch: Persuasion and Presentation Skills that Win Business

Written by Peter Coughter Published – January 2012 Occasionally, a great idea will sell itself. The other 99% of the time, you have to find a way to persuade others that it is, in fact, a great idea. Most executives spend the vast majority of their time creating their work, and almost no time on the presentation. Through an engaging and humorous narrative, Peter Coughter presents the tools he designed to help advertising and marketing professionals develop persuasive presentations that deliver business. Readers will learn how to hone their individual natural presentation style, how to organize a powerful presentation, how to harness the elegant power of simplicity, how to truly connect with an audience, how to rehearse effectively, and most importantly, how to win. What people thought: “What you’ll love about this work is the total freshness it brings to presentations. From the very first chapter, Coughter redefines the challenge, resets the approach and shares invaluable tales from the front lines that will make you ache for a chance to get back in the game.” – Dan Wieden, President, Wieden & Kennedy ‘Peter Coughter is not only a master of the pitch, he’s an outstanding teacher. Read what he writes, and then read it again. This book is a gem.’ – John Adams, Chairman, Chief Executive Officer, The Martin Agency

Here’s the Pitch: How to Pitch Your Business to Anyone, Get Funded, and Win Clients

Written by Martin Soorjoo Published – May 2012 Whether you’re pitching for funding, the media, or to potential customers and partners, to survive and succeed as an entrepreneur, you have to know how to deliver a high-impact pitch. Here’s the Pitch reveals powerful proven techniques to get your audience to take the action you want. You’ll learn the same strategies and tactics that have been used by entrepreneurs to raise millions of dollars, secure partnerships, and win big sales contracts. What people thought:“We live in a very competitive world in which entrepreneurs have a difficult time raising capital and finding clients. Entrepreneurs need to stand out and become memorable. Martin does a great job educating entrepreneurs on the art of the pitch, which will help them achieve measurable results.”—Jason Jacobsohn, Director, The Founder Institute “A comprehensive, insightful, and practical guide to pitching that all entrepreneurs must read.”—Symon Drake-Brockman, Managing Partner, Pemberton Capital Advisors

Brilliant Pitch: What to Know, Do and Say to Make the Perfect Pitch (Brilliant Business)

Written by Shaun Varga Published – September 2009 The pitch is the torture-test of any kind of selling. It’s when you absolutely, definitely, have to get it right – and get a result. Brilliant Pitch unpacks the key elements of any pitch process and shows how different situations require different approaches. Packed with advice from experts, trade secrets, and tried-and-tested ways of approaching any pitch and any audience, this is the ultimate guide to pitching. What people thought: ‘Shaun Varga skilfully deals with numerous potential obstacles entrepreneurs will encounter when pitching to investors- especially in the early stages. I have pitched hundreds of investors for different businesses and ideas over the years and I wish I’d had some Brilliant Pitch advice back then.’ – James H. Fitzgerald, President of ChainStar Global LLC ‘Brilliant Pitch is packed with valuable advice. Shaun expertly takes the mystery out of making a great pitch.’ – Ivor Catto, CEO Hyder Consulting plc

Notable mentions:

The Pitching Bible: The Seven Secrets of a Successful Business Pitch

Written by Paul Boross Published – April 2011 The Pitching Bible represents 25 years of the author’s unique experience in business pitching and pitching in the music, stage, television, film and entertainment industries. The book contains the Seven Secrets of a Successful Business Pitch which will help anyone to improve their success rate, whether pitching to clients or potential investors.

Related articles

• The Art Of The Pitch (twistimage.com)
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