Put together and presented for the Fort Worth WordPress Meetup on November 17, 2014. A challenge based presentation on "How to Pitch a Project."

1. STAYING IN BUSINESS REQUIRES SALES
SALES IS A DIRTY WORD
@SGILLIHAN

2. SALES MAY MAKE MANY OF YOU FEEL UNCOMFORTABLE.
REFRAME YOUR PERSPECTIVE
@SGILLIHAN

3. HOW MIGHT YOU BUILD BRIDGES?
SALES IS PROBLEM SOLVING
@SGILLIHAN

4. SALES IS PROBLEM SOLVING
@SGILLIHAN
How might you :
• show related items for sale?
• sell more event tickets?
• get more blog subscribers?
• show a map of activities?
• increase clicks on affiliate links?

5. “How might we build a main gallery for a multi-site
WordPress installation that connects foundations
with all of their grantee organizations and features
the impact statistics and opportunities to engage.”
–SHERYLE GILLIHAN
@SGILLIHAN

6. CHALLENGE: CREATE A LIST OF
PROBLEMS YOU AIM TO SOLVE
@SGILLIHAN

7. COMMUNICATION IS KEY TO SUCCESSFUL PROBLEM SOLVING.
KNOW YOUR TARGET AUDIENCE
@SGILLIHAN

8. DECISIONS BY COMMITTEE ARE PAINFUL FOR EVERYONE.
SPEAK TO THE DECISION MAKER
@SGILLIHAN

9. SPEAK TO THE DECISION MAKER
@SGILLIHAN
If you speak to an assistant, your pitch is repeated, but:
• without your story,
• without your knowledge,
• without your ability to fully explain the solution,
• you lose the opportunity to build rapport and trust,
• you will always have to go through these channels.

10. CHALLENGE: DEFINE THE
VARIOUS USER PERSONAS
@SGILLIHAN

11. “Big goals require big plans, which in turn, require
important decisions. I need insight and feedback
from your final decision maker, otherwise we’ll be
spinning our wheels without getting anywhere.”
–SHERYLE GILLIHAN
@SGILLIHAN

12. DEFINE YOUR RELATIONSHIP TO THE PROBLEM.
YOUR STORY IS YOUR BEST TOOL
@SGILLIHAN

13. SELLING YOUR WORK STARTS WITH SELLING YOURSELF
STORIES MAKE YOU APPROACHABLE
@SGILLIHAN

14. CHALLENGE: TELL YOUR
STORY IN FIVE MINUTES
@SGILLIHAN

15. TIMING
Once you’ve told your story in five
minutes, it will easier to tease out
your pitch. You should prepare for:
@SGILLIHAN
• 3 minutes
• 1 minute
• 11 seconds

16. “What do you do?”
“I solve problems as part of the leadership team at
CauseLabs. We partner primarily with mission-driven
great causes. My role is to embrace collaborative
partnerships, ideate on audacious strategies and to
create for impact.”
–SHERYLE GILLIHAN
@SGILLIHAN

17. WAIT! BEFORE YOU START PITCHING…
THERE IS A LARGE CHASM TO
CROSS FROM ‘WHY’ TO ‘YES’
@SGILLIHAN

18. TRANSPARENCY, EXPERTISE & AUTHENTICITY BUILD TRUST.
TRUST BRIDGES THE CHASM TO YES
@SGILLIHAN

19. L I K E F LYING, SOME THINGS REQUIRE MASTERY.
UNDERSTAND YOUR LIMITS
@SGILLIHAN

20. UNDERSTAND YOUR LIMITS
• Transparency builds trust.
• It is okay to say no if necessary.
• Perfection is not expected.
@SGILLIHAN

21. “I am able to configure your plugin, but I should
involve a developer if your donation page has
hard-coded elements that need to be fixed.”
–SHERYLE GILLIHAN
@SGILLIHAN

22. MASTER YOUR CRAFT AND NEVER STOP LEARNING.
YOUR EXPERTISE IS YOUR BUSINESS
@SGILLIHAN

23. CHALLENGE: LIST AND
RATE ALL YOUR SKILLS
@SGILLIHAN

24. MARCH TO THE BEAT OF YOUR OWN DRUM.
AUTHENTICITY BUILDS TRUST
@SGILLIHAN

25. OTHERS ARE AT EASE WHEN YOU’RE AT EASE.
ALWAYS BE YOUR BEST SELF
@SGILLIHAN

26. Photo credits go to contributors on unsplash.com.
Contact information:
Sheryle Gillihan
@sgillihan