Imagine you’re speed dating. You have a minute or two. You share personal highlights to impress. You give someone a taste. Pique their interest. You avoid the fine print of your life because you don’t want to overwhelm. In a word, less is more.
Why not do the same in business? Why not tell your story through pitch books and capabilities brochures in moderation? Successful finance firms across sectors run by smart ambitious minds seem to panic. Decks become an exercise in “kitchen-sink” marketing—a data dump the brain can’t absorb. You’re proud of your reputation but seem to believe that more words and math and graphs and facts will seal the deal. There may be another way.
Lean is More
Think about the reader experience through a few easy pointers:
- Confidence. All first dates feel the same. How can you make a memorable impression? Presenting a huge volume of content in pitch books and other docs is a weak way to promote a brand. It gets trickier. You’re likely competing against countless other firms that do what you do. Of course you want a prospect to fall in love with you. So think twice before creating a deck that feels anxious—overloaded pages few will remember. Once you get someone’s attention, and they start to trust, then you can drive toward the granular.
- Strategy. On the other hand, if you lead with the granular, you’ll dine alone. In business the “handshake moment” happens fast and must be driven by real strategy. Rely on something differentiating like a lean compelling story in the first 10 pages that’s written in a fresh, authentic voice with relevant, targeted messaging. Your visual style should also align with your strategy, peek interest, and help you stand out. Have no fear: you can always use an appendix for relevant data. No part of your offering will fall through the cracks.
- Trust. In financial services trust is 9/10s of the law. Your presentation materials are “corporate calling cards.” When created thoughtfully, you engender trust, and encourage someone, for example, to let you manage a lot of their assets.
- Focus. As Richard Branson said, “Branding demands commitment; commitment to continual re-invention; striking chords with people to stir their emotions.” Financial services broadly has an intimate relationship with our daily experience. Money is static but deeply personal. If your story and visual presentation strike that intimacy chord, if you help clients navigate their financial lives with more control, you win. They win.
- Clarity. Is your content elegant? Is there enough white space on each page so the reader isn’t assaulted and take-aways are clear? Too much information can create a paradox of choice. The human eye doesn’t know where to land. Prospects can’t make decisions. Can’t say “yes.”
- Economy. At the least, consider investing in a designed, branded cover that makes a fabulous impression. You can then print and assemble your decks in-house to protect budgets.
Beating hearts
Love is good. But how much effort are you putting into it? In our hurried digital age, fancy capabilities brochures no longer exist (think annual reports of bygone years). Yet and still: companies rely on pitch books as a key marketing tool. It’s worth it to make sure your decks are written well and look swell.
After all: you want to get to that second and third date.
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