(Akiit.com) If you want to make your business a success, you are going to have to pitch to many new clients. Make sure you are passionate about your business and have perfected your idea before you go and see potential new clients. Otherwise, they will see through your business and won’t work with you. And whatever you do, you need to turn up on time for the pitch. Here are some other mistakes people make when it comes to pitching to potential new clients.
Not testing the pitch before you get there
One of the main mistakes people make when pitching to potential new clients is not testing the pitch before you get there. They think they are confident they know what they are doing, and then they get there and become stuck. You need to try it out on your other employees or a friend and respond to their questions as if you are with the potential client. You will be able to get feedback so you know what you need to change before you go. As this feature says, once you have tested the pitch you should be able to make a list of questions you will likely be asked during the pitch. Then you can 
figure out how you will answer them.
Not researching about the company before you go
Another mistake people make when pitching to potential new clients is not researching about the company before they go. It often leads to embarrassing moments if you don’t know exactly what they do. Make sure you research the company so you have a good idea of the background of the company. You need to know exactly how your business can solve a problem they have. After all, you are there to solve a problem they are having, so they don’t want to hear unnecessary waffle.
Not making your work look professional
It’s so important to make sure the potential new clients realize that you are a viable business who they should be working with. Therefore, you should be making sure any work you take to show them is up to scratch. You should get all marketing materials printed professionally from a company such as Catdi Printing. Remember to make them copies so they can look at them clearly later. As much as it’s good to send things through email, they will want hard copies still to look through.
Not letting them ask you questions at the end
Another mistake people make when pitching to potential new clients is not letting them ask you questions at the end. A lot of people make their escape after pitching and tell them to contact them if they have questions. But you need to make sure you ask them if they have anything they need to go over after you have pitched. They might not have understood part of your business correctly, so you need to ensure they are clear of what you do before you go.
Once you have managed to get a new client, you will hopefully be able to find new contacts from them. As we talked about before, word of mouth is still one of the best marketing tools available.
Staff Writer; Jeff Jenkins