Master Business Pitching Skills – Avoid Top Pitch Preparation Mistakes

Do you want to improve your pitching skills? What is best practice for pitch preparation? How do you avoid business pitching mistakes? How do you improve your pitch preparation skills? How can business pitch training help you?

Meet the Author: Benjamin Ball

Ben is the founder of Benjamin Ball Associates and leads the presentation coaching and pitch deck creation teams. Formerly a corporate financier in the City of London, for 20+ years he’s helped businesses win with better pitches and presentations, particularly investor pitches. He is a regular speaker and a guest lecturer at Columbia Business School and UCL London.  Follow Ben on LinkedIn or visit the contact page. 

Why Better Pitching Skills Matter

When you pitch in business, you want to be good, if not great. Your first pitch meeting might be your only chance to make a lasting impression.

The good news is: pitching in business is a skill that anyone can learn. With polished business pitching skills you are on your way to a more successful future.

We’ve been coaching executives to build their business pitching skills for 15+ years. Here, our experts share their advice on the most common business pitching mistakes and how to fix them. And most of this advice is about having better pitch preparation so that you can win pitches.

Mastering the art of the business pitch can set a you apart from competitors. The perfect pitch does more than just introduce a business idea; it communicates the core value proposition in a way that resonates with potential investors or clients.

Whether you’re in a formal investor meeting or delivering an elevator pitch to potential customers on the fly, a well-structured pitch should capture attention, spark interest, and answer key questions before they’re even asked.

What does good pitch preparation look like?

1. Know your audience

The first step in creating a winning pitch is to know your audience. Think about the specific needs of potential investors or clients: what pain points can your product or service solve?

2. Talk about benefits

For investor pitches, highlight the business model and competitive advantage early on. Investors want to see a clear path to profitability and evidence that the business plan is solid, while potential clients want to understand how your offering can directly benefit them. Addressing these factors head-on shows that you’ve thought through the details and are prepared for potential questions about your unique solution.

3. Clarify, Simplify, Explain

When pitching, clarity is essential – an essential skill. Avoid industry jargon, keep it concise, and only cover the most important points that align with your target audience.

4. Practise

Practice delivering the pitch until it flows naturally. By fine-tuning your presentation skills, you’ll appear confident and knowledgeable, which can be as important as the content of the pitch itself.

5. Use Storytelling

Finally, don’t overlook the power of storytelling. Sharing a quick case study, describing a success story, or explaining your journey can make the business idea more relatable. A perfect business pitch combines facts, figures, and human interest in a way that leaves a lasting impression, ensuring your audience sees the potential for success as clearly as you do.

Let’s review each of these top tips in more detail:

1. Pitch Preparation Advice: Not preparing enough

One of the biggest mistakes you can make when pitching is not preparing enough.

A well-prepared pitch will be tailored to your specific audience. You will have run through it multiple times. You will have used a critical audience to tear your pitch apart and put it back together again. This means you need a clear understanding of your audience, their interests and concerns. You should be as prepared as a tennis player is when playing Wimbledon.

A good pitch helps your audience – whether it’s your customer or your board – with their needs.  If you understand their needs, you can write a well targeted document. A badly written pitch document makes assumptions about what your audience might want. So, stop assuming and make sure your pitch is written to reflect what you know your audience wants to hear.

Creating an effective pitch is an essential skill for anyone presenting a new business idea. A compelling pitch does more than explain what your product or service does; it captures your audience’s attention, clarifies your unique solution, and demonstrates the full potential of your idea within the target market. Whether it’s an elevator pitch or a detailed product pitch, the goal is to transform a complex concept into something that resonates instantly with investors or clients.

2. Not having a clear story

Stories are a powerful way to communicate. They link facts together into a logical sequence and they have a natural rhythm that makes them a pleasure to read.  Even the driest pitch document can be told as a story. When you write a business pitch, does your pitch contain enough stories?

One powerful tool to enhance your chances of success is storytelling. Case studies, short examples, or even personal anecdotes can bring your pitch to life, giving your audience a practical glimpse into how your solution works and why it matters. Combining these elements with visuals can simplify complex concepts and ensure that each point lands effectively. The right visuals don’t just support your message—they make it memorable and engaging, taking your pitch to the next level.

3. Reading from Notes or Slides

Another common business pitching mistake to avoid is reading directly from notes or slides. This will make you sound robotic and uninspired. It will also make it difficult to connect with your audience and build rapport.

How to Avoid It:

To avoid this mistake, memorise your key points and only use your notes or slides as a guide. Even better, never even look at your slides.  Let any visual aids be for the audience’s benefit, not yours. Practice your business pitch enough times so that you feel comfortable enough to speak without relying on your notes. This will help you connect with your target and make your pitch feel more natural and conversational.

4. Focusing Too Much on Yourself

It’s easy to get caught up in your own nerves and concerns when pitching in business. However, if you focus too much on yourself, you risk losing your target’s attention and interest.

How to Avoid It:

To avoid these pitching mistakes, shift your focus away from yourself and onto your target. Talk about the value you are bringing to them and how you will create a great future for them. Remember, the goal of your presentation pitch is to give your target a better future – whatever you are pitching in business. Your goal is NOT to showcase your own skills.

Why Pick Benjamin Ball Associates for Your Coaching

At Benjamin Ball Associates, we’ve been coaching business people to improve their business communication skills for over 15 years.  Our coaching is fast and effective.  We work with individuals and with companies, one-to-one and in groups.  Call us today to learn more.

“I honestly thought it was the most valuable 3 hours I’ve spent with anyone in a long time.”

Mick May, CEO, Blue Sky

Our most popular training courses include:

• Presentation Coaching
• Public Speaking Coaching
• Investor Pitch Support and Coaching

Trusted by some of the most successful companies globally

Speak to Louise on +44 20 7018 0922 or email info@benjaminball.com to transform your speeches, pitches and presentations.

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5. Not Engaging Your Target

One of the most common mistakes you can make when pitching is failing to grab their attention. If your target is disengaged, they are less likely to like you and less likely to believe in you.

Psychologists have shown that our unconscious brain makes decisions faster than our conscious brain. That means you want to appeal to the unconscious brain from the start.

For example:

• How does the front page look?
• Does it grab attention?
• Is it clear what you are offering?
• What about page two?

If your reader is not sold on you by the time they read page 2, then your pitch deck needs more work.

How to Avoid It:

To avoid this pitching mistake, make sure your pitch meeting is interactive and engaging. For example, you could ask your target questions, encourage discussion, and use examples to make your points more relatable. Use Power Language throughout.  By having a conversation with your target, you’ll keep them interested and motivated to take action.

6. Saying Too Much

When giving a pitch, it’s tempting to tell them everything they might want to know. But the more you say, the more complex your story becomes. The best pitch stories are clear, simple and compelling. But it’s hard work to simplify complicated business stories.

It is easy to say too much. It’s tougher to be succinct, engaging and compelling. People like reading short, pithy, powerful documents. So get someone to re-write it so it’s all very easy for your investor to read and for you to talk about.

How to Avoid It:

To avoid this mistake, simplify your pitch story. Make it as simple as you can. You’d be surprised how basic some of the best business stories are. Creating this simple story is probably one of the hardest aspects of a great pitch. We’ve helped hundreds of firms with this and we use our messaging cracker process to get great results.

7. Speaking Too Quickly

Speaking too quickly is a trap many people, especially when nervous, fall into. This can make it difficult for your audience to follow your presentation, and can make you appear nervous or unprepared.

How to Avoid It:

To avoid this mistake, don’t just speak slower.  Instead, speak at your usual pace, but add a pause every 6-10 words.  Use shorter sentences.  Use simpler words. And put more energy into your delivery.  With this you will be much more impressive when you pitch.

8. Ignoring your audience

Another common mistake when pitching in business is to ignoring the needs and interests of your audience. If you’re not tailoring your pitch to the target’s expectations, you risk losing their attention and failing to make a connection.

Your target should be the star of your pitch, not you. Your audience does not want to hear about how great you are. They want to know what you can do for them. Check your pitch and see how many times the pitch says ‘we’ vs. ‘you’.  How many ‘we’ or ‘I’ can be replaced with ‘you’s?

A good pitch is not about you. Instead, it’s about the target, their needs, and how you can help them.  Anything else is just a brochure. So, go through your pitch and work out if your audience will feel as if they are the centre of your universe.  If not, get someone to re-write it.

How to Avoid It:

Take time to understand your target’s needs and interests before you start preparing your pitch.  Tailor your pitch to meet those needs by talking about the most relevant and important information. Use examples and stories that your investor can relate to and engage with. And ask questions. Lots of them.

9. Using jargon and technical language

While it may be tempting to use technical language and jargon to sound more knowledgeable and credible, this will backfire and alienate your audience. The most impressive entrepreneurs use the simplest language. Avoid this obvious pitching mistake.

Stories are a powerful way to communicate. They link facts together into a logical sequence and they have a natural rhythm that makes them a pleasure to read and hear.  Even the driest pitch document can be told as a story. Does your pitch contain enough stories?

How to avoid it:

Use clear and concise language that is easy to understand.  Avoid using technical terms and jargon unless you are absolutely sure that your audience understands them.  Use analogies, stories and metaphors to help explain complex ideas in a more accessible way. Imagine you are speaking to a 15 year-old when pitching in business. (Yes, it sounds counter-intuitive, but just try it. It works!)

10. Relying too much on slides

It’s easy to get caught up in your slides and forget about your audience. Many people pitching spend too much time working on their slides and even reading their slides, rather than chatting with their audience. This can lead to a disengaged target and a lacklustre presentation.

How to Avoid It:

Remember, your slides are a tool, not the main event. Use your slides to support your message, rather than relying on them to carry your pitch. Keep your slides simple and uncluttered, with only a few key points on each. 

Instead of focusing on your slides, focus on your target. Make eye contact, use body language to emphasise your message, and try to connect with your target in a meaningful way. By putting your audience first, you’ll create a more engaging and memorable pitch. Imagine you are explaining your business and looking for a fit between their needs and your needs.

11. Confusing features with benefits

The second rule of sales (after ‘know your client’) is stress the benefits. Where features are listed it shows either laziness or that you do not understand investor needs well enough. Make sure every feature about your offer is turned into a benefit.

12. Making it hard for your target

• Is your pitch a pleasure to read? 
• Is it summarised well? 
• Does each part push the story forward? 

If not, you have not made it easy for the audience. Find someone to re-write, re-structure and re-edit until your document is as easy to read as a newspaper.

13. Not rehearsing enough

One of the most common business pitch mistakes is not rehearsing enough. Rehearsing your pitch is critical to ensuring that you deliver it smoothly and confidently.

Delivery is as important as content. Practice maintaining eye contact, use a confident tone of voice, and be mindful of pacing. Small details, like your tone, can reinforce confidence and clarity in your message.

Even the best ideas need a great presentation to unlock their potential. The next time you deliver a pitch, focus on these nuances to build rapport and ensure your audience sees the market opportunity as vividly as you do.

How to avoid it:

Practice, practice, practice: Rehearse your pitch multiple times to ensure that you are comfortable with the content and delivery.  Use video: Record yourself practising your pitch and watch the footage to identify areas for improvement. 

The next step is refinement. With each pitch, evaluate what worked, what didn’t, and how to make it even stronger. Testing new ideas, receiving feedback, and fine-tuning delivery can help transform a good pitch into a great one. Mastering these skills will not only improve your chances of winning support but also build a foundation for all future pitches.

Get critical feedback: Ask someone to listen to your pitch and provide constructive feedback on your content and delivery. Like this you can avoid pitching mistakes.

What Next To Prepare a Winning Business Pitch

The best way get a winning pitching skills is through practise and with feedback.  We can help accelerate this process with intensive presentation and pitch coaching.  We’ve been preparing pitch decks and pitches for over 15 years.

With just a few hours of support we can transform you and transform your pitch, so that you run an pitch meeting like a professional.  Call our client services director Louise Angus for a chat about how we can help you.

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Why Choose Us:
Transform your pitches and presentations with tailored coaching

We can help you present brilliantly. Thousands of people have benefitted from our tailored in-house coaching and advice – and we can help you too.

“I honestly thought it was the most valuable 3 hours I’ve spent with anyone in a long time.”

Mick May, CEO, Blue Sky

For 15+ years we’ve been the trusted choice for leading businesses and executives throughout the UK, Europe and the Middle East. We’ll help you improve corporate presentations through presentation coaching, public speaking training and expert advice on pitching to investors.

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Unlock your full potential and take your presentations to the next level.

Speak to Louise on +44 20 7018 0922 or email info@benjaminball.com to transform your speeches, pitches and presentations.

Speak to an expert. Get a free consultation