Being Over-Prepared For A Pitch Can Backfire

Small business owners often have to pitch to customers for new deals or to potential partners that may help them grow. There’s no exact science on how to do it and it can be extremely discouraging when things don’t go according to plan. Being prepared is a given, but you can overdo it, as one small business owner found out the hard way.

Over at small business blog Flying Solo, Lee McCaffrey, who runs a small business with her husband, recounted the time she pitched her business to a group at a networking event. She wanted to be fully equipped for her minute-long speech and showed up with a perfect script written by her husband.

McCaffrey thought she’d nail the pitch; instead, she failed miserably after stumbling on her words from the get-go. The experience taught her a valuable lesson:

“In hindsight, on the first stumble, I should have tossed the script and pitched from my heart.
 
I’m not an actor. I’m a small business owner who is passionate about our product and the service we provide.
 
I didn’t need a script written for me.
 
All I needed was the belief in myself and my message.”

You can read more about her pitch experience over at Flying Solo.

[Via Flying Solo]