Learning how to pitch is a bit like giving birth. It’s a difficult, nerve-racking process, but the end result is worth it. You need to be able to succinctly communicate to a potential retailer, editor, influencer or customer who you are and what your brand ethos is in two minutes or less. That difficult skill requires practicing, taking in constructive criticism and shaking off emotions that might muddle the message. Perfecting your pitch will give you a greater chance at success at standing out from the crowds.

Confidence is the number-one component of pitches that knock it out of the park. The inboxes of buyers, influencers and editors are littered with ineffective, confusing or just plain blah pitches. They’re looking for someone who knows their brand, clearly and confidently conveys brand value, and gets to the point quickly. Founders who have mastered the art of the pitch share their stories in a way that is compelling, hammers home important messages and leaves the recipient with precise ideas about what brands could do for their business. They deftly present a problem and provide a solution. A good pitch should leave buyers, editors and influencers excited and wanting more.

Jessica Richards, beauty buyer for Free People and founder of cult Brooklyn beauty boutique Shen, needs to see more than an ingredient list when being pitched. “When a brand pitches me, I am looking for packaging/branding, efficacy, ingredients, etc., but the thing that catches my attention is the personality of the founder and the story behind the brand,” she shares. “I want to be romanced. Also, come with a sense of humor and passion. That goes a long way.”

Here are a dozen easy tips for developing a memorable pitch:

Write it down. Everything. Don’t hold back. Two pages (or more) later you will have enough to work with to craft your perfect hook. Then, do a pass edit to refine and make the story as clear as possible.

Hand it off. Find someone you know will give you constructive feedback. You  want your paper to come back marked up with edits. Rewrite it and rewrite again.

Ask yourself “Who cares?” By considering this crucial question, you edit out the fluff and get to the muscle of your pitch. Eliminating the excess allows you to communicate exactly what you want someone to know about you and your brand. It also forces you to make it about them and not you. If you tailor your pitch around your brand’s benefits, it is easier for someone to imagine the product on their shelves or in their pages. A well-crafted pitch will show off your personality and tell your story in a way the other person will connect with. Promote clarity without diluting your message.

Common examples of message dilution:

• I have loved makeup/skincare since I was a young person.
• I created it because it didn’t exist.
• I tried everything and nothing worked.
• I or someone in my family was sick.
• I want to change the world.

All of these statements may be true, but they center the pitch on you, not the wants and needs of the person you’re talking to.

Act it out. Practice out loud again and again until it you can pitch without your notes. Practice in front of a mirror so you can see what you look like as you are pitching. Practice in front of your sister, significant other, best friend, dog. Find an audience to get comfortable talking about your brand in front of.

Keep it simple. Try crafting your story in just four sentences as an opener to your pitch. If it’s a good pitch, you will engage the other person, and they will ask you more questions.

Here’s an example of a great opener from skincare brand Le Prunier:

• Our USDA-, CCOF- and PETA-certified single-ingredient plum oil is harvested from our 2,000-acre, 100-year-old family farm in Sutter County, Calif.
• Our plum varieties can only be found on our farm.
• Our safe enough for sensitive skin plum oil has high amounts of vitamin C, E, polyphenols and fatty acids, and naturally smells like marzipan.
• We are the largest exporter of prunes to Asia, including Korea and Japan.

BAM!

Be prepared for questions. Know your ingredients, the science, the efficacy, geography, give-back strategy, packaging choices, purpose, ingredients sources, certifications (Leaping Bunny, EWG, EcoCert, PETA and so on), target demographic, new launches, proprietary formulas, where you see your brand and, finally, your brand’s growth trajectory.

Amanda Jo, creator of Organic Bunny, stresses that brands should have their ducks in a row before they begin to engage influencers and buyers. “I always tell brands to invest 100% into what the customer can see so that you are portraying yourself as a legit and professional brand,” she asserts. “Things to invest the most in, besides the product quality and safety, of course, would be a quality website, creative but professional images, unique packaging that is not just a sticker on the same jars hundreds of others use and branding/social media. This is your public resume and communication with the world. I know many might think, well, that will cost me over $100,000, but I started my business with all of the above and no funding so, where there is a will, there is a way.”

Don’t sell the product, sell the benefit. When Steve Jobs announced the new iPod, he didn’t sell you the mechanics, he sold customers on putting a thousand songs in their pockets. What are you selling? A solution.

Give people three takeaways. Your cognitive brain function easily remembers information in threes. Give them three things to remember about your brand.

Know your competition. Saying something didn’t exist doesn’t tend to make waves. Most of the time, it isn’t true. It did exist. You just didn’t know about it. Do your research and find out who else is in your space. The research will help you intelligently identify three  areas where you are different.

Know who you’re speaking to. Another important factor to a fruitful pitch is knowing the retailer or editor you are speaking to as much as possible. It is embarrassing if you don’t know anything about the retailer or outlet you are pitching. What other brands does that retailer carry? What stories has the editor written recently?

According to Annie Jackson, co-founder and COO of Credo, a good pitch concentrates on what sets a brand apart from other brands and what results a customer can expect from using its products. “At the end of the day, efficacy is king, and customers what to know what benefits they can expect,” she says. “Imagine yourself selling your own brand to a prospective customer — that’s what buyers are. You are a consumer, too. What drives you to make a decision? You need to grab a buyer’s attention almost immediately because the market is very saturated, and they get pitched consistently. A polished brand presentation, a professional lineup of finished product with a set to leave behind and a well-rehearsed brand pitch will get you very far.”

Never highlight your flaws. Don’t take negative positions. Your pitch should focus on the problem your brand is addressing. Be uplifting and positive.

Be aware of personal space and hygiene. Imagine a bubble around you and one around the other person. You don’t want them knowing what deodorant you are using or if you ate garlic for lunch. Be aware of your body and oral odors, and how you present yourself. If you want to be taken seriously, make an effort with your attire. You are the living representation of your brand. Pitching is like speed dating, you only get one first impression. Make eye contact, and never underestimate the power of a smile.

Excellent pitch examples:

• Primal Derma: https://primalderma.com/product-info/ A former Food Network executive upcycles grass-fed beef tallow normally thrown away to create a triple-purified, three-ingredient skin conditioner safe enough for babies. An 17,000- year-old method is modernized for stressed-out skin.
• Adsorb: https://www.beautyindependent.com/adsorb-japanese-beauty/ Ostriches are the oldest remaining dinosaur ancestor. Their egg yolks contain a high concentration of natural antibodies that gives them the strongest immune system of any living animal. Adsorb Beauty is connected to a sustainable ostrich farm in Kyoto, Japan, where 300 ostriches are cared for. Only 100 eggs are harvested per year, and each egg yields 5,000 units.
• Basd body care: https://basdbodycare.com/pages/about-us
• Shaffali Beauty: http://www.shaffali.com/meditate-on-this-/2017/6/8/an-introduction-to-shaffali-skincare

Cutting through the noise is difficult in a competitive market, but it’s definitely not impossible. Push yourself and your team to know — and know how to effectively express — who you are as an entrepreneur, the direction you are going in with your business and the core fundamentals of your brand. Success doesn’t come easy, but when it does, it can often be attributed to an excellent pitch.