The founder of the Virgin Group, Sir Richard Branson, is one of the most prominent entrepreneurs and influencers of the past several decades. Although his time in the limelight is passing on to other mega entrepreneurs like Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk, the Virgin Group is an old school brand that has distinguished itself across a number of industries – including music, air travel, telecoms, hotels and more.
Even though he’s best known for his “screw it, let’s do it” attitude (which is coincidentally also the title for his self-biography), this does not mean Branson greenlights every idea that gets sent his way. On the contrary, he enforces a peculiar set of rules to ensure that the pitches are worth his time. Join Wordsmith as we explore how the Branson method can sharpen your mind… and your next pitch!
Thinking outside the box by staying inside a box
If this subhead doesn’t make any sense to you, you’ll understand shortly.
For now, let’s imagine ourselves at the pub sharing a drink with Mr. Branson. He challenges us to think up something interesting to sell to the Virgin Group. One small catch – it needs to pass the “Richard Test”:
1. The idea must fit on a drink coaster
2. It needs to be free of any jargon
It’s one thing to be concise, but a standard drink coaster is only about 4-inches wide. How can an idea that short be any good when standard advertising proposals are pages long?
“Because I’m dyslexic, I simplify everything. I don’t complicate things,” Branson tells Forbes. “In all of Virgin’s businesses, they have to pass the ‘Richard Test.’ It means if Richard doesn’t understand it, the public won’t understand it.
In addition to succinct presentation, the point of his test is to weed out people who get too caught up in the details. When creatives deliver pitches to clients, the clients expect full ideas that include pricing models, execution methods, expected returns and so forth… but Branson isn’t asking for that. A coaster pitch is the essence of the idea scribbled on a palm-sized piece of cardboard.
When we work on full ideas (i.e. creating a full presentation deck), it often pigeonholes us into an idea – we keep trying to work around a specific core idea and have difficulty seeing beyond the established. If the client rejects the fundamental idea, then most of the deck dies alongside it.
On the other hand, when we have just the core idea on a coaster, there’s nothing concrete about it. The idea is open to change, negotiation and addition. For Branson and other people who like to get involved with the ideation process, this is perfect. Coaster pitches give your pitching target opportunities to play around with the idea – it’s how Virgin Blue (now Virgin Australia Airlines) and Virgin Sport was born!
Of course, there are some nuances to the coaster pitch. An idea that fits on a coaster does not necessarily make it a good one. Here are some other things that we need to consider:
· Knowing your audience
This sounds like a no-brainer, but any good pitch needs to be relevant to your pitch target. Your pitch needs to relate to the target’s industry, their interests and their audience.
· Where’s the passion?
Ideas that you aren’t passionate about are destined to be mediocre, or even worse, fail.
A simple way to show passion in writing is to use emotional writing, but instead of telling someone how they should feel, use empathy to create a connection between you and your pitching target. The easiest way to do so is by addressing them directly, demonstrating that you understand their problems, as well as using decisive words and the active voice. Consider the following:
Without empathy: Tour groups to Hong Kong are being hurt by quarantine restrictions, so tour packages to Singapore might be a better idea.
With empathy: Even though your customers can’t visit Hong Kong due to quarantine restrictions, Singapore is a popular alternative.
· No dillydallying
Be direct when you make the pitch and keep it as simple as possible. For example:
Wordy: Lifted COVID travel rules has caused people to flock to airports and travel like mad – especially for some demographics like Hong Kongers who have been stuck in the country for over two years. With hotels bursting at popular tourist destinations, there are many who want to travel but can’t find reasonable accommodation. Virgin Hotels can possibly capitalise on this lost chunk of the market by partnering with homeowners to rent out Virgin-branded residences like AirBnB.
Better: Virgin Hotels can score more post-COVID travellers by branching out and partnering with homeowners like AirBnB.
Save anecdotes and background context for your in-person pitch – these are better face to face!
Like an elevator pitch, Branson’s coaster pitches forces ideas to be delivered quick and efficiently. Unlike elevator pitches, however, your target is offered the opportunity to hash out the idea alongside you. Even if your pitch ultimately results in a “no”, it’s still a great creative exercise that fosters innovative thinking and concise presentation!