Business Pitch Training
Ordinary pitch training polishes the surface.
25eight’s programs help you build the capability to win contracts again and again.
“How do we make it happen?”
If you’ve landed here after searching for pitch training, you are most likely preparing to win something real: a contract, a tender, a place on a supplier panel, a larger client. A sharper pitch definitely helps, but it’s not the only thing that decides it.
We have been helping businesses increase engagements for over 10 years and whilst a good pitch helps, it’s what underneath that wins the work and that’s what we help you with.
Such that, what you do pitch you’re business, they likely answer is ‘where do we sign up?” or “how do we make it happen?”
Whether you’re in a sales or investor meeting, trade show, or networking event you don’t want to scramble to get across the value of your business so your audience doesn’t understand or they understand what you do but aren’t compelled to take any action.
Outcomes you want
When you talk about your business, you want your audience to be captivated and want to learn more or be ready to sign up then and there.
You want your prospects to understand how you solve their problems
You want your prospect to understand why they should buy from you and not the alternative.
You want to see a greater number of conversions from your sales and marketing funnel
You want to confidently convey the true value of what you do to those that are listening, in the digital or physical world, without feeling too salesy and with a greater chance of a conversion.
Ultimately, you want to grow your business by helping more people with your product/service.
Why a good pitch is not enough
A pitch and pitch deck is just the surface. The buyer, the panel, the prime contractor is not really assessing your slides or pronunciation. They are assesing whether you can deliver, at the standard required, without becoming their problem.
A polished pitch in front of an underprepared business may not survive due diligence, but a clear, well-run business with visible value and depth of customer understanding that has an ordinary pitch will.
Pitch training works on the ten minutes in the room. But winning the work, repeatedly, is down to what happens in the months before you walk in.
These are capabilities that you can build and use on every opportunity that follows. These are the difference between training for a pitch and becoming a business that wins work.
Four capabilities that can influence contracts and tenders, that aren’t a presentation skill:
Readiness to deliver. Procurement and supply chain readiness, the systems and evidence that prove you can take the work on without risk to the buyer
A clear case for why you. A documented, evidence-based position on where you fit and what you do better.
Operational proof behind the promise. Role clarity, governance, capacity and reporting rhythm, so the business behind the pitch holds up under scrutiny.
Knowing which work to pursue. The discipline to pitch for what you can genuinely win and deliver, so your effort goes where it converts.
Common challenges
We have worked with a great number of innovative businesses. Businesses that are pioneering developments in technology, engineering and advanced manufacturing or providing solutions in their purpose-driven business.
They are forward thinkers, however, they may sometimes get lost in the detail of their product or service. The features. It is so easy to do.
It takes someone on the outside to see the true value of what they provide and who they provide it to to help them articulate it succinctly.
It may be that there is comfort in the terminology that is used or knowledge bias where we assume the audience understands what we are talking about because we think it’s so obvious.
We may not have gotten to the heart of our customer's problems or thought about any objections they might have.
It could be that we are systems people rather than wordsmiths or we need someone that can ‘humanise’ what it is we do and find the people that will love us for it.
How 25eight can help
25eight’s capability building programs help you to effectively, naturally and succinctly communicate the value of your business. Our programs are hyper-personalised to you. You don’t learn what you already know, instead you ‘level-up’ what you do know.
We go beyond the basics of putting together a business pitch and get to the heart of your positioning to pinpoint the true value you provide and for whom; moving away from the product or service, its features or awards to the problem it solves and for whom and why we’re the best business to solve it.
For established businesses ready to win larger contracts, enter new markets, or move through industry change, the Industry Growth Program builds the exact capability we’ve described above. Over 12 weeks in a group or private delivery format, we help you develop and/or refine your market expansion strategy, procurement and supply chain readiness, AI-enabled operational roadmap and prepare you to pitch to industry for immediate feedback.
We work with you to identify and articulate your unique value proposition with insights into positioning for different industries or audiences. Ensuring your messaging and approach to market is on point, we help you use a framework that helps you to communicate this value naturally to different audiences.
On completion of the Industry Growth Program you’ll not only will you have a pitch that can be used as the core of your messaging you’ll have the confidence to deliver that message and a true understanding of your unique value and a business primed to execute on it efficiently.
Personalised structure
Our programs commence with a comprehensive diagnostic to pinpoint exactly where you are. Our aim is to build capability, so you don’t learn what you already know, rather you’re supported to strengthen what exists and fill the gaps in your leadership, business and digital capabilities. This personalised structure ensures you get the greatest value from your time with us.
Industry experts & mentors
We have helped thousands of businesses increase engagement rates by sharpening their positioning and helping them to create compelling messaging. With expert guidance and connection to a pool of Industry Mentors during the program, you receive meaningful feedback and help to refine your approach to your situation.
Clear outcomes
We measure our impact on outcomes, not number of engagements. We care deeply about providing a service that has long-reaching effects on the people we serve.Our programs are expertly designed to ensure learning sticks, your rate of execution increases and successful outcomes assured.
What people are saying
“I really can’t begin to tell you how much I’ve benefitted from taking part in it… to the point where I credit a lot of our current success to you both and the program! You’ve allowed me to think incredibly clearly about what our product is, who our target consumer is, what problem we’re solving and so much more. I’m sure you’ll be excited to know that as of the 10th of this month, we’ve got nearly $1m in confirmed orders and in the past month have scaled up ten-fold!
— Daniel, Medihood
“We understand that not one pitch meets all our customer’s expectations and requirements. The ability to build off a strong foundation and meet the customer's expectations in a refined format is critical! I enjoyed taking these learnings and building high-level deliverables that can be presented in either a 2-minute opening pitch or a 10-minute high-level pitch. The ability to be precise and on point for several key areas is crucial. The course and content were excellent, thank you!”
— Roberto, Arrow Electronics
“This program is excellent for on-the-job learning of marketing concepts with real-time pitch video preparation. Furthermore, it helped structure our marketing strategies! A very useful program carried out in a virtual manner. Would highly recommend it, especially for an engineer venturing into the business development and marketing world. Excellent all-rounder training for a technical-background participant like myself.”
— Hwan, Trakka Systems
You don’t need a better pitch, you need to be the business that wins the work, and keeps winning it.
We’ve been trusted to provide capability building for the following organisations:
What People Are Saying
“As a 20-year old company, we tend to approach our messaging and marketing in the same way that we have done for years. This program gave us a fresh perspective on how to communicate the value of what we do and boy, what a difference that made. Great program thanks so much for the opportunity to participate!”
— Julian, Senetas
“I found the key outcome was the structure and discipline around the narrative of the pitch. As pitching does not come naturally to me and does require effort, I found this extremely helpful! Each week I assessed different elements of my business and product and how we present it. Great program, knowledgeable & experienced facilitators - thank you so much!”
— Bernadette, Cogito Group
“After being in the marketing wilderness for some years, I was gobsmacked by the premium training delivery model, support and in-depth structure provided. Sam took us through piece by piece and is responsible for the marketing plan integrity we had when we started. Money was tight and the pressure was on, but we came out with an immense asset.”
— Stephen, 6Clicks
Meet your coach and mentor
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Sam Hurley
With several digital transformations under her belt in her 20+ years of industry experience, Sam likes to sit at the intersection of business, creativity and technology. Her Master of Teaching is the icing on the cake as she drives high standards and best practice to ensure what is learned is adopted and impactful. She’s currently nerding over LLMs and generative AI and how it can be used to transform how we learn to make leadership decisions that accelerate your businesses growth and adapt quickly to market changes.
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Michelle Creevey
Michelle is a seasoned supply chain management leader with over 17 years of experience, including more than a decade working for the world’s largest aviation/aerospace company within its defence subsidiary on their extended leadership team. Michelle has led high-impact initiatives focused on enhancing supply chain efficiency, compliance, and governance.
Michelle is recognised for her innovative approach to social procurement and small business development, having designed and executed domestic and global award-winning strategies, which have been featured in Forbes.
Why we created this program
25eight was born from a need to serve startups and small to medium sized businesses with knowledge and capability building programs that didn’t take a lot of time. We saw time as one of the biggest constraints for smaller businesses as often, you need to know what to do right now, not complete a course and then know in six months time or spend months working it out through trial and error.
We have been delivering programs since 2015, formerly delivered under the Marketing Entourage brand which merged with 25eight in 2021. We have delivered specific industry-focused programs with organisations such as Austrade, Australian Defence Export Office and City of Melbourne, the 25eight’s Industry Growth Program is the only one of its kind in Australia.
Get the result you need, and build the capability to keep getting it
Frequently Asked Questions
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Not as a standalone program. We found that a polished pitch rarely wins the work on its own. Instead, we help businesses build the readiness and the case that actually win contracts and tenders, through the Industry Growth Program.
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Four things, mostly decided before the pitch: genuine readiness to deliver, a clear evidence-based case for why you, operational proof behind the promise, and the discipline to pursue work you can win and deliver. Presentation skill helps at the margin, but it is not what decides most awards.
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If you are a sales person rather than a business leader/owner, you could make a case for participation in the Industry Growth Program with them. Three people per registered business are eligible to participate.
If you want to get more impact from sales efforts, having the foundations at the business level significantly increase your conversion rates.
If you’re a business owner or leader and had just considered pitch training and are unsure of whether a program would be of benefit, you can start with our complementary Small Business Capability diagnostic. It will show you whether a quick improvement is enough or whether the gap is in your readiness to deliver.
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That’s very common and we help a lot of people in that way.
The challenge at this stage isn’t knowing more; it’s knowing what to do next and having confidence in those decisions.
The program focuses on applying thinking directly to your business, with support to help you translate ideas into action.
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That’s a sensible question and a sign you’re thinking like a leader.
If you’re unsure, the best place to start is with our complementary diagnostic get some clarity or by joining one of our information sessions (which you will be emailed about when you join the waitlist). Both are designed to help you make an informed decision, not push you into a program that isn’t right.
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Trust matters most when the stakes are higher and growth transitions are exactly that.
25eight has supported thousands of small businesses across Australia through structured, capability-building programs delivered both directly and in partnership with governments and industry bodies. Our work is grounded in real-world business experience, not theory alone, and measured by outcomes rather than attendance.
What sets 25eight apart is our focus on decision-making and leadership capability — not quick fixes, generic advice, or one-size-fits-all solutions.
We get meaningful outcomes for all of our participants.
We are transparent about what we do, what we don’t do, and what meaningful progress actually requires.
If you value clarity, integrity and a program designed for long-term capability, not just short-term motivation then 25eight is a good fit.
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The Industry Growth Program. It is a twelve-week program for established businesses building the capability to expand into new markets, win larger contracts, and operate in an AI-enabled economy.
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Take complementary capability diagnostic first. It gives you an honest read on your growth stage and your priority gap, so the recommendation that follows is grounded in where your business actually is, rather than just a generic suggestion. However, if winning contracts and business expansion are your current focus, it’s likely that the Industry Growth Program is a good fit.
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No. All 25eight programs are designed for business leaders at all levels of experience with AI and for those operating in complex industries.
We focus on:
practical use
relevance to your business
building confidence, not complexity
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Most business programs focus on tactics or information.
This program focuses on decision-making and leadership capability — helping you understand:
what’s changing in your business
why previous approaches may no longer work
how to lead effectively as complexity increases
It’s structured, practical, and grounded in real business experience. This isn’t focused on theory or one-size-fits-all advice and is embedded with deep industry experience and use of smart technology.
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If you choose self-guided, we assume you have your own coach.
If you choose the guided options, Sam Hurley is your head coach and brings deep experience in business leadership, education and strategic capability building, and has spent over a decade working directly with small business owners at critical growth stages.
She personally trains all of 25eight’s coaches who all have built successful businesses themselves.
You’ll meet Sam in a workshop or 1:1 and be matched with a coach and mentor who best meets your goals and industry needs.
Rather than positioning themselves as “gurus” or experts with all the answers, Sam and the Coach’s role is to help leaders think more clearly, ask better questions, and build confidence in their own decisions.
This approach is grounded in:
real experience working across industries and regions
a strong understanding of how adults learn and apply knowledge
a commitment to ethical, human-centred coaching practices
The goal isn’t dependency on the coach or mentor, it’s capability for you as a business leader to make your own decisions.
Leaders leave better equipped to make decisions long after the program ends.
Because this isn’t always visible, it can be hard for people to see the impact, however, the fact that most of our participants go on to be Industry Mentors with us, send staff through our programs and rate us so highly is testament to the impact felt.