Tuesday 8 & Thursday 10 July, 15:00-16:30 BST

With 99% of clients saying that a pitch is good business practice for high value projects (What Clients Think Report 2025), pitching is a big part of working in design. It’s your chance to show the value you bring, how you think and why you’re the right agency for the job.

Being good at pitching is essential to growth. The DBA’s stance on free pitching is clear, and you must be compensated for your time – but once you’ve set out your ground rules, how do you give yourself the best chance of winning? In this two-part online workshop, Up to the Light founder and DBA Expert Jonathan Kirk will share what he’s learned from years of conducting post-pitch client interviews. He’ll explore what clients are really looking for – and what they need to see in your pitch to feel confident choosing you. This course focuses on practical, straightforward ways to improve your pitch process and communicate your thinking clearly. Drawing on insights from thousands of client conversations, Jonathan will help you build trust from the outset and structure a persuasive pitch that gets results.

This workshop covers

  • Understanding changing client expectations

    Stay ahead with the latest best practice

  • The 10 key stages of pitching

    Craft the winning approach with these essential steps

  • Getting your internal pitch process right

    Ensure the team is aligned and everyone is prepared

  • Mastering the remote pitch

    Pointers and tips for winning online

  • Seeing the client’s perspective

    Demystify the shortlist and evaluation process

  • Structuring your argument and raising audience engagement

    Understand where pitches succeed and fail

You will gain

  • A fresh and up to date perspective on how to approach your next pitch

  • Knowledge to take back to your business to improve your processes

  • Increased confidence to tackle future client pitch requests and win more new business

  • Practical tips and techniques to give you the edge over competitors

Meet your trainer

Jonathan Kirk

Jonathan is the founder of Up to the Light. The consultancy advises a significant proportion of the UK’s top 100 design agencies across a wide range of issues concerned with business growth and improvement. As the leading supplier of client surveys to the UK design industry, their insight into the client/agency relationship is unrivalled. For the last 10 years Up to the Light has published the influential ‘What Clients Think’ report. This year’s report is based on 675 client interviews conducted on behalf of design agencies and is a revealing snapshot of the client/agency relationship. As well as advising agencies, Up to the Light is also a brand consultancy that provides brand positioning and strategy for clients. So many consultants become theorists and teachers, slightly removed from reality, but Jonathan is continually involved at the sharp end presenting, pitching and delivering high profile strategic work for brands. This is of huge benefit to his clients. He is a regular conference speaker and trade press contributor and is a founder member of the DBA’s Experts Register.

Pricing options

DBA members receive a discount off the standard price. To talk to us about joining the DBA, email [email protected]. Prices include VAT. If you're buying from outside the UK please email [email protected].

Previous feedback for Jonathan

"Jonathan Kirk’s ‘Winning Pitches’ workshop and pitching guidelines were transformational for our business. Since completing the work with Jonathan we have improved our win ratio by 100%. We now approach pitching with the confidence that we have an approach that maximises our chances of success."

Jon Blakeney, Managing Director, I-AM Associates

“The session was enlightening, thought-provoking and engaging. Good stuff!”

Jackie Arnott-Raymond, Joint MD, Frontpage