No-Sell Sales Pitch Tools
Why the Clarity Brief Exists
The Clarity Brief is based on a tool the advertising industry has used for decades to take strong ideas to market: the Creative Brief.
What makes it powerful is simple — it forces clarity.
When you achieve clarity, you gain confidence, and with clarity and confidence comes control of the room, the message, and your role in the outcome.
We’ve taken the core structure of the creative brief and refined it specifically for pitching — and that’s what you’ll work through in this module.
What You Need Before You Begin
Before you start your Clarity Brief, make sure you’ve completed:
Your Card Against Humidity™
Your VPP
Your FROTO
If any of those steps aren’t done, go back and complete them first — they feed directly into the brief you’re about to write.
What the Clarity Brief Is
The Clarity Brief asks six essential questions:
Who are we talking to?
Where are we in their minds?
What’s the problem we’re solving?
What’s the promise?
What’s the support?
What’s the personality?
The first four questions are all about the audience — not you.
That surprises most people, because the instinct is to talk about features, credentials, or innovation.
But great pitching — like great marketing — starts with the audience.
The Discipline: One Page
Your completed Clarity Brief should fit on one page.
Not because you lack space — but because constraint forces clarity.
As the saying goes:
“Sorry I wrote you a long letter — I didn’t have time to write a short one.”
A single page ensures:
You’ve removed noise
You’ve prioritised what matters
Others can quickly understand and articulate your thinking
Confusion slows decisions — clarity accelerates them.
Why This Matters
A well-written Clarity Brief makes everything easier:
It sharpens your thinking
It aligns stakeholders
It accelerates decision-making
It becomes the input for your Outcomes Pyramid, which comes next
Put the wrong information in — and the pitch wobbles.
Put the right information in — and you’re already 90% of the way to a strong pitch.
Your Homework
Finish your Clarity Brief.
Get it to one page.
Make every word earn its place.
This document becomes the foundation for the next stage — the Outcomes Pyramid.
See you in the next session.
💡 Tips on how to write your Clarity Brief 🔍
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In 1–2 short paragraphs, describe:
Who they are
What they do
What they want
Their motivations, limitations, and context
You can also consider:
How long they’ve been in their role
Whether they seek impact, progress, stability, legacy, or protection
Who influences them and who they must convince
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Again, in 1–2 paragraphs:
What do they think of you now?
Do they trust you?
Are you a safe bet or a risk?
Why are you in the room?
Consider whether what you're proposing feels relevant now, not just interesting.
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Name the pain your VPP reveals
Make it specific, relevant, and undeniableIn one sentence (two at most):
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In a single clear line, express:
The compelling benefit
The transformation you’re offering
The outcome they can expect
This often takes the longest — if it was easy, it wouldn’t be a brief.
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Use dot points only:
Why can they believe you?
What evidence proves your promise?
Only include what’s relevant. No biography, no “hard work,” no unnecessary background.
As the saying goes:
The comedian doesn’t tell you they’re funny — they make you laugh.
Your clarity brief should do the same.
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In one sentence, describe the tone you’ll bring:
Reassuring
Urgent
Calm
Confident
Collaborative
Authoritative
The goal isn’t performance — it’s authenticity made compelling.