Five common mistakes in CEO pitches (and what to say instead)

Hans Smellinckx
5 days ago
3 min read

Intro

As a CEO, you are often the first or final voice representing your company:

in meetings with clients and partners,
at events in Brussels, Antwerp, Ghent, Amsterdam or Rotterdam,
in conversations with banks, investors or potential hires.

Your CEO pitch – how you introduce yourself and your company – has a huge impact on how people perceive your business.

In my work with SMEs and scale-ups across Belgium and the Netherlands, and in my book “100 Days to Make Your Mark as a CEO”, I keep hearing the same mistakes.

The good news: once you see them, they are easy to fix.

Mistake 1: Being everything for everyone

Example:

“We work for all companies, in all sectors, with all sizes.”

This sounds “open”, but it’s not helping you.It makes it harder for:

clients to recognise themselves in your story
your team to know who to focus on
partners to know when to refer you

What to do instead:

Be specific about your core target:

“We focus on SMEs in Belgium with 10–200 employees.”
“We work mainly with local retailers in the Benelux.”
“We specialise in mid-sized manufacturing companies in Flanders and the south of the Netherlands.”

You can still accept other business if it makes sense, but your pitch should have a clear centre.

Mistake 2: Using vague, generic language

“We are innovative, customer-centric and flexible.”

No one will say the opposite:

“We are old-fashioned, we don’t like customers and we’re very rigid.”

So these words add no meaning.

What to do instead:

Translate your qualities into something concrete:

“We build tools together with our customers and release improvements every two weeks.”
“Our clients have one fixed contact person who knows their business and can make decisions.”

Make it tangible. This is easier to understand for business owners and decision-makers in your SME or scale-up market.

Mistake 3: Explaining your internal structure instead of your value

Some CEO pitches start like this:

“We have three business units: consulting, implementation and support. We also have a training centre and we work with a partner network…”

Interesting for your org chart, but not for your listener.

Your customer wants to know:

what problem you solve
how you make their life or business better

What to do instead:

Start with the outside view:

“We help SMEs keep their HR and payroll legally safe and efficient.”
“We help retailers bring customers back more often with one simple loyalty solution.”

You can explain your internal structure later if it’s relevant.

Mistake 4: Overloading your pitch with jargon

Especially in tech, finance and HR I still hear pitches full of:

platforms, ecosystems, frameworks
360°, end-to-end, holistic solutions
acronyms that only insiders understand

This creates distance instead of connection.

What to do instead:

Use plain business language:

“We make it easier for you to see where you’re losing money.”
“We help you avoid mistakes that could cost you fines.”
“We help you get more business from your existing customers.”

If someone wants the technical details, they will ask.

Mistake 5: Making the pitch too long

If your introduction takes three minutes, people will:

lose track of the core message
miss the most important part
remember only one detail that might not be what you want

Attention is short, especially at events or in online meetings.

What to do instead:

Aim for a 30–40 second pitch:

who you are,
who you serve,
what you solve,
how you do it at a high level,
what outcome you create.

Then you can go deeper, tailored to the person and context.

Examples of better CEO pitches

Bad version:

“We are a 360° HR and payroll service provider for all companies, and we offer a complete portfolio of services and solutions.”

Better version:

“We help SMEs in Belgium keep their payroll and HR legally safe and efficient, with a mix of digital tools and expert advice – so business owners can sleep at night and focus on running their company.”

Bad version:

“We are a one-stop shop for digital transformation.”

Better version:

“We help mid-sized companies in the Benelux digitise their financial processes, so they get paid faster and have real-time visibility on their cashflow.”

These versions are much more usable in real conversations – in boardrooms, client meetings and networking events.