Practical Tips for Perfecting the Workforce Pitch

Key Takeaways from the Workforce Panel at SEDC Conference in Atlanta (April 2025)

2025 Southern Economic Development Council Workforce Panel in Atlanta, GA

At the SEDC Conference yesterday, I had the opportunity to speak about one of the most critical aspects of economic development: the workforce pitch. As site selectors and corporate decision-makers evaluate communities, the strength and clarity of a community’s workforce narrative can be a deciding factor. Having been on the public side myself, I know all too well that getting it right - is hard! It requires more than listing stats and rattling off partnerships. Here’s a recap of what I shared for those interested in improving your workforce pitch.

1. Make the right audience the center of your pitch, not your resources

A good workforce pitch doesn’t revolve around listing your assets. It centers the audience — a CEO or HR executive trying to figure out how they’re going to hire 200 or 1,000 people with specific skills under a tight timeline. Your message should walk them through how your community’s ecosystem solves that exact problem. Don’t assume they’ll connect the dots themselves. Show how your workforce resources translate into real outcomes for them. Provide a ramp-up Gantt chart, organize which resources participate at each stage, provide best practice examples, etc. What would an HR executive provide to their CEO about this site selection decision? Make it easy for them to solve the pain points and create narrative that sings in your community.

2. Avoid hyperbole and make the story unique to your community

The strongest workforce pitches don’t rely on vague superlatives like “best in the region” or “ready-made workforce.” They tell a story and value proposition that is specific, grounded, and impossible for another community to copy. I’ll admit, I’ve made this mistake myself. When I was pitching York County, SC, I used to proudly say, “York Tech is one of the best technical colleges in the country.” I still believe it’s one of the greatest, but when I switched to the private side, I realized how heavily economic developers rely on these statements. My advice is to ask yourself, how is this technical college or the workforce ecosystem different from the rest? Organize these bullets into a compelling story, and the specificity will help convey a more convincing narrative.

3. Help them see it, touch it, believe it

Executives need more than data. They need to visualize their success in your community. That means your pitch should be tangible and sensory — something they can see, feel, even imagine experiencing. A photo of a training center when the parking lot is full, a walk-through with a facility manager, or a conversation with a recent graduate can do more than a brochure ever will. If they can picture themselves being successful there, half the battle is won.

4. Be honest about your workforce challenges

When a community says, “We don’t foresee any problems from a staffing perspective for your project,” consultants typically raise a red flag. Every market in the country has workforce issues. What we want to know is, what are your area’s painpoints and how are you proactively tackling them? I joke that in existing industry interviews, I often ask, “Why aren’t people showing up to work? Is it deer season, or is it meth?” It sounds harsh, but it’s how we uncover the truth. If we don’t know the real challenges, we can’t plan for success. It’s also an incredible opportunity for communities to proactively address deficiencies in their workforce data.

5. Brand your workforce ecosystem

When touring 5-10 communities, and each community has 5-10 workforce partners, it can be easy for clients to get lost in the alphabet soup of workforce training programs. It’s incredible that these assets are available, but it can be difficult to determine how they work together. We encourage economic developers to help their workforce partners build a cohesive, branded team. Demonstrate that all these resources come together as a holistic solution in a streamlined process. By communicating, for example, from one integrated workforce pitch deck (instead of separate PowerPoints), you take a huge leap towards building credibility that this team is deeply integrated and has confidence in delivering a qualified and sustainable pipeline of talent.

Land Strategies is passionate about helping communities craft sharper, more authentic workforce pitches that resonate with today’s decision-makers. If these insights were helpful and you’d like to keep the conversation going, we’d welcome the chance to connect and explore how we can collaborate to strengthen your message.