pitch unfairly

Arcade · Sales

Mr. Darcy, 1813. Pitched unfairly, 2026.

The worst pitch in English literature, and the comeback. Same story, same numbers. Rebuilt the way we'd pitch it today.

Template: Win-back deck

  • 2 proposals
  • 1 letter by 8 a.m.
  • £2,000+ to fix Wickham
Play the 2026 deck Read the real story Steal the structure
1813 Win-back deck

Mr. Darcy

The worst pitch in English literature, and the comeback.

Legend
Original craft
Unfair

The story→10 slides

It's a live deck. Press start, then scroll or use the arrow keys, or play it full screen.

Play the 2026 deck

Mr. Darcy's win-back deck, slide by slide

Every slide opens the live deck right where it is.

  1. Mr. Darcy deck, slide 1: In vain have I struggled. So I made a deck. 01In vain have I struggled. So I made a deck.
  2. Mr. Darcy deck, slide 2: We lost you at Hunsford. You told us exactly why. 02We lost you at Hunsford. You told us exactly why.
  3. Mr. Darcy deck, slide 3: It may be the worst pitch in English literature. 03It may be the worst pitch in English literature.
  4. Mr. Darcy deck, slide 4: Three objections. One to explain, two to fix. 04Three objections. One to explain, two to fix.
  5. Mr. Darcy deck, slide 5: You heard Wickham’s side. We sent receipts by eight. 05You heard Wickham’s side. We sent receipts by eight.
  6. Mr. Darcy deck, slide 6: Every charge, struck through by something we did. 06Every charge, struck through by something we did.
  7. Mr. Darcy deck, slide 7: You didn’t hear it from us. You saw it at Pemberley. 07You didn’t hear it from us. You saw it at Pemberley.
  8. Mr. Darcy deck, slide 8: It cost us in pounds. It cost us more in pride. 08It cost us in pounds. It cost us more in pride.
  9. Mr. Darcy deck, slide 9: Same offer as April. Entirely new terms. 09Same offer as April. Entirely new terms.
  10. Mr. Darcy deck, slide 10: One word from you. No follow-up letters. 10One word from you. No follow-up letters.

Then · 1813

How it really went

Read the real storyJane Austen, Pride and Prejudice (1813), via Project Gutenberg
  1. Hunsford, April: Darcy proposes, calling her family beneath him
  2. He had "no doubt of a favourable answer"; she refuses
  3. Her reasons: Jane and Bingley, Wickham, his arrogance and conceit
  4. "Had you behaved in a more gentlemanlike manner"
  5. Next morning, a letter: the truth about Wickham, with a witness
  6. Pemberley: he is civil to her uncle from trade and introduces his sister
  7. Lydia elopes with Wickham; Darcy finds them in London
  8. He pays Wickham's debts, settles £1,000 on Lydia, buys the commission, takes no credit
  9. He tells Bingley he was wrong about Jane; they get engaged
  10. The walk near Longbourn: "one word from you will silence me"
  11. She accepts; he asks her father that evening

Now · 2026 · 10 slides

What we changed

  • The first pitch gets a call reviewFour of Darcy's own lines from Hunsford, each red-penned like a sales coach would ("Insults the buyer's family. Mid-pitch."), circled 0/4.
  • Every objection gets struck throughHer charges from chapter 34 strike out one by one, each replaced by what he actually did. Click a row to put the charge back.
  • The cost, in pounds and in prideAn account book straight from Mrs. Gardiner's letter: more than £2,000 counted up on one side; on the other, the total is Wickham as a brother-in-law.
  • April versus today, at the flick of a switchThe two proposals side by side, line for line, from "In vain have I struggled" to "one word from you will silence me on this subject for ever."

Steal the structure

Build your win-back deck like Mr. Darcy did.

  1. 01 Cover Name what you are asking for again, with a line they will recognise.
  2. 02 Why we lost The loss on record, with their reason in their own words.
  3. 03 Own the failure Review your last pitch honestly. No excuses, no "but".
  4. 04 What we heard Play back each objection and sort it: misinformation to explain, fair points to fix.
  5. 05 Set the record straight Answer the misinformation with documents and a witness, fast.
  6. 06 What we changed Each objection beside the specific change that answers it.
  7. 07 Proof Evidence they have seen for themselves, ideally unscripted, plus one reference.
  8. 08 What it cost us The investment behind the change, in money and in pride. It proves the change is real.
  9. 09 The new offer Old pitch and new pitch side by side: same value, new terms.
  10. 10 Low-risk next step One small decision in their hands, with what happens either way and an owner on each side.

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