How to Pitch a Lunch and Learn to a Larger Company
Divorce doesn't stay at home. When an employee is going through one, it shows up at work: in missed days, in distraction, in questions about benefits, schedules, and money that they may not know who to ask. Most companies know this. Few have anything in place to help.
That's where a lunch and learn comes in. A short, educational session for employees or managers gives a company a practical way to support people through a hard life transition. For a divorce professional, it's a chance to share what you know with a room full of people, build credibility with an organization, and become the name people remember when they, or someone they know, need help later.
This post walks through how to find the right person to pitch, how to frame your session so a company says yes, what to put in the pitch itself, and what to do after.
Who to pitch
At a larger company, the person who books a lunch and learn is rarely the CEO. Depending on how the company is organized, look for someone in one of these roles:
Human resources or people operations. The broadest starting point, and often the team that owns employee programming.
Benefits. Benefits teams field questions about health insurance, retirement accounts, and beneficiaries, all of which change during a divorce.
Wellbeing or wellness. Many companies run a monthly or quarterly speaker series and need topics to fill it.
Employee resource groups. Groups for working parents, women, or caregivers often have their own small budgets and are actively looking for speakers.
Learning and development. A good fit if your session is aimed at managers, such as how to support a team member going through a hard personal time.
A warm introduction works better than a cold email. Start with the people you already know: past colleagues, your professional network, your local chamber of commerce, and the other professionals you refer to. Ask whether they know someone in HR or benefits at a larger employer. Never reach out to a company through a current or former client without their clear go-ahead, and keep client confidentiality in mind throughout.
If you don't have a warm connection, LinkedIn is the most practical place to find the right person by title. A short, specific message to the right person beats a general inquiry to a company's info address.
Frame the topic so people will come
Here's the challenge with a session called "Getting Through Divorce." The people who need it most may not want to be seen walking into it. A coworker noticing them in the room, or their name on a registration list, can be enough to keep them away.
A broader title solves this. Frame the session around a life transition, money, family, or managing work through a hard time, and let divorce be one of the situations it covers. Everyone can attend without explaining why, and the content can still be specific.
Some examples by profession:
Financial planner or CDFA: "Your Finances Through Life's Big Changes"
Family law attorney or mediator: "Family Law Basics Every Employee Should Know"
Therapist or coach: "Managing Stress When Life Changes at Home"
Co-parenting specialist: "Working Parents and Shared Custody: Making the Schedule Work"
Any profession, for managers: "Supporting a Team Member Through a Personal Crisis"
A few other details make attending easier. A virtual or recorded option lets people watch privately. An anonymous question form, sent before or during the session, gets you the questions people won't ask out loud. Ask your contact whether either is possible.
What goes in the pitch
The people who book these sessions are busy, and they're often juggling a dozen requests. A good pitch makes it easy to say yes. Keep it short and include:
Who you are, in one or two sentences, with a link to your website or your Fresh Starts expert profile.
The session title and two or three things attendees will take away.
The format: how long it runs (30 to 45 minutes works well for a lunch slot), whether it can be virtual or in person, and who it's for.
A note that it's educational, not a sales presentation. This matters to HR teams.
What it costs, or that it's complimentary.
A link to a one-page session outline, so they can forward it internally without having to write anything themselves.
That last point does a lot of the work. Your contact usually needs approval from someone else, and a ready-made outline saves them the trouble of explaining it.
Here's a sample you can adapt:
Hi [Name],
I'm [your name], a [your profession] who works with people going through divorce and other major family changes. I'm reaching out because I offer a free 40-minute lunch and learn for employees called "[Session title]."
Attendees leave with [takeaway one], [takeaway two], and [takeaway three]. It's purely educational, with no sales pitch, and it works well virtually or in person. Because the topic can feel personal, I'm happy to take questions anonymously.
You can find a one-page outline of the session [here], and more about my background [here].
If this might be a fit for your wellbeing calendar or one of your employee groups, I'd be glad to work around your schedule.
Best,
[Your name]
Pricing, professional rules, and keeping it educational
Free or paid. Many professionals offer their first session at a company for free, since it's easier to approve and it gets you in the room. That's a reasonable place to start, but it isn't the only option. Larger companies often have a budget for speakers, so it's fine to ask whether there's an honorarium available. Once you have a few sessions and some feedback behind you, charging a fee becomes easier to justify.
Professional rules. Some professions have specific rules about marketing, solicitation, and the line between general information and individual advice. Attorneys and licensed mental health professionals in particular should check what applies to them before pitching and before presenting. Your professional association is usually the best place to ask.
Educational, not promotional. The fastest way to lose an HR team's trust is to turn a lunch and learn into a sales pitch. Teach something useful, answer questions in general terms, and let the quality of the session do the marketing. At the end, it's perfectly appropriate to share a handout with helpful resources and your contact details, so anyone who wants to follow up privately knows how.
Following up, and making the most of a yes
If you don't hear back, send one short follow-up after a week or two. Something like: "Just bringing this back to the top of your inbox in case it's useful for your wellbeing calendar." If there's still no reply, let it go and try someone else. Corporate calendars move slowly, and a no today is often a maybe next quarter.
When you do get a yes:
Ask about the audience in advance: how many people, which teams, and whether managers will attend.
Send your outline and handout ahead of time, so your contact can promote the session internally.
Ask for feedback afterward. A short quote from the organizer is useful the next time you pitch.
Ask whether other teams might benefit. One good session at a large company often leads to another, for a different department or employee group.
Over time, a few completed sessions become your strongest pitch. "I've presented this session at [Company] and [Company]" makes the next yes much easier.