Harness a unique combination
of art world and proposals industry expertise.

Formerly Global Head of Proposals at Sotheby’s, Will McPhail combines 15 years of experience in the art and luxury world with deep professional expertise in pitch strategy, enablement and delivery. 

A member of the Association of Proposals Management Professionals (APMP), Will has been a proposal writer himself; led proposal teams spanning London, New York, Paris and Hong Kong; and advised a range of companies within and outside of the art world.

Equally comfortable discussing strategy, analytics, creative practices or technology, he is a regular at fairs, talks and conferences – in both the arts and proposals spheres – and has lectured at Sotheby’s Institute of Art on Understanding and Using ‘Art Market’ Data and on Innovation & Diversification in a Changing Marketplace.

15 years’ experience

1,000+ projects

“Will is a true proposals expert who completely transformed our RFP response process and slide templates. Over the agreed six-month engagement, he collaborated closely with our sales, product, operations and commercial teams to deeply understand our business and articulate our value proposition effectively. Will didn’t just deliver templates, he immersed himself in live RFPs to see the process in action, dramatically improving the quality and impact of our responses. Thanks to his work, we’ve already seen a significant year-over-year increase in our win rate. Looking ahead, we’re excited to continue partnering with Will for strategic support on major RFPs. Thank you!”

Tucker Marsano, Marketing Manager Climate Impact Partners

“Will McPhail is an invaluable partner to Patti Wong & Associates. As a small team, the ability to expand our capabilities on demand is critical and this is where Will makes a real difference. He combines excellent writing skills and industry understanding, shaped by his experience at Sotheby’s. Will contributes thoughtful ideas, understands our audience intuitively, and consistently adds value well beyond the brief.”

Harriet Louth, Client Liaison & Advisor Patti Wong & Associates

“It was a such a pleasure working with Your Culture Pitch. Will is a brilliant professional who combines a strong strategic understanding of his clients’ needs with great attention to detail and a very high level of visual sophistication, resulting in work that is both beautiful and highly effective. The presentation he produced for us was clear, elegant and concise and the whole collaboration was seamless and enjoyable from start to finish. Highly recommended!!”

The OneArt Advisory Team

Past Work

Projects

Since setting up Your Culture Pitch, Will has worked with a variety of clients, including art advisory firms, auction houses and a leading retailer in the voluntary carbon market.

Over the course of his career at Sotheby’s, Will played a critical role in winning high-value business and promoting the company’s brand and services, having written or directly overseen over 1,000 proposals and presentations in pursuit of:

  • Auction & Private Sale Consignments

  • Client Cultivation

  • Brand Partnerships

  • Corporate Partnerships

  • Creative Collaborations

  • Charitable Initiatives

  • Joint Ventures

Will is adept at digesting complex, varied briefs, managing multiple stakeholders, collaborating with subject matter experts and designers and tailoring pitches to a diverse breath of audiences, including:

  • Governments

  • Charities

  • Artists

  • Designers

  • Musicians

  • Chefs

  • Sportspeople

  • Collectors

  • Lawyers

  • Fiduciaries

  • Advisors

  • Corporations

  • Dealers

  • Museums

Sales Enablement

Will also has considerable experience with innovation and change management within complex organisations – helping to cut costs, optimise ROI, respond faster to opportunities, inform sales teams and strengthen brand messaging.

At Sotheby’s, he initiated and led a global enablement project to improve the quality of proposals and other client-facing documents – supporting 500+ users spanning 70 teams and 40 international locations.

Over the last couple of years he has been carefully following the rapid emergence of generative AI technologies in the proposals and marketing space – understanding how to get businesses ‘AI-ready’, identify the right technologies for different clients’ unique needs and prepare effective change management plans.

Banner Image: Wassily Kandinsky, Jaune-rouge-bleu, 1925