The Atlanta Falcons gave us a perfect illustration about how
to win or lose. It doesn’t matter that
they were playing football and in the agency world we are trying to win new
business. They broke what may be the most important rule in the new business
game.
--- Rule #1 in winning pitches: Make sure you don’t lose ---
While New England played a truly heroic game and did
everything that they could to notch a win, they never should have been given
the opportunity. Atlanta didn’t just
shoot themselves in the foot by passing and getting sacked with 4:30 left in
the game, an eight point lead and the ball at the New England twenty yard
line. They then proceed to blow their
entire foot off with a holding penalty on the next play. Had they simply ran the ball three times from
the twenty yard line, ran down some time and kicked a field goal, they would
have given the ball back to New England with about three minutes left and an
eleven point lead.
Think about times where your agency has done the same
thing. Think about times where your
agency didn’t just not win…you actually lost the pitch. Part of winning pitches is making sure that
you make no mistakes. That does not mean
that you need a perfect strategy or perfect creative. It means that you need to execute
flawlessly. Make sure that you are not
only providing reasons for the prospect to hire you. You also need to make sure that you are not
making any mistakes that cause them not to hire you.
Some mistakes that could give the prospect a reason not to
hire you, in spite of some terrific work:
-
A lack of cohesion on the team which is
evidenced by people talking over each other during Q and A
-
Presenting two different strategies (because you
want to be safe) which makes you look like you have no point of view
-
Making creative recommendations that are so
strong they make you look difficult to work with
-
Running over on time which gives the impression
that you would rather talk at the client than listen to them
-
These are just a few example but you get where I am
going. Sometimes you win a pitch because
the other agencies simply lose the pitch.
New England is a tremendous team and they did everything
necessary to win. But did Atlanta simply
give the game away. Did Seattle do the
same thing last year by passing on first and goal only to get intercepted?
As you create your pitch deck, look at from two
perspectives. First, am I doing
everything that I need to do to bring home a win? Second, am I doing anything that could cause
me to give the pitch away to another agency?
Mark Schnurman is
President of Filament Inc., a communication training and new business
consulting firm that works exclusively with both consumer and pharma agencies.
