The Perils Of Changing Your Pitch

Here’s a tasty morsel I caught over the weekend. Inc.com’s instagram posting quoting a 2.0 watcher. Discussing his travails when originally pitching for funds.

It struck a toned chord. Many times I’ve had to rein salespeople in on this score.

Check out the barrage of pitches required. 150. Over 18 months.

I hate the sea of blank eyes in a room when I explain this unwelcome inevitability and the diligent prolonged workload ahead.

In terms of the actual words themselves, salespeople get unduly influenced by one seemingly mega prospect. The hoped-for client wishes to see a specific feature. The desire to please then diverts the entire development effort. Yet that potential customer turns out to have not really been interested in the first place at all. And in the meantime you’ve missed the boat with more willing ears elsewhere. Floored by one classic odious flavour of tyre-kicking.

Also, as described by Inc above, the last conversation you have overly influences your next pitch. And the misfiring spiral spins you forever sidewards.

It’s a challenge I face. Promoting tight qualification and tunnelled focus. You are not after every single person you speak to as a client. You are after just one. Which is snugly aligned to where you want to go.

Anyone in our solution world with even a modicum of exposure to a new product launch will wince at the memory of when they’ve won a customer that they knew at the time to be far from ideal. The fit mismatched. And the trauma of fire-fighting and blind alleys and time sucked out of your valuable selling hours. Needlessly spent on handling calls that you know are nothing to do with where the product, company and you are supposed to be heading. Let alone the newly acquired customer.

There’s a key balance to maintain. Your core problem resolution at the expense of future additions. Keep on the right side of the scales.