Pitchology

Brace yourselves.
I got it wrong.
I made a mistake.
And I’m happy to own up to the fact.
I spend so much of my time thinking about the psychology of pitching that I lost sight of the one immutable truth.
No matter how much you think you know about an outcome, you know nothing until you are told.
Shocking, isn’t it.
We were invited to participate in a multi-agency pitch for a major brand.
Time was precious, so all the IPG agencies were busy doing their own bit.
It was all very rushed.
Geographically we were all over the place.
When it came to the video-conference, our presentation was finished with just seconds to spare.
The client dialled in, late Friday evening, not the best time.
It wasn’t looking hopeful.
We did our thing but, I wasn’t sure we’d captured the room.
So it was a pleasant surprise on Saturday to hear that we were through to the next round.
Go team!
Even with my knowledge and experience, I’d come away thinking we’d lost it.
But that’s the thing – you never know what’s in the head of the guys across the table until they tell you.
You can rake over the coals and worry about what you could have done differently.
Until the client makes a decision, you have to stay positive and imagine it’s in the bag.
Otherwise you’re just wasting energy on an unknown outcome.
You might be surprised...