Tom Lewis wrote a LinkedIn post titled Consultative Selling: Beating the Odds.
« When you pitch for business, most often the fix is already in… If you don’t know who has the inside track, then it’s most definitely not you. »
« Chasing New Biz blindly and becoming ever more desperate for revenue is a vicious downward spiral that rarely ends well. »
« Many years ago, I learnt a key insight about New Businesses; if you push back early in the pitch process and the client accommodates you, and if the client then continues to grant significant concessions during the process that they do not grant to anyone else, then this is a sign that they see you as meaningfully differentiated and that your odds of winning are greatly improved. »
« So, if you have a meaningfully differentiated offering, if you do something that either no-one else does or at least you do it to a much higher level of skill, then be prepared to challenge the pitch process early on; if a client is prepared to kick you out of a pitch at an early stage for a challenge, this simply confirms you were never a serious contender and will save you the expense and heartache of losing later on. »
« In 2021, I collected six inspiring stories of agencies winning New Business on the strength of their thinking and client offering alone. In many cases they were invited to pitch but declined to do so, as they saw that the client’s thinking was flawed and therefore the business problem had not been defined correctly.
In all cases, their polite refusal to enter the pitch led to a much more interesting and insightful conversation with the client and ultimately to them being awarded the business. »
Articles of Interest 