In professional services, there are times when we just have to do those beauty contests. I know. I just stopped "having to do 'em" about a year ago. Today in the WALL STREET JOURNAL Law Blog Ashby Jones describes the brutality of that ordeal.
But, once I figured out how I could manage all that as a learning experience, I really did get plenty out of it. And, of course, once I adjusted my attitude, I performed better and more business came my way. Here's what I have picked up from my own beauty-contest performances and those of colleagues about must-dos at the front end. They include:
- When a firm is starting out or considering developing a new practice, we can't turn up our nose at this opportunity. Think about it this way: It's useful to try out a pitch, mingle with the players, including the competitors, and to get a feel for the whole scene. I was experimenting with being a vendor for government agencies so I showed up for a beauty contest held by the New York Transit System. I learned plenty, so much that I crossed that option off my list.
- When a firm is slow, we might have to participate in a few contests again. This might be necessary but it's probably the worst time to pitch for business. The hunger can be palpable.
- When the firm is booming, this is a time when we might return to the pagent scene. Why? Well, we're pitching from a position of strength. Doing a beauty contest now and then also sharpens our selling skills. When we become so successful that work comes to us, we might wake up one day and find our edge gone.
- When the business is too lucrative or useful to our branding to not pitch for, why not. With so much money and/or reputational opportunity at stake, the bad taste goes away. And it's fun to be back in there, being a sales animal again.
Another major must-do at the front end is due diligence. We have to investigate:
- How many firms are pitching and, if the information is available, who are they. If there is a cast of thousands called in, you know the organization is having fun playing with you all. Yeah, there are plenty of sadists out there. Don't dare go there. If you do, shame on you.
- Is this organization difficult to work with? Contact your contacts at their previous law firms. If they are problematic, you want to bill this combat duty into the estimated fee.
- What is the organization looking for from a firm? Who on the committee has the real power or authority to hire? Pitch to that person. How does the organization prefer to communicate - PPP, Flip Chart, in-your-face? Does it prefer certain kinds of presenters in age, gender, ethnic origins? Call in all favors to get those answers.
- Is there any other business development you can piggyback on this when you're in that area? For example, having dinner with the Chief Counsel of Corporation X or delivering a pitch to Foundation Y. Bundling several business opportunities makes us feel like this investment of time and money is worth it.
In addition to making our sales presentation, there are other ways in which we can create value from this trip. They include:
- Smoothly collect intelligence from everyone, ranging from the organization to the competitors to the janitor. That entails shutting off the Blackberries, listening and talking. On those trips I used to pick up 100s of new leads and ideas about presenting my boutique in different ways.
- Position this as a faux vacation. Any time away from the scene of the crime can refresh us. Don't spend all of it working. Inform clients ahead of time that you will be out-of-pocket. If we don't break in clients to expect our availability 24/7, they get used to it.
- Think of this experience as an experiment in selling. Afterward we can reverse-engineer it, figuring out what we did well, what we can do better, and what to dump. Since everything keeps changing the marketplace keeps changing. That means we can never consider our selling skills a done deal.
How does it feel not to "have to do" beauty contests? Well, the question we all ask ourselves, and not gently enough, is why we submitted ourselves to so many in which the odds were against us. Yesterday, an organization in Washington D.C. personally called me to invite me to pitch. "I would be THRILLED to," I answered. "But I need my transportation paid for." It said it would get back to me. It did. It's popping for the plane.
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