The Pitch

Maybe he hasn't noticed me. That's just one of the rationalizations that marketers tend to make when the consumer is not paying attention. In man-woman relationships that tends to be wrong.

In fact, you could take the time it took you to notice him and cut that in half - and that's how long it took him to notice you. It's a crowded marketplace and there are just too many products and services out there, continues the rationalization, let me shout louder.

You make your pitch, but the likelihood that it's going to work depends on that person being already predisposed to seeing you for them to listen. Maybe he's just not that into you.

Social media is adding opportunity to see that clearly. Two days ago I posted about agency blogs I enjoy reading. There were four main kinds of reactions to the post:

1. Thank you for reading and linking and here are some suggestions of other blogs authored by peers on the agency side - these are the folks I'd call and ask for a pitch. This is customer relationships for the agency I read and some branding for the friends they refer.

2. Good list and please add my blog - these are the folks I might consider visiting with, good contextual marketing.

3. A link to my post with something to the extent of "we'd like to be on that list'' or we thank so and so for adding us to the list - this is good brand stewardship and PR.

4. Hey, if you ever need an ad agency, call us - this is advertising as it's done today. One shot, one fly by, mainly in the dark. There is no relationship and little indication that there is the will to have one.

The pitch works much better when it's part of the conversation and a natural progression of it. In the same way that manufacturing and hardware became services and solutions, then outcome and experience, with social media, marketing has the opportunity to go from impersonal and mass constructed to personal and potentially tailored to the situation.

[brochure of Atwater Kent Radio]

Comments

[Beth Harte]

Hi Valeria, thanks for sharing the feedback to your recent post. It's very interesting to see how agencies are embracing social media and the responses you received are truly indicative of their understanding and ability to implement it for themselves (and, hopefully, their clients). Conversation is key. I won't hire any agency without a non-pitch conversation. I want to know *who* I am hiring, not *what.* And what can you say about those that consistently fall into category #4?! There are no words. The Value of Not Listening strikes again! [http://tinyurl.com/5py892]

Thanks!
Beth

[Valeria Maltoni]

Beth:

Good point on the distinction of "who" and "what". It is time to step forward and be known. I also starting to be aware of the fact that more than not listening, it's the habits of the way things are done that keep us from progress and change.

More and more, individuals and companies are asked to solve problems with incomplete information and resources and support are often insufficient. The stress caused by a combination of these elements pushes people back into what they know - success as defined by what used to work.

[laurent]

We use the concept and term of "actionable influence(tm)". It's your potential, as a marketer, to influence somebody (thus the term actionable). With this potential, a request/a pitch will be more likely to be noticed and relayed. For example, Steve Jobs may be one of the very top high tech influencer but very few marketers have the power to influence him (even may be...at Apple ;-)). On the other hand, those who are in a marketers' LinkedIn or Facebook networks are likely to pay attention to a pitch because it's relevant (the relationship exists because of some kind of shared purpose) and they know you (you know them too) - All that is now possible thanks to social media as the conversation may, overtime, transform in a relationship.

[Valeria Maltoni]

I like that, actionable influence(tm). Shared purpose is a powerful attractor - we learn that in movies and novels... and it works in reality. I am puzzled by those who behave like seagulls on LinkedIn questions. You know, those who fly in, make a mess, and fly out. Those moments have a way of staying memorable - and so they do ;-)