Clients will always say it was the “thinking” or the “creative” that determined their choice because they feel like they need to make their selection based on a “professional” measure. The reality is that they decide based on the people . . . “I like them and I trust them to do the job.” That’s why casting is 90% of winning. And why you need to always put the best actors/ presenters on the pitch team. No exceptions.

Not the person. Just the title. No client is interested in meeting the “sales” person. They want to meet the people who they might be working with. So, throw away the VP/Business Development or CMO business cards and create a new title that at least sounds like they would be part of the client service team. You’ll get a lot better performance from them.

Based on interviews with over 50 senior decision-makers since the start of the financial melt-down in September, a whole new section is being added to the workshop that will expressly deal with how to convert new assignments in this crisis.