James Crawley is director of business, Common Ventures
One of the first things I was taught in advertising was simple: be impressive, have an answer for everything.
Never show weakness. Very Sun Tzu, I know. But it made sense – clients were paying for agencies to make their life easier, not listen to problems. Clients want a projection of competence and proficiency at all times, I was told.
This was important in the day-to-day – but paramount when pitching.
Pitching. Shudders with excitement. The most exhilarating, frustrating and anxiety-inducing aspect of creativity.
At the beginning of this year, we were invited to pitch on a very exciting piece of business in the financial sector.
Meetings were booked. Heads were scratched. Pitch presentations laboured over. Created. Cut down. Thrown out. Made anew. The usual pitch anxiety set in. Had we over-thought it? Would they like us?
And then March happened – with all of the associated disruption you’d expect – or not.
Most troubling though – our in-person pitch was now relegated to video conference. In fact – this was the first pitch we’d ever been in, without a physical presentation.
We are a passionate bunch of humans, and like all creative agencies, our people are what you’re buying. But now, the most important part of the pitch itself – the chemistry – would be beholden to a 2D screen and modulated audio.
How could we accelerate a relationship without all being grouped in a room? How would we demonstrate what we’re like when we’re all dialling in from different locations?
For the pitch presentation four of us from the agency are in one room (sitting on stools the required 1.5 metres apart).
Slowly but surely, the client team begins to log in – quickly we realise we are speaking to nine individual locations. Not ideal for small talk.
And we’re off. We’d worked hard to deliver a thoroughly considered document that we believed in – and the presentation seemed to be going well. However, we knew that it was all for naught, if the people on the other end of the video conference didn’t like us.
I know that sounds petty – but it’s been proven for a very long time – people work with people they like. If you get on, you can challenge each other without reproach. If you get on, you are more likely to trust each other. Trust makes work more fun, more efficient and lets you stress over the work, rather than the relationship.
But alas, we’re 90 minutes into our pitch. And the talking has been all one way. Typically, not a great sign.
Question time. The Chief Strategy Officer for Bank Australia, someone who had been with the bank for over 25 years, says a curt but polite thank you, and then informs the team he’ll ask his question last.
Our strategic lead starts sweating. What immensely complex question is brewing on the other end of the line? A futurist question about the next 30 years of financial services? Or something even curlier?
The team asks some specific questions around the concepts in the presentation, as we dance around our webcam in a synchronised 1.5m COVID-19 waltz. We’re answering the questions – no one has been mortally offended – we’re proud of the work – no massive alarm bells. Even so – the chemistry isn’t exactly exploding across the screen. The proverbial ice was still well and truly intact.
The wider team’s questions answered, Mr Strategy takes the floor. Our team holds their breath – minds racing.
Our lead strategist ceases all movement and forgets how to operate his body...
“I have two questions for you, and I’d like you all to answer individually. I’d like to know ‘Who believes most in you?’ and ‘What brings you to tears?’”
POW. It could have been the stress of the pitch, or the new COVID-19 reality we were all coming to grips with – but as we each took our turns interpreting those questions – some real truths began to spill out. Our family histories, struggles with depression, our interpersonal relationship as colleagues, our desire to see change in the world – or the fact we were simply there for each other.
There were tears right out of the gate. It was an incredibly memorable moment – the most emotion I’d ever seen, felt or exchanged in a professional setting.
And then we asked the same question right back. And the tears restarted up like a faulty sprinkler. By the end of his answer, the pitch looked like the most emotionally drained Brady Bunch a laptop had ever seen.
With those two basic questions, we went from an agency / client dynamic to a dozen people sharing insights into what it is to be human. We came away from that call with what felt like a deep understanding of each other.
We all broke the rules around sharing weakness. We were vulnerable. Instead of a potential client losing confidence in us, it accelerated our relationship well past anything possible over a beer. As it turns out – smart
people in labs have been banging on about this for years!
“One key pattern associated with the development of a close relationship among peers is sustained, escalating, reciprocal, personal self-disclosure.”
Rowan Dowland (Mr Strategy) has spent a significant portion of his career building a team of clever and authentic people who reflect the kind of organisation Bank Australia aspires to be. I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised his line of questioning should attempt to discover the same in his agency.
“You know I didn't have any questions prepared at the start of the pitch and I'd certainly not shared anything with the team. I decided just to ask a couple of questions from the heart… When appointing partners, technical expertise is a given. But we need real people with a strong sense of honesty and compassion,” he said.
So – is the "aura of infallibility" still the way to go? Or is it better to get vulnerable? I’m not sure – all I know is that in the moment, we each forgot the context of the pitch and spoke simply as people. And it’s something I think our industry needs a bit more of. Maybe also a way to break down the screens that potentially threaten the creative energy between colleagues as well.
Have a pitch coming up? Give it a whirl. Tears optional.
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