We’ve been very fortunate at Bailey Gardiner. We win more new business pitches than we lose, and when we really, really want a new client, we do everything we can to ensure they choose us.  But wow, anybody that thinks it’s easy to pitch new business is crazy.  It’s damn hard work, especially in this economic climate.

In the end, it all comes down to two things: creativity and chemistry.  It’s just the dance it takes to get there that ties people up in knots, and to those who are on the outside looking in, it appears as one long, choreographed waltz.  That’s why my theme today compares new business pitching to a reality show dance contest — because that’s what it really is:  a contest based on our creative interpretations of data and the chemistry we inspire in the presentation.

Ok, sounds a little silly.  However, any agency people reading this are probably chuckling and nodding their heads right now in agreement, while others might be scratching their heads wondering if I had a little wine while blogging.  So let me elaborate.

• Potential new clients rarely give you enough time to adequately prepare, because they need the information NOW in order to make a decision and move their marketing program forward.  Contestants on reality TV shows like So You Think You Can Dance (SYTYCD from here on) are only given a few days to learn a complex new dance routine.

• The agency is forced to cram its talent, creativity, focus and attention into a very short period of time and in the end, produce a beautifully orchestated new business pitch that includes ideas, strategy and complex integrated marketing disciplines that resonate with the potential new clients.  SYTYCD contestants must learn a new dance each week, perform it on live television in front of an audience of millions, and be ripped apart by cartoonish “jidges” whose critiques can be both canny and ridiculous.

• The whole pitch process plays out over a series of weeks, as client and agency exchange information, parlay back and forth with questions and answers, negotiate budgets and compensation models at a fever pitch, and execute a complex series of maneuevers.  SYTYCD is 12 weeks of highs and lows, the ridiculous and the sublime, as the audience (and jidges) watches dancers execute a series of complex maneuevers.

• The pitch usually starts with a longer list of top agencies under consideration by the client, which is narrowed to a shorter list as some agencies are cut from the pack, and two usually make it to the end of the competition.  In SYTYCD, a field of 20 dancers is narrowed as two are eliminated each week until finally the last two remaining dancers compete for the ultimate prize.

• The winner of the new biz pitch is the agency that (presumably) has the best ideas, the best presentation and the best chemistry with the client. The winner of SYTYCD is the dancer with the best choreography, the best presentation, and the best personality and bond with the audience.

See, not so different really.

Except it’s not some silly reality dance show. It’s our creative talent and brainpower, our chosen profession, our egos and our livelihood on the line.  Our potential new clients, however “jidgemental” they might be, are counting on finding an agency that will lead them to exceed their expectations and surpass their goals.  They want to know they are making the right decision.

So we dance. And hopefully we’re both hearing the same music — because when we do, it can be a very beautiful thing.  Good thing at Bailey Gardiner we know a lot of moves.