Credence Briefwhata Revival
A few weeks ago we were delightfully asked to present our credentials to a prospective client. A meeting was set up, but soon we received another call. Instead of presenting creds, could we help contribute to solving a problem? Would we immediately take a brief and instead present our thoughts on the issue? Absolutely! we cried in unison, excited at the prospect of adding value from our very first meeting.
After receiving the brief, we formulated our plan, reviewed our existing knowledge, spoke to contacts in this category, defined areas where we had gaps, gathered 2 (Qual) groups of healthcare professionals, confirmed/chucked out some stuff, structured our argument and wrote the presentation. Last Friday, we got on the train, rehearsed, arrived and presented.
Once it was over, we began to think about this slightly off-centre approach. Why do we stick with generic credentials presentations that often serve up a beauty parade of materials but don’t get to grips with our team, approach and hunger? Getting instantly into a project with a challenge is a better test of our strength. We’re here to solve problems, not self promote. It struck us was how much better it feels to be serving a purpose. Rather than demonstrating the past, we worked with the present to directly benefit the team we were with.
The agency world insists on its clients understanding its audience. We strive for brands to have meaningful conversations with people, not self-obsessed monologues. It’s great to be afforded the same with the agency brand and its potential client team. I guess for us the learning is always to ask whether there is something we can help with, rather than taking the easy option of the off-the-shelf slide deck.
Sophie said (April 21st, 2008 at 2:39pm)
Nice idea Tim. When you put it like that it seems obvious, but agencies always seem to choose to show off what they have already done. Perhaps it feels safer for them, but I would applaude your approach of setting out to contribute from the word go.
Christophe said (June 2nd, 2008 at 9:45am)
Nice approach indeed.
Back to basics, selling is answering a (unmet) need. What prospective clients are most interested in is themselves. The only pitfall of what you describe is that inviting you for this kind of Creds Presentation may become for prospective clients a cost efficient way to solve problems. Have you considered an “educational” Credentials presentation (delivering a training on a specific topic as a part of the presentation) to avoid this pitfall, bring benefits to your prospects , and not have the burden to prepare yourselves on a case by case basis in a rush as described in your post ?
Jas Hummel said (June 2nd, 2008 at 4:09pm)
One way to ensure that this is not ‘one-way traffic’, is for the agency to have a good understanding of the opportunity, the assessment criteria and the decision making process, often which are driven out of purchasing/procurement. A mutually beneficial setting which drives defined value can only help both parties hugely.
Interesting proposal about taking an “educational” angle, could you suggest any topics you feel would be productive in this instance?