The Pitch Episode 31: Reframing Patience in Pitching

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On-demand, get-it-when-you-want-it service has warped our perception of waiting. Learn to gauge someone’s timeline to avoid looking too impatient.

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There’s very little patience in the world we live in today. If we want anything, Amazon delivers same day, next day or worst-case scenario, in two days. We don’t even have to wait in line at our favorite retail shops anymore. With mobile app orders, we can waltz right in, like a rockstar, and just pick it up. Has all this on-demand, get-it-when-you-want-it service warped our perception of how long we need to wait to close someone after pitching? It certainly has made us expect to get exactly what we want in a shorter amount of time. Before you send a follow-up pitch, remember you are dealing with human beings and not mobile apps. If you push too hard in too short of a timeframe you could lose the deal altogether. A good habit to develop in follow-up pitching is to ask the person when they would like to be followed-up with. Then follow their lead exactly. You can also ask questions that will help you determine their exact timeline. For example, you may ask: “When do you plan to launch this campaign?”; “What’s your deadline for this story?”; “Do you still have these dates available?”; “When do you plan to fill the position?” Based on their response you will be able to better set the expectation when it comes to closing the deal. “The Pitch” challenge today: Organize your leads into three categories called urgent, important and not urgent, based on the timeline that has been given to you by the person you are pitching. By putting your leads in these categories, it will help you reframe your patience when pitching and help you follow-up more precisely without appearing too impatient.

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