Are you hitting home with your pitch?

Continuing the theme from last week’s blog…it was McDonald’s UK’s 40th birthday last month.  40th? …really?! Don’t know about you, but it made me feel old!

Anyway…as a (rather talented, if I say so myself) ex burger flipper, I thought I’d mark the occasion by revisiting one of my favourite books – ‘Grinding it Out’, by McDonald’s Founder, Ray Kroc.

It’s a really good read, full of gems, and if you haven’t read it, I highly recommend that you do.

There’s a sentence fairly early on in the book that struck a chord with me, and may well resonate with you too.  It comes when Kroc is talking about his time as a ribbon salesmen, and how he became a big success by getting to know his customers and understanding what each individual needed.

‘No self respecting pitcher throws the same to every batter’, he says, ‘and no self respecting [business owner] makes the same pitch to every client.’

Oops!

Talk about ‘hitting home’!  That sentence really did, as I realised that I had been pitching the same ball to all of my clients for the last few months.

Ok, so I’m really passionate about what I do, and I want my clients to benefit from everything I have to offer – even when they don’t want everything (ring a bell?).  Those words from Ray Kroc made me recognise that I’ve not been listening…or only half listening to my clients…letting my passion and enthusiasm cloud my judgement.

As a result I’ve not tailored my offer sufficiently to my clients needs…suggested that they invest in a meal at The Ivy, when what they were after was burger n fries.

And guess what the outcome has been?

Yup. Lost customers.

Expensive wake up call…but I get it now! My eyes are open and, more importantly, so are my ears…both of them!

Are yours?

For more information on how MPL can help you visit www.mariannepage.co.uk or contact me on hello@mariannepage.co.uk