Client tricks to disrupt pitches #2 – the no-meal meal

Clients are increasingly using tricks to disrupt well-honed pitch processes, in order to differentiate between those who are just great at pitching, from those who are actually great. 

This one happens over a “working lunch” or “working dinner”, but it’s not a convivial meal with wine and small talk. But the kind where you never reach the main course because you are the main course.

I’ve been grilled in this way a few times. A deputy permanent secretary once used the technique on us at a dinner, when we were sniffing around a major privatisation. Another time, I found myself opposite a senior executive at the world’s largest consumer goods company, in one of their private dining rooms. The food was untouched. What mattered was the hour-long cross-examination on everything from macroeconomic stability to what we’d say if called upon to defend a scandal-hit government minister.

Noticeably absent: any reference to their actual company. Or their brief. Or our firm, or indeed anything connected to the pitch. This was no oversight. It was deliberate. The executive wasn’t trying to discover if we’d read their annual report. He wanted to know if we could think on our feet. Could we handle unexpected pressure? Could we remain credible when blindsided? And, most importantly, were we people he’d want around when the phones started ringing at 2 a.m. on a crisis day?

Fast forward to today and the topics might be different—perhaps the communications aspects of the deputy prime minister’s property dealings, or our thoughts on the Bank of England Governor’s musings at Jackson Hole. But the principle is unchanged: clients want to see how you think, not just what you know.

This is one of the unwritten rules of pitching: sometimes the test is not about your deck, your fee proposal, or your media contacts. It’s about you. Do you sound like someone they could trust with their reputation on the line?

So, how do you arm yourself in case this happens to you? There’s no substitute for being curious and well-informed. Think of the FT and The Economist as being your friends here. To use that old expression: read widely and have a well-furnished mind.

So if you find yourself “invited to lunch” during a potential or live pitch, don’t be surprised if the menu is never opened. You may already be on the grill.

As always, there’s much to do and time is short, so good luck and get cracking.