Life’s a pitch.

When I worked in advertising I learned a bit about winning new clients.

When an advertising agency wants to win new business, it usually has to pitch.

They don’t like to, and the bigger and more established and famous they are, the more aloof and grumpy about this they get.

They think ‘we shouldn’t need to do this, our reputation should be enough’.

But they understand that this is just how it works.

What they never assume is potential business is always theirs.

When they get an invitation to pitch, they throw everything they have, pulling in every resource to produce a sparkling presentation that will seduce the potential client into going forward with them, rather than the other two or three agencies with their hats in the ring.

Sometimes, I see restaurant bookings no differently.

We are looking for new customers, to form a long term relationship with.

Each restaurant customer is a client. They are making a decision about where to go for dinner.

Offering restaurants a chance to win their business.

Now, an annoying habit of customers is often they still haven’t made up their mind until the day but they don’t want to narrow their choices.

So they book a number of places in advance, with the intention of making their final decision nearer the time.

Frustrating, bad manners, but this is just how it is.

So at this moment, when a booking is made, rather than just taking it as confirmed, I like to consider ourselves being invited to pitch, up against the best other restaurants in the business.

We are down to the last three or four.

We need to win that pitch.

So after receiving a booking, now is the time to produce our best work, in order to make sure that booking remains ours and goes ahead.

We ask them as many details as possible. The more familiar you get, the more comfortable they feel. We call them. We ask them about the booking, about any celebrations, making them feel ‘oh, they really care about our party’.
We send them information about the restaurant, and invite requests for particular dietary requirements, allergies, even likes and dislikes.

Often, we sell the restaurant even more after the booking than before.

Hopefully, when the time comes to make that final decision, we’ve done the most to convince them that ours is the best of the bunch.

(Hopefully they’ll also politely call the others in good time to cancel, but that’s a question of manners.)

A booking shouldn’t be taken for granted as confirmed business.

It’s an invitation to pitch, and it's our job to win the pitch.