We held an event at The Escape this week with Daryll Scott of Noggin, based on some of the NLP principles and how they can be leveraged for a more successful business interaction. The workshop brought to my attention a pattern I have got myself into with sales pitches, in that I keep banging a drum that is too generic based on what I think is important a good website.

What do I mean by this? Even though I think things like content and ROI on spend are important, for others, it’s simply a case of ‘how it looks’. A phrase that remains with me from the session is “What’s important to you about…”

As simple as it sounds, isn’t it easy how these things can get overlooked? I know it has been for me on this subject. What if, after developing rapport, I could establish what exactly is important about their project and stick to those points?

A good example during the day was comment someone mentioned about a recent purchase of a kitchen and how she is miffed she could not remember the cost of all the bits that made up the kitchen. After a bit of scrutiny, it turned out it wasn’t really that important-a-factor for her in the scheme of things.

Don’t get me wrong, I can (and do) convert business. But how much more potent could I be if I could develop even more flexibility in my approach?

That said, I do have a caveat. I will still continue to refuse a web project if I think (and who am I to judge?) that the things the prospect wants to focus on is not money not-well-spent in terms of the project as a whole and their marketing spend: For me, marketing spend is about measurable return.

I could take the low road and accept every project whatever the request, after all, it’s not my money, but I personally believe that you won’t build a quality reputation this way.

Anyway, back to my point. I have just been looking at a website for a project that we lost out on a pitch to and it turned out to be a good looking website with all the right bits in the right place. But, the key aspect of the website – good clear content and basic SEO – has been overlooked in my opinion.

Is it still a nice website? Yes. Is the client happy? No doubt. Did I potentially lose the pitch due to my lack of flexibility in my sales approach…. I am guessing yes.

Nobody’s perfect But, the key is to continually learn.