Making creativity a priority

CHARGE WHAT YOU’RE WORTH December 4, 2008

I was thinking recently of the best and worst meetings I’ve ever had and what made them so, and this one came to mind. It was a good one.

I was the last agency to pitch an 18 year old company that never had an advertising agency . It was unusual for me, because most of my business generally came from referrals, and I didn’t know anyone here. They contacted me after viewing my website. I found that surprising because I never though any  work would come from our website, good as it was.

My presentation was brief, about two hours, and the owners were present. It was a family owned company .  After the presentation, they asked me to step outside, then after about 15 minutes they called me back in and said, “We just met with 5 agencies in the past two weeks. You’re 4 times more expensive than the most high-priced. But you’re the first one that actually made sense and proposed a process we think would get us where we hope to go. Let’s get to work on a contract.”

So, on the spot, I made a seven figure deal. I was very surprised at the speed of their decision, and at their willingness to commit the amount to the undertaking.  It was a good lesson is never being afraid to ask what you feel is the value of your contribution. I think truthfully, I was only comfortably asking it because I didn’t think I had a chance of getting the account. If I had an inside track or felt there was a chance, I probably would have tried harder to get it which would have meant trying to come in at an acceptable price.

Lesson learned.