At Cantilever we avoid the traditional “pitch”-style agency sales model. We believe this approach leads to worse results for both sides, because agencies are not incentivized to spend the time it takes to create a great plan before pitching it. When the focus is on creating a great proposal, that doesn‘t necessarily lead to the best project plan.
The Biz Dev team is accountable for new client conversations, but will frequently loop in the intended strategist to help explore the potential relationship and showcase our talent. Strategists also loop in Biz Dev to help work on proposals for existing clients.
We have a simple process for figuring out how we can help people:
<aside> 🏆 Our new business approach is modeled after the philosophy of Blair Enns, author of the Win Without Pitching manifesto. It is a short read that is truly inspirational. If you work on sales, you have to read it!
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The reason clients trust us with this process is our credibility. We have done hundreds of projects over the course of 11 years in business getting great results for some of the largest organizations on the planet. We’ve seen it all, and our guidance is worth it.
The sales process always begins with the work itself. Every project we do is an advertisement for the next one – from its design to its construction to the way we treat the client with respect and dignity.
One big benefit of ending relationships with clients who are a bad fit (which we must do from time to time) is that our client base is awesome. They’re fun, interesting people with a diverse range of experiences. They’re good people to hang out with. And when they refer us, odds are their friends are pretty cool too.