Bob London helped a new recruiting firm rebrand by interviewing clients and prospects. They discovered the firm's strength wasn't mimicking the big house the founders left, but being smaller and nimbler. When the partners called him from an Amtrak to New York, Bob distilled it to one message: stop puffing up, emphasize personal service. They won the next pitch and entered a winning streak.
Chapters
The train ride. This is a story about an executive recruiting firm that hired me several years ago to do a customer listening tour, ostensibly so they could rebrand. It was a new company. The partners had come from a very large executive recruiting firm. The problem was they would get in the door to pitch large accounts that they were used to pitching as part of their larger firm, but they weren't closing as many deals as they thought they should. So during the listening tour, what I found out from their clients and prospects was this, and it was a little surprising. It was, "Hey, we know their reputation." The two partners were inviting them to the table, not because they're part of a big firm, so they shouldn't try and act like they're still with a big firm. We're hiring them to bring to the table a perspective from a smaller company. That's more nimble and niche. So the lesson and the message that I brought back and presented to this— these two partners was stop trying to still sound and act like a big firm, which is your legacy, and you're used to pitching that way. I get it. Start positioning yourself differently. And that's what they want. The prospects want that perspective from you. So So they digested it, they understood it, I think they liked it, but here's where the train ride comes in. The very next day after I presented the findings and the strategy to them, the two partners were in a cafe car of an Amtrak on the way to New York and they said, "Bob," they had me on speaker, "Bob, we're on our way to a pitch. Tell us again what you said yesterday, just shorten it and give us the basics of what strategy you were recommending." And I did, I said, Don't puff yourselves up and sound like you're part of a big firm anymore because you're not. And that's not what the client and prospect wants to hear. Position yourself as nimble, personal service, et cetera. Not rocket science, by the way, but just, it was hard for them to see because they were so steeped and immersed in the old way of pitching. So they said, "Thanks." I think they got it for sure. They continued with the train ride. They landed that client. Because of that strategy. And they went on an unbelievable winning streak to land a bunch more clients, whereas in the beginning they had come to me partly for brand and partly because they just weren't nailing their, their meetings and their pitches like they wanted to. So it's a great story about getting out of your own head, getting the outside perspective, not just from me, which is great that I was able to bring them the perspective, but go talk to customers. It works every time. You won't be disappointed.
