Porous to Pitch

Yesterday I attended a very interesting workshop run by Business Link South East - "Your Games, Your Business" about business opportunities (and concerns) arising from the London Olympic Games in 2012. It showed how many opportunities there were for business and how the games, although based in London, would have an effect that spread widely across the UK, particularly with games venues outside London, training camps for competitors, visitors not all staying in London and the torch relay round the country.

As well as food for thought on business opportunities, I also picked up one phrase I really liked, from Rob Lewtas of UKTI (UK Trade and Investment) when he talked about making people "porous to pitch".

It highlights the fact that whenever you are pitching to people, trying to sell products, services or your own talents, you need to do your best to ensure that they are in a receptive mood. If your audience is distracted or bored, then even the best arguments and most convincing benefits will have difficulty persuading them.

To make people "porous to pitch" you need to use timing, tone and listening

• timing: if someone is hurried, give them brief details, explain that you would like to speak to them at some more convenient time and book a better time when they will be more relaxed and you can do your message justice. Similarly if the location is making someone uncomfortable, find a better place and time
• tone: when meeting someone in an informally, such as a networking meeting, do not go into a hard sell but explain briefly but enthusiastically your offering. You can even talk business in a purely social setting if it fits well into the conversation, but do not push it or you will turn people off (make them 'impermeable to message'). Also some conversation on a shared interest or some light-hearted talk can make your audience more receptive
  
• listening: ask what their needs are in the areas where you have products or services to offer. What they say will help you make your pitch relevant to them and so make them more receptive to it. How they say it will help you work out the first two points: whether the timing is right and what tone to adopt

We all ought to practice our techniques for making our audience "porous to pitch" since this is as important as the message itself in marketing and selling