Fast Pitch Networking: Do You Have The Time To Waste On This?

I must be living in a microcosm of the business world.   Every time I think I have seen it all something else pops up to entertainment.  

The latest thing that chuckles me is Fast Pitch Networking.  I can’t be too critical of it since I have not gone to one, but their SPAM email was entertaining. 

Entertaining enough for me to check out their web-site and call around to a few of my business associates to see if anyone has gone to one of their events.

And now their program is being spread across the country. 

Since the headquarters is in Florida, I will assume after reading the Fast Pitch Concept that there are a lot of business people there who need to have large volumes of people to pitch to reap the small percentage that will or want to do business with them. 

Sad, but true, many businesses who are in a large pool of competition find that reducing the margin of profit on their services or product is the only way to survive or make a living. 

If you are making a penny from every dollar you make, and your product or service is only a dollar you have to sell a lot of service and products each day to make the mortgage.  But, if you are forced into being in business with such a small margin then is it a business to be in?

I can only assume that it was these type of business owners, or sales people, who think the time they spend to REALLY get to know a client is a waste of their time and REALLY all they want to know from the time they spend Fast Pitching is if the person they are talking to is going to do business with them, or know someone who is going to business with them, RIGHT NOW. 

Expanding on this assume even further, it must be that these business people are wasting time on something else that would cause them to take such a risk of being involved in something that is such a contradiction in what they are trying to achieve. 

Could it be that they are not managing their time effectively that would make them want to invest in building a partial relationships instead of solid relationships?

My guest is that they probably are not managing their time effectively which forces them to have to find the large volume of potential customers all at once.

I have a few friends who are the Type A, high pressured sales oriented, never out of sales character, fasting talking and are always selling type of personality.  My business coach was one of the best until she realized how the Fast Pitch method of sales was not getting her anywhere.   

I calmed one of these friends down on the golf course the other day and asked him between his Cellphone calls what is causing him to be so busy he can’t stop and talk to me?

The first thing out of his mouth was his clients who call to talk about a problem they are having or wanting to change their order takes up his entire day. 

My question is WHY!?  And the answer is always something else then the root cause…lack of trust which should have been built at the beginning.

Customer services starts from the introduction you make when you first meet the potential customer.  If it is hurried or the pitch is put on the clock, you are not going to be able to get the true message across on what you are selling, YOU.  Not the product or service.  YOU!

It does not make a bit of difference on what you are selling if the person you are selling it to does not trust you.  It’s as simple as that…

If you take the time, whatever amount of time is takes, to let the customer get to know you while you get to know them, your sales will go smoother and nothing in the deal with made with your new friend will not have been discussed leaving little negative customer service, which is what is wasting a lot of these people’s time.

Now I simplified this down because remember, I live in a microcosm.  There is not a lot of room in here for mistakes or do-overs so I have to simplify things down so mistakes are reduced and the do-overs are done right away.  No place to store these things in here.

In reality, there are always going to be a need to service your customers’ concerns.  You never stop building business relationships.  So, yes, you might have to answer your Cellphone on the golf course every once in awhile.  But if you customer really knew you they would know you are on the golf course and leave you a message at the office to call at your convenience.  Can you get that into a Fast Pitch???

The point is that if you take the time up front to service the customers during the pitch, you stand a better chance of not having to spend more time later on something you could have taken care of earlier.  This leaves you with more time to build another business relationship at the pace you need to make it.

Now I am sure the Fast Pitch Networking is cut out for someone, who?, I do not know.   I will have to keep looking because none of the 500 people I emailed have gone to any Fast Pitch Networking event.  SPAMMED, yes, but not gone to once of their events.

Since I told all of my clients who asked me to provide them with my take on Fast Pitch that I was going to BLOG my concerns with Fast Pitch so I could gather other peoples thoughts on this subject, I think my going to one of their events now may not show the true picture since they now know I would be coming. 

So, I have asked a few of my clients I am mentoring to attend and let me know what they think.  I can assure you I can trust them because I have built the solid business relationship it takes to trust them. 

So, maybe I will be back to tell you what they though, or maybe I will just let it go and work on getting people to look at what suits them best before spending money to talk fast and collect a bunch of business cards.

 

 

Scot Duke

President

Innovative Business Golf Solutions, LLC.

scot.duke@innovativebusinessgolf.com

www.innovativebusinessgolf.com

  

Author of: ‘How To Play Business Golf’, From The Boardroom To The Fairways…

The best investment you can make for your business…

http://www.innovativebusinessgolf.com/business_golf/cb_order.html