Return on Time = Return on Investment
When pitching new business, asking for funding, it used to be that the one main formula to close the deal: Return on Investment.
It’s not so simple anymore. We’re busy and we have competing demands. In many cases there more than a few options who have similar-ish offerings and now more things for all of us to do than hours in the day. Aging parents, pick ups and drop offs for school, our own physical health, errands, friends, and our ever increasing job demands. So you’re asking someone to read something that will take 20 minutes? You’re asking someone to go to a conference for three days where they will have to adjust childcare and all schedules? You’re asking me to come into an office where I should be able to complete some fields online? You’re asking me to work huge hours at a firm where I excel, but now asking me to come into the office on top of that?
Taking all of this into consideration, anyone who is serious about getting a ‘yes’, needs to clearly go above ‘showing them the money’, you must clearly deliver on the second equation: Return on Time.
If taking this project is going to be long hours with an average output or this event is going to take away from already their difficult to balance schedule, then don’t be surprised if it’s not a ‘no’, but just a non committal, non-response. Because telling you no will actually take time and they’d rather just save the time of you trying to convince them otherwise- they’d rather just ghost you.
Commitment is more difficult now, and not because we’re asking for money, it’s because I think we’re finally being honest that we don’t want everything revolving around money. We learned that (among other things) in 2020. Even if the money is good, if I can do it virtually or in some way that annoys me less, then I’ll do that.
Then the burden of proof becomes creating an exceptional product, an exceptional experience. People are not going to leave their homes, offices, or home offices for an event that they can get similar-ish content via one of the thousands of youtube channels, industry blogs, podcasts, trade mags, etc. There has to be a reason why this event, this project brings something other than closing a deal. It brings them a memory, it connects them to people, it makes it so that any time accrued makes this actually worth it.
Especially those in service-based businesses, we must consider what we’re asking of our customers. Our service may still be great, but is it great enough to retain our customers regularly? Is it good enough to become true apostles and not just people who passively like our products? If you save them time, it will be more memorable than a discount, a savings. Make someone’s life easy, go out of your way, make them feel heard that you get their time and effort is important- that’s how you gain and more importantly, keep customers.
