A friend of a friend contacted me with a potential client.
Excitement level? ~ 50%.
We quickly set an on-line meeting, and I started preparing. The more I learned, it became obvious we’re a match made in heaven.
Portfolio size? Several patent families, more than enough for a fractional IP Director.
Patent Attorney Office they work with? Changing every year, suggesting a client/provider friction a fractional IP Director can prevent or ease.
Technological field? Right up my ally, no one can suit them better.
Company size? The same exact size as I am used to working with.
Excitement level? ~ 75%.
Then came the on-line meeting, with all the head honchos. Questions were fired and answers were fired right back, like a good game of (on-line) tennis. Chemistry was good, we even talked numbers (yes, I know).
Excitement level? ~ 101%.
Then came the most polite and succinct email ever – “Thank you, Eran, but we are satisfied with our current arrangement”.
What? Why? How can that be? Can’t they see we’re a perfect match? A real conundrum.
I hate conundrums. Obviously, I am missing something. There is something they know, which I don’t, that overcomes our obvious professional match.
Then I did something very unbecoming of me, I reached out to ask what the missing piece of the puzzle was.
It turns out there were two pieces:
- I got so excited preparing to the meeting and learning everything there is to know about the company, that instead of asking them which services they wanted, I TOLD THEM which services they needed. Rookie move.
- They took the meeting as a courtesy to our mutual friends. They actually hired someone else before our meeting.
Lessons learned?
- The early bird gets the worm
- Don’t be a know-it-all, let your client speak his pain.
If you are a founder and want your company to have an IP Director that can get 101% excited about your company – let’s talk.
