I was jazzed! My company had been invited to pitch a new television series to a major cable tv network. What's more, the idea for the series had come from the network, they had funded the development costs, and I was the ONLY producer invited to pitch the show toh the top brass.
The reason I was the only producer pitching the network their own show was because I had a long time prior relationship with their executive vice president and he'd pushed us to the top brass. I can't over-stress how important it is to cultivate and maintain strong friendships in every area of your life. If they're genuine (people quickly see through networking strategies camouflaged as artificial 'friendships') your friends and long time respected acquaintances will often be the keys that unlock doors of opportunity. You have to walk through with the goods, but your friends get you there. It's been that way for 99% of the jobs I've ever landed as a writer, producer, or director.
Back to the big meeting...
The network flew our presentation team to their headquarters, put us up at a five star hotel, and the next morning we were ushered into a richly appointed conference room on the executive floor of the network. We set up our charts, checked the PowerPoint, layed out glossy Pitch Notebooks at each chair. We were ready.
At the appointed hour, a dozen or so top brass arrived. After idle conversation over gourmet coffee and Danish pastries served on silver platters, the network president arrived and the meeting started. I began my well-rehearsed presentation. Suddenly I glanced over at the President. His head was buried in the notebook in front of him. Instead of listening to my phenomenal sales presentation, he was hurriedly flipping through the pages till he reached the last section. I instatntly knew what he was doing. He had looked till he found the budget and from that moment on, he didn't hear a word I said. I sensed I was in trouble. I was right!
At the end of the presentation, the President got up, shook my hand and quickly left the room. After a brief discussion with the other brass, cordial goodbyes were shared and we flew home without a deal or even the promise of one. What seemed a 'done deal' evaporated that morning. I didn't know why...till later.
Six months after, another producer was invited to pitch the same series -- same concept, same show, different outcome. He got the job and for a budget twice as much as we had proposed! My friend, the executive vice president, called me to tell me what happened. At their pitch meeting, the second producer didn't include a budget in any of the materials handed out up front. In fact, they handed out nothing until after their live presentation that pitched their vision for the show. They got everyone excited, including the network president. Once they were all emotionally engaged in the creative concept and the production credentials of the producer to implement it, agreeing to a budget was an easy sell. They had sold the dream first...paying for it was just after-the-fact necessary housekeeping.
I learned a valuable lesson through that experience. Once you get people energized by a vision, a concept, a dream, they'll go the distance to find a way to pay for it and make it happen. It's a tried and true principle in retail sales. Convince someone that they MUST HAVE whatever it is you want to sell them, and they'll find a way to pay for it. "Sell the sizzle" is the way one producer put it!
Don't mistake this to mean you don't have to do your homework and have a thoroughly vetted production plan, budget, schedule and everything else 'due diligence' requires. At the end of the day, if they do say 'yes' you'll have to perform on time and on budget if you ever want to work for this producer or network again (or with anyone they know!). But make sure you also never forget that before they ever buy your project, they will have to buy your dream first. That's what you sell. The rest is housekeeping!
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