Your Great Idea Won't Sell Itself

Mike was a young, talented copywriter working at the same London advertising agency as me. Like all good copywriters, he had developed a great working partnership with an art director—in this case, Brett. I was in sales, and when providing speculative creative to clients in a pitch, I would usually seek out Mike and Brett for their fresh ideas and striking designs.

Mike had developed a reputation for Ogilvy-style research, not just to find a unique angle, but to gain the depth of understanding and strategic edge that impactful copy demands.

And to top it all off, Mike was seriously cool. He wore great clothes, drove a flashy car, and was seen at the best London venues. One of our biggest billing clients loved him. They called him Cool Mike, and the name stuck.

But Cool Mike had a serious, career-limiting flaw: he was useless at selling his own ideas. He was a bit too cool. In a pitch he would mumble a few words, and the boards would be flicked across the table to the client.