Let the Pizza Do the Talking: What We Learned About Personal Connections During the Pandemic

We didn’t have the answers.

And it didn’t take too many Zoom meetings of solemn-faced team members, filled with more blank stares than actual words, to know they didn’t have the answers either.

How could we reach customers during a pandemic?

It was clear that just positioning ourselves as better than the competition wasn’t going to be enough. Our potential clients were fighting for survival, and they didn’t care that we could build a better mousetrap.

The pressure to at least maintain our incoming leads was heavy. Just like our prospects, the pandemic was hurting us as well. The threat of layoffs and salary cuts loomed, and as the weeks wore on we were getting fewer and fewer responses.

Those early months of the pandemic were dark, and we knew we had to change course to at least be stable once we came out of it. Even if our prospects didn’t necessarily need us now, they would when they went back to work. We had to stay at the top of their mind.

Back to Basics

“What if we sent someone pizza?”

Maybe it was the fact that those words broke what felt like weeks of silence. Maybe it was that we were all tired of gazing at each other with the marketing meeting equivalent of our shoulders shrugged and empty pockets pulled out. Whatever it was, the question from one of our salespeople struck a nerve.

“They’re struggling, right? Probably working harder than ever and they’re unsure about what tomorrow will bring. A nice gesture like a dinner they don’t have to worry about cooking might be nice.”

It was such a weird idea, but it turned out to be the spark we needed. Our sales people ended up contacting a few dozen prospects to see if we could treat them to a night of deep dish pizza, shipped right to their door from Chicago. It was unique, friendly, and it gave us a reason to connect with people in a way that didn’t involve discussing us. It was all about them.

Listen, the idea that you should actually connect with your prospects isn’t earth shattering. But it’s also not easy to make those connections in a meaningful way, even without a pandemic. Prospects know they’re ultimately being sold to when a sales person reaches out, no matter how many dinners and bottles of wine you send them.

People are much more likely to purchase from salespeople or brands that appear to have our best interests in mind. When their worldview matches our own, and when they understand whatever challenge we’re facing, we’re much more apt to listen to their solution. So if you truly believe you have a solution that will improve their life, it’s your responsibly to make sure they know who you are as a person, so that they’ll listen to you.  

Keeping the ball rolling

Finally there was hope.

Our pizza campaign was wildly successful and it even opened the door for us to talk with people who never picked up the phone before.

Now during our Zoom meetings we tried to answer, “what’s something we can take off their plate” and “how we can add real value to their lives” instead of “how can we get them to know about us.”

In May, when other companies were hosting webinars about “how to work from home,” we invited a Navy SEAL to give an hour-long talk about how to stay mentally strong during challenging times. People loved it so much we maxed out our attendee capacity.

A few months later, when we learned some of our prospects were returning to work, we sent them “Welcome Back” boxes containing masks, hand sanitizer, and a branded “key” they could use to push buttons, pull open doors, and otherwise avoid touching surfaces. The box helped sign enough clients to get a 4-to-1 ROI.

Our success wasn’t all that surprising. Prospects were actually having a positive interaction with us because of these personal connections. They were able to see us on a human level, and not just as salespeople. And they were getting a glimpse of what we’d be like as a partner.

We weren’t just making personal connections with prospects either. The marketing and sales teams, with its rich history of friction, were partnering more and more out of necessity. Impromptu brainstorming sessions were now the norm and there was a constant flow of ideas.

Lessons Learned

Our conversions were finally back to pre-pandemic levels, but more importantly, we hit the reset button on our marketing and sales strategy.

Sometimes you’re so close to your product and how effective it is, you forget that people don’t always want to take time to listen. People have an inherent skepticism about any product, especially when they feel they’re being sold to. What we rediscovered is the importance of making that personal connection….not so we could sell a product, but so that people could learn more about who we were.

Once people meet the human beings behind the logo, the relationship can officially begin.