Refining the Perfect Pitch

Rebecca Otis Leder, BBA ’07, wrote Knock and created The Knock Method

Impersonal sales pitches are missed opportunities, says author and career development trainer Rebecca Otis Leder.

Whether the Texas native was managing social media for Texas.gov, building the lifestyle blog TheRebeccammendations, honing her digital marketing skills in Chicago, or leading a customer success team at Salesforce, thoughtful queries got her attention. She wanted her own communication style to yield more yeses, so she refined her approach to business.

“I could see the value in deepening connections with potential clients, colleagues, and career contacts by learning about them, their companies, and what mattered to them,” Leder says. She worked hard to uncover commonalities with customers and highlight the impact they could have by working together. Her efforts transformed her business relationships.

Soon, Leder wanted to help other professionals pitch ideas more thoughtfully and develop high-quality career networks. Her five-step strategy to building personal, mutually beneficial business relationships, which she calls The Knock Method, is explained in her new book, Knock: How to Open Doors and Build Career Relationships That Matter. It’s been featured by national and local media outlets.

“‘Knock is not about pounding the pavement to make a good sale,” says Leder, who lives in Denver and runs Opportunities Knock LLC, a consulting business she started in 2021 to help students, professionals, and innovators employ her method to boost their careers. “It’s about intention and preparation before we ‘knock.’ It’s about generosity.”

Her method, Leder says, is rooted in social and organizational psychology research and interviews she conducted with a dozen entrepreneurs, startup founders, and community leaders. Among them are bestselling author and Wharton School psychology professor Adam Grant and Austin’s Peached Tortilla owner Eric Silverstein. Recent graduates, budding entrepreneurs, and seasoned business executives can use the method to apply for jobs, pitch startups, sell products, and find a mentor.

Leder teaches The Knock Method at workshops and virtual events nationwide.

Story by Gretchen M. Sanders

This article appeared in the spring 2022 issue of McCombs magazine. Click on the link to see the full issue.