A lesson from a losing pitch

This week we lost a new business pitch; it was one I really wanted to win. In hindsight, I know why we lost. We pitched on our reputation. Really not much else. We have done so much great work, it was irrisistable to simply tell the stories. The stories demonstrated the attitude and thinking we would bring to the account. Basically we told our brand story.
It was strong but it was all about us. We, we, we all the way home.
Hardly a word about what we would do for them. Not even one idea about them.
If I were on the other side of the table I would have thought, "well these folks think they're pretty hot shit."
It's a great lesson for any brand; you can't rely simply on your reputation no matter how great you think it is—the customer still needs to know what you are going to do for them.
The brand, in many ways, sets the table. You still need to serve a meal.
It was ridiculously easy to get caught up in myself. To prattle on about the many meals we have served, how great they were, how satisfied everyone was, while at the same time completely ignoring the hungry client in front of me.