Daniel H. Pink has published a new book. “To Sell Is Human-The Surprising Truth About Moving Others.”Pink is the best-selling author “Drive,” “A Whole New Mind.”
Pink said that we are all salespeople today regardless of what our job or career. Children are sold on verdicts by lawyers and parents.
Selling the old ABCs (“Always be closing”These are renamed Clarity, Buoyancy and Attunement. While they show you how you can be, you still need to learn what to do. The new ABCs for selling will be enhanced by learning to pitch well, improvisation (which is ultimately listening), and serving. Here are some highlights from the power and potential of the pitch.
Five years spent in Hollywood as researchers, a place that is deeply rooted in the entertainment industry. It thrives on pitches. Writers pitch movie executives, agents pitch producers, etc. The results showed that the success of pitches was as dependent on the catcher as it was the pitcher.
The catcher (i.e. The executive used behavioral and physical cues in order to assess quickly the pitcher’s (i.e. Writer’s creative abilities. The positive rating goes to passion, humor, wit, or quirkiness. Not rated: Slickness, trying to hard and many idea offers
Catchers quickly deemed negative presentations “uncreative;”All remaining meetings were secretly cancelled. Positives pitchers are more likely to attract success because they view catchers as partners and welcome their suggestions for improving the project. The odds of being rejected decreased once the catcher was seen as a collaborator in creativity.
This lesson is important: Your pitch does not have to get others to accept your idea. Offer something that is compelling enough to start a conversation and include other perspectives. Eventually, you will reach a consensus. Today, pitching is almost always the first but not often the last word.
Pink declares that the elevator speech, which involves meeting the boss and explaining your product/service in a matter of seconds in the elevator; has become outdated.
First, companies are more democratic now than ever before. Many CEOs in large corporations sit with everyone or have open floor plans. This encourages collaboration and easy communication.
Second, despite being more easily accessible by e-mails, tweets and texts today, CEOs face information overload every day. In an age where attention is scarce, these challenges demand that we expand our range of pitches.
Pink identifies six potential successors for the elevator pitch.
1. The 1-Word Pitch. “Digital natives”People under the age of 30 are less likely to remember their lives without the Internet. Our attention spans are decreasing, and may soon disappear. It is important to be concise. The one thing you would like to be associated with your brand is clarity. That’s one-word equity. MasterCard has been associated with the term “priceless;”The one-word strategy that President Obama used to win his 2012 election was reflected in the campaign for his re-election. “Forward.”
2. The question pitch. Ronald Regan, then President Jimmy Carter in 1980 ran for the presidency. He asked the question while campaigning. “Are you better off now than you were four years ago?”While questions can have more power than statements and are often used to motivate others, they are underused. People are able to draw their own conclusions about why they agree or disagree with them. If people can come up with their own reasons to believe something, they are more inclined to take action. Do not use the question pitch if you don’t believe that there are strong underlying arguments. It would have been a waste of time for President Carter to ask the exact same question as Regan.
3. The Rhyme Pitch. Johnny Cochran was a lawyer who used this rhyme ” If it doesn’t fit, you must acquit,”In O.J. Simpson’s closing arguments Simpson’s 1995 trial. “Woes unite foes,” “Woes unite enemies,”Although they both mean the same thing, research suggests that people prefer rhymes. Rhymes improve processing fluency, the ease at which our brains make sense of stimuli. A rhyme allows prospects to summarize your key points while they are deliberating. It also helps their mind to understand your message when you compare them to others.
4. The Subject-Line pitch. Each email you send is a request for attention. Subject lines in emails preview and promise the contents. Studies show that people read emails out of curiosity and utility. People are most likely to open email that has a direct effect on their job or causes some degree of uncertainty. They are curious about the contents. Emails are becoming more useful because of the amount of information available. The third principle is specificity. “4 Tips to improve your golf swing this afternoon,”Trumps “Improve your golf swing”In the subject line of an email.
5. The Twitter Pitch. Twitter uses micro-messages with 140 characters and less. Tweets that engage and stimulate conversation are more effective than those with 140 characters or less. These goals are only achieved by a very small percentage of tweets, research has shown. Three categories include complaints-hottest tweets”My plane is late. Again;”Contact me Now”I’m at the coffee shop;”Presence Maintenance and Maintenance”Good Morning, everyone!”The most popular tweets are those that provide new and useful information, as well as links. These tweets have a high ranking. Tweets that are self-promoting (the ultimate sales pitch), rank highly if they contain useful information.
6. Pixar Pitch. Pixar Animation Studios has been one of the most popular studios in film history. Six sequential sentences are the basis of their success. Each day is ___________. One day, ________________. Because of this, _____________. ____________. Until finally_____________. This six-sentence structure is attractive and flexible. It allows pitchers to harness the persuasive power of stories but in a clear, controlled format.
Daniel H. Pink suggests RhymeZone, a rhyme dictionary that will help you speed up your rhyming pitches. Visit: http://www.rhymezone.com/