Pitching your business: Persuasion (part 3)
In my last post (part 2), I spoke about being enthusiastic and telling stories to help transition your listeners from one point to the next while giving your pitch or presentation. In this post, I’m going to touch on a few finer points on hitting those sweet spots of your listeners, the spots that make all of the difference and can ultimately determine the decision of whether your listener accepts or dismisses what you have to say.
You have to prove to your listeners that their investment in taking the time to listen to you for an hour or so will be worth it or not. You have to understand that the pitch isn’t so much about you as it is for them. People are more interested in themselves than any one else in the world, so you have to show them “what’s in it for me,” also known as WIIFM (no, this isn’t a radio station, silly).
WIIFM
How many speeches have you been to when the speaker only spoke about things that have helped him,things that he has experienced, or successes that he has obtained in life. These are the types of events that I gladly pass-out at, like a person who just took 10 shots of 151 rum (I think I did that once, actually). It is O.K. to speak about yourself (like in a story, remember?) to a certain degree, but when it becomes the focus of your pitch, you’re in trouble, buddy.
In order to find the sweet spot of your listeners, you have to locate their pains. Yes, that’s right, their pains( and I’m not talking about sore ankles or paper-cuts). I’m talking about problems that prevent your listeners from achieving certain things in life.
Maybe a client hates the fact that her shipping company she out-sources too doesn’t provide an online database system for tracking; maybe a bunch of students in your class hate having to send in their homework via their school’s computer system because it’s too slow, or maybe your dad wishes that there was an easier way to sell antique clocks online.
These are all “pains” that people experience and it’s your jobs to recognize, locate, and offer a solution to these pains. Do that, and your listeners will love you more than Craig Newmark (owner of craigslist.com) hates banner ads.
SIMPLE
One of the most important things to remember is to keep it simple. Most people in life don’t respond well to complex things. Don’t you remember that time when you purchased that fancy DVD player and it took you 2 weeks to set up? Well, giving a complex presentation or pitch works in the same way.
You want to be concise, to-the-point, and direct. Please don’t try to impress your listeners by feeding them lines of BS, speaking about things that you’re pulling out of your ass on the go. Do that, and your listeners will eat you alive.
Speak in a way that every one in the room can understand, no matter what your topic is. The more they understand you, the easier it’ll be to capture their hearts (an maybe even their cash if you’re lucky).
This concludes my 3 part series on “Pitching your business.” If you’re just tuning is, then you can catch-up with these:
Pitching your business: Brand (part 1)
Pitching your business: Voice (part 2)
