Pitch Anything: An Innovative Method for Presenting, Persuading, and Winning the Deal: An Innovative Method for Presenting, Persuading, and Winning the Deal (4 page)

Understanding how to harness and apply the power of frames is the most important thing you wil ever learn.

Frame-Based Business

One of the many benefits of using a frame-based approach to doing business is that it does not require a lot of technique, tactics, or smooth talk. In fact, as you wil soon see, the less you say, the more effective you wil be.

Sales techniques were created for people who have already lost the frame col ision and are struggling to do business from a subordinated or low-status position. The sad fact is, these methods are typical y ineffective and usual y end up offending people instead of promoting pleasant, mutual y beneficial business.

For decades, there have been many books and seminars—there are more than 35,000 on Amazon—promoting methods to persuade, influence, cajole, and browbeat customers into making rapid purchase decisions. Many years ago, when the promoters of these programs realized how inefficient their methods were, they explained it away with the
law of large numbers
. Their typical promise is “Make 100 sales cal s using our sales technique, and you wil land two sales.” In other words, work much, much harder than everyone else, and you wil get a 2 percent success rate. But real y,
what kind of success is that
?

What these sales gurus are missing is this: When you fail to control the
social frame
, you probably have already lost. Al you can do then is fight for survival by fast talking, spin sel ing, trial closing, and a myriad of equal y ineffective and annoying tactics that signal to the customer that you are needy and desperate—and defeated.

By preaching the law of large numbers, the purveyors of sales techniques are asking you to work longer and harder, with no real competitive advantage. They are forcing you to compensate for your weak position with a Herculean effort to win new business, claiming that
it’s just a numbers
game
. It’s rather rude of them to give away so much of your life this way, isn’t it?

Frame-based business takes the opposite approach. It promotes the use of social dynamics, stacking things in your favor before the game even begins.

When we think back about why this pitch or that pitch failed, we usual y arrive at the fact that the terms of the deal weren’t right for the buyer. Or we had a bad day and didn’t position things correctly. Or the potential buyer found something he or she liked better. The reality is, however, that a pitch wil fail for reasons that are far less obvious. And that’s because frame control is won or lost even before the pitch starts.

When you own the frame, you are positioned to reach an agreement with your buyer. And you are also in a position to decide which deals, orders, or projects you want to work on instead of taking what you can get.

Think it’s not possible? I do it every day and for the simple reason that I want to serve my buyers wel . I can’t do that if I’m continuously engaged in a frantic chase for new business.

Instead of flogging yourself to the point of exhaustion by making dozens of mind-numbingly unproductive sales cal s and presentations, I’m going to show you how to get, and keep, frame control. And you are more likely to find yourself pitching five deals, tossing out the two deals you don’t like, and keeping the three that interest you. How do you like my law of large numbers? This is what I do and what I have been doing for years.

Own the Frame, Win the Game

Let’s do a quick review: A frame is the instrument you use to package your power, authority, strength, information, and status.

1. Everyone uses frames whether they realize it or not.

2. Every social encounter brings different frames together.

3. Frames do not coexist in the same time and place for long. They crash into each other, and one or the other gains control.

4. Only one frame survives. The others break and are absorbed. Stronger frames always absorb weaker frames.

5. The winning frame governs the social interaction. It is said to have frame control.

The Cop Frame: An Introduction to How Frames Work

So that you can become familiar with the terminology of frames and the basic function of frames in social encounters, here is an example of a dominant frame that you already know about—an almost textbook example of frame control.

Imagine you are driving along California’s Highway 101 north of Santa Cruz. The weather and the scenery are intoxicating, as is the rush of speed you feel as you take the fast lane at 80 mph in your pursuit of the setting sun. The moment is perfect—until you see those flashing lights in your rearview mirror. It’s a police interceptor. The
whoop-whoop
from a piercing siren and the Technicolor strobing of the light bar alert your croc brain that danger is imminent.
Dammit, where did he come from? How fast was I going?
These are the last few thoughts going through your neocortex before fear (a basic and primal emotion) sets in, and your croc brain seizes control of your actions. You are now “pul ed over.” As you reach for your license and registration, you see the cop approaching in the driver-side mirror.

As you wil see from this example, frames make human communication simple because they package a particular perspective and al the information that goes with it.

You rol down the window. In this moment, two frames are about to col ide: the cop’s frame and yours.

Quick! What is your frame made of? “I was going with the flow of traffic” or “I thought the speed limit was higher out this way.”

You settle on the “nice guy” frame: “Officer, I’m usual y a good driver. How about cutting me a break this one time?”

But the cop frame is nearly invincible. It’s reinforced—moral y, social y, and political y. Oh yeah, he’s got you on a speed gun, too.

You meekly smile as you hand him your license and registration. He pauses, scowling at you through his mirrored aviators. Now, your “nice guy”

frame is about to be disrupted. “Do you know why I pul ed you over?” he asks.

You know you were speeding. Because you do not have any higher moral authority to bring to the frame game, your frame wil be destroyed. This is the key to frame control.
When you are responding ineffectively to things the other person is saying and doing, that person owns the frame,
and you are being frame-controlled.

Of course, there’s no mystery about the outcome here. The officer has the stronger frame. Your two frames col ided, and the cop frame won.

I chose this example so you could see how lesser frames literal y crumble under a frame built from authority, status, and power. In this example, the officer had every form of power possible: physical, political, and moral power (you broke the law, and you knew it).

Let’s explore the officer’s frame on a deeper level so as to understand what real y happened. The silhouette of his cruiser in your rearview mirror and the flashing lights pul ed your primal levers of fear, anxiety, and obedience. Your croc brain went into defense mode. Your stomach tightened.

Your breathing accelerated, along with your heart rate, and blood rushed to your face. Al this happened the moment your croc brain was alarmed.

You couldn’t come up with any frame, any perspective, any way to view the situation that would be strong enough to break the officer’s frame.

The lesson of the cop frame is an essential one:
If you have to explain your authority, power, position, leverage, and advantage, you do not
hold the stronger frame.
Rational appeals to higher order, logical thinking never win frame col isions or gain frame control. Notice, the officer does not need to pitch you on why he is going to issue you a citation. He does not need to rationalize with you. He doesn’t have to explain his power, he doesn’t need to rest a hand on his gun, and he doesn’t need to describe to you what wil happen if you decide to resist. He feels no need to explain how critical it is that you remain calm and obedient. He doesn’t suggest that you have fear and anxiety. Your croc brain instantly and natural y has these reactions to the cop frame. You are reacting; your croc brain is in control. Your actions are automatic, primal, and beyond your grasp.

In the final moments of the social encounter, the officer hands you the ticket. This roadside meeting is over. The only other thing he says to you is:

“Sign here. Press hard. Fifth copy is yours.”

Final y, not quite an afterthought but perhaps intended as a reward for your calm obedience, he says, “Slow down, and have a nice day,”

crowning your defeat with shame.
Every social interaction is a collision of frames, and the stronger frame always wins. Frame collisions are
primal. They freeze out the neocortex and bring the crocodile brain in to make decisions and determine actions.

Strong frames are impervious to rational arguments. Weak arguments, made up of logical discussions and facts, just bounce off strong frames.

Over the years, I observed that a successful pitch depends on your ability to build strong frames that are impervious to rational arguments. These strong frames can break weak frames and then absorb them. Is there a formula for creating such a frame and using it? Turns out, there is.

Choosing a Frame

Whenever you are entering a business situation, the first question you must ask is, “What kind of frame am I up against?” The answer wil depend on several factors, including the relative importance of your offering to the business interests of your buyer. But know this: Frames mainly involve basic desires. These are the domain of the croc brain. It would be fair to say that strong frames
activate basic desires.

One way to think about this is that there are only a few basic approaches that the buyer’s croc brain reacts to, so you don’t need to careful y
tune
each frame to individual personalities. If you were a mechanic reaching into your toolbox, then a frame would be more like a rubber mal et than a screwdriver.

I think of these things before I take a meeting: What are the basic primal attitudes and emotions that wil be at play? Then I make simple decisions about the kind of frame I want to go in with. For many years, I used just four frames that would cover every business situation. For example, if I know the person I’m meeting is a hard-charging, type A personality, I wil go in with a
power-busting frame.
If that person is an analytical, dol ars-and-cents type, I wil choose an
intrigue frame.
If I’m outnumbered and outgunned and the deck is stacked against me,
time
frames
and
prize frames
are essential.

I am also ready and wil ing to switch to a different frame as the social interaction develops or changes.

Going into most business situations, there are three major types of opposing frames that you wil encounter: 1. Power frame

2. Time frame

3. Analyst frame

You have three major response frame types that you can use to meet these oncoming frames, win the initial col ision, and control the agenda: 1. Power-busting frame

2. Time constraining frame

3. Intrigue frame

There is a fourth frame you can deploy. It’s useful against al three of the opposing frames and many others you wil encounter: 4. Prize frame

What fol ows is a discussion of how you can recognize opposing frames and defeat them.

The Power Frame

The most common opposing frame you wil encounter in a business setting is the
power frame.
The power frame comes from the individual who has a massive ego. His power is rooted in his status—a status derived from the fact that others give this person honor and respect. You wil know that you are facing a power frame when you encounter arrogance, lack of interest (a vibe that conveys “I’m more important than you”), rudeness, and similar imperial behaviors.

Power frame types (a.k.a. big shots, egomaniacs—whatever you want to cal them) tend to be oblivious to what others think. They are more likely to pursue the satisfaction of their own appetites. They are often poor judges of the reactions of others. They are more likely to hold stereotypes.

They can be overly optimistic. And they are more likely to take unmeasured risks.

They are also the most vulnerable to your power-busting frame because they do not expect it. They expect your fawning deference and obedience. They expect you to laugh at their bad jokes. They expect you to value their feelings above your own. They expect you to adopt their frame. Therein lies their weakness. Not for a moment do they think that your frame is going to take control. You wil almost always take them by surprise.

When you approach an opposing power frame, your first and most important objective is to avoid fal ing into the other person’s frame by reacting to it. And make absolutely certain that you do nothing that strengthens the other person’s frame before your frames col ide.

Observing power rituals in business situations—such as acting deferential, engaging in meaningless smal talk, or letting yourself be told what to do—reinforces the alpha status of your target and confirms your subordinate position.
Do not do this
!

As the opposing power frame approaches, when you first encounter the person you are meeting, you must be prepared for the frame col ision to happen at any moment.

Prepare wel and your frame wil disrupt his, causing a momentary equilibrium in the social forces in the room, and then your frame wil overtake and absorb his.

This al sounds like high drama, but in practice, it is often swift and tranquil. Before your target realizes what has occurred, control of the frame has shifted. Once you get used to establishing the dominant frame, it wil become second nature. And when it does, you are going to have the time of your life.

Encountering the Power Frame

Several years ago, I had a meeting at a large money center bank whose name you would recognize in an instant. This was supposed to be a one-hour meeting, and it was made clear by the guy we were meeting that he would give us precisely
one
hour. This is classic power framing with hard time pressure thrown in.