Pitch Anything: An Innovative Method for Presenting, Persuading, and Winning the Deal: An Innovative Method for Presenting, Persuading, and Winning the Deal (5 page)

The cost of getting our team to Washington for this pitch was more than $20,000. But the meeting could be worth mil ions if we pitched it right.

After my team and I were escorted through security, we rode the elevator to the nineteenth floor, where more than
$1 trillion
worth of business was traded each year. We felt like we were about to take a place among the nation’s most powerful and elite financial traders.

Thirty-five traders moved bil ions of dol ars a month here, and we were one hour away from being part of the game. I had contacted al my investors, and together we had pooled about $60 mil ion in investment money that I was bringing to the table.

My contact, a trader named Steve, was meeting us, and I would be pitching him and two analysts. After a long wait, an impeccably dressed young woman led us to the largest conference room I’ve ever seen, about half the size of a basketbal court. Steve and his entourage came in and exchanged the standard pleasantries. Steve was one of the bigger volume traders on the floor. He showed up several minutes late and then spent 15 minutes talking about himself. A precious 22 minutes had been burned. Final y, I was able to hand out our materials and begin the pitch.

During the economic boom of the time, Steve had become accustomed to doing $100 mil ion deals that would close in a single day; by contrast, we had a $60 mil ion deal that would take at least 30 days to close. So he didn’t seem terribly interested.

I talked about the types of assets we wanted to buy and what we would pay. During a moment of pause, I looked over at Steve. He had taken our pitch book, flipped it over, and was absent-mindedly tracing his hand on the back of it with a pen.

How significant is this lack of attention?
Wel , it’s pretty bad. However, if you view the world through the lens of traditional sales techniques, you would think there’s something wrong with my information or my deal. But instead, if you view the world through frames and social dynamics, then you would understand that the
deal was fine.
This is just the power frame coming at you, and in the col ision of frames, you’ve just lost.

I first thought,
Ouch, how could this be happening?
I had burned a lot of time and money getting to this meeting, and I could see our opportunity slipping away. The guy was
tracing his hand
on
my
executive summary. I felt two inches tal . My crocodile brain became overwhelmed with basic, primal emotions. I was frame-control ed. My simple, emotional, reactive croc brain told me to run, and I considered it.

When you abide by the rituals of power instead of establishing your own, you reinforce the opposing power frame.

I soon recovered my poise, and here is what fol owed:

“Steve, gimme that,” I said, pul ing the pitch book away from him.

That’s a power frame disrupter.

Dramatic pause . . .

I looked at Steve’s drawing intently. “Hold on, wait a sec. Now I see what’s going on. This drawing is pretty damn good. Forget the big deal for a minute. How about you sel this to me. Name a price.”

This is an extreme example of high-stakes power frames. But you can do this in everyday meetings in a far less dramatic way to change and refocus the frame to a total y different subject. If a guy is going to dominate you, let him dominate you on the price of something like a hand drawing in this case, something that doesn’t matter. If you find yourself in a similar situation (the day wil come when this happens to you, too), then pick something abstract and start an intense price negotiation over it—and it doesn’t matter if you win or lose. The power of the person’s frame is rendered trivial, and the focus is back to you and what you want to do with the meeting.

Steve didn’t expect this, and the concussion from the force of my frame-busting move completely changed the dynamic of that moment and the remainder of the meeting. I got another chance to get the focus back on the real subject—the $60 mil ion I was there to spend. And now I had Steve’s complete attention.

To instigate a power frame collision, use a mildly shocking but not unfriendly act to cause it. Use defiance and light humor. This captures
attention and elevates your status by creating something called “local star power.” (You will read about creating status and local star power in
Chapter 3.)

Taking the Frame

Here are some subtler examples of taking the power frame away. As soon as you come in contact with your target, look for the first opportunity to 1. Perpetrate a smal denial, or

2. Act out some type of defiance.

Examples

You place a folder on the conference table that is labeled “Confidential—John Smith.” When the target reaches for the file, you grab it and say, “Uh-uh, not yet. You have to wait for this.”

If you deal in creative work and you brought visuals, let the target sneak a peek and then, when you see him curiously looking, turn it over, take it away, and deliver a soft reprimand that says,
not until I say you’re ready
.

This is a quick tease fol owed by a strong denial, and it is massively disruptive to the target’s croc brain. What you are doing is not offensive, and it’s not mean. It’s playful, and it tel s the target subconsciously, “I’m the one in charge here, not you, my friend.”

The key to taking the frame is to perpetrate the denial and make it clear: Not yet. This is my meeting, we’re fol owing my agenda, and everything that happens wil be on my timeline.

Another way to control the frame is to respond to a comment with a smal but forceful act of defiance.

TARGET: “Thanks for coming over. I only have 15 minutes this afternoon.”

YOU: “That’s okay, I only have 12.”
You smile. But you are serious, too.

With this simple remark, you have just snatched the power frame away from your target. This can easily become a frame game. I’ve had meetings get cut down to just two minutes this way. They wil say, you only have 12 minutes? I forgot, I only have 10. Then I wil come back with 8.

And so on. As you’l find out, these kinds of frame games are good for relationships. They are a way of
prizing
(which you wil read about next) and can be entertaining for both parties. It can be that simple. The better you are at giving and taking frame control, the more successful you wil be.

Think of how many ways you can use smal acts of denial and defiance in the opening moments of meetings. The possibilities are only limited by your imagination. Defiance and light humor are the keys to seizing power and frame control. Keep it fun, do it with a grin on your face, and the moment the power shifts to you, move the meeting forward in the direction you want. This is the foundation of frame control. You’l be seizing more power and status as the pitch continues.

Power shifts and frame grabs start smal and escalate quickly. When this first power transfer takes place, when your target loses the frame, he knows it—he can feel that something just happened. His cognition is hot, which means that his basic desires have been activated. Now, he is paying close attention and is ful y engaged. He is thinking,
Whoa, what do we have here?

He might be feeling a little buzz from what you’ve just done but is not offended because you were not rude or mean.
When you are defiant and
funny at the same time, he is pleasantly challenged by you and instinctively knows that he is in the presence of a pro.
This is the moment when he realizes that this is a game, that the game is now
on
, and that you are both about to have a lot of fun playing it.

Once started, the game has its own inertia, and you can use it to your advantage. Don’t be afraid to play with your power by engaging in a little give and take to keep his attention in the moment because that is the entire purpose of this game—
to capture and keep attention until your pitch is
complete.

You must also take care not to abuse the power you now hold. The
frame master
, which is what you wil be when you get good at this, knows that dominating the frame is not
how
you win the game but rather a
means
to win the game. No one likes to be dominated, so once you own the frame, use this power in ways that are fun and mutual y exciting.

Smal acts of denial and defiance are enormously powerful frame disrupters. They equalize the social power structure and then transfer al that power to you. Then, al you need to do is hold on to the power and use it wisely.

The Prize Frame

Another common situation occurs when the key decision maker does not attend the meeting as was agreed to. This situation requires a special kind of response that not only wil reaffirm your control of the frame but also wil establish you as someone unlike anyone else they have dealt with.

Let’s say that you’ve done everything right so far. You’ve come into the business interaction and quickly asserted strong frames and, hopeful y, frame control with the people you’ve just met. You’re ready to start your pitch and are waiting for “Mr. Big” to come in, when his assistant steps in to announce, “I am so sorry. Mr. Big just cal ed. He can’t make the meeting for another hour. He says to start without him.” She turns to leave.

This is a defining moment for you. You have just lost the frame, and there is nothing you can do about it. However, this does not mean that you do not have choices. Your options are

1. Go ahead with your presentation, even though you know you’ve lost the frame, hope for the best, and hope that maybe Mr. Big wil join the group toward the end of the meeting. I would not recommend this.

2.
Stop everything.
Reframe using power, time, or prize frames (which are covered in this chapter) or perhaps al three. Immediately take the power back.

You’ve traveled to this meeting, prepared for it, and have an established goal. Are you wil ing to throw that away?

No one can tel your story as wel as you can. If you trust your presentation to subordinates and expect them to pass it on to the decision maker with the same force and qualities of persuasion that you have, then you are not being honest with yourself. Again, no one can tel your story as wel as you can. Mr. Big must hear it.
He must hear it from you.

This is what I usual y say in this situation:

“So you guys are asking me to delay the start? Okay. I can give you 15 minutes to get organized. But if we can’t start by then,
then let’s just call it
a day.
”

Usual y someone wil volunteer to track down Mr. Big, and that person wil try as hard as he or she can to find him and request that he join the meeting.

Or someone wil say, “Let’s go ahead with the presentation, and we’l make sure that Mr. Big is briefed.” You can’t let your frame get absorbed by this. Your response? “No, we’re not going to fol ow your agenda. This meeting is going to start when I say
start
, and it wil end when I say
stop
.

You’re going to make sure that al the right people come to the meeting on time. Then we’re only going to cover the items on my agenda, and you’re going pay attention to every minute of my presentation.”

You only
think
this way, of course. What you actual y say is, “I can wait 15 minutes, but then I have to leave.” That’s enough to get the message through.

The first time you think this way and say these words, you’l be uncomfortable—no, make that terrified—and you’l wonder if you are doing the right thing. Your heart wil race, and you’l fear the consequences of your boldness, afraid of having offended your audience. You’l second-guess yourself and think you’ve just made an awful mistake.

And then something awesome wil happen. The people in the room wil scramble, doing their best to prevent you from being offended, doing their best to keep you from leaving. They are worried about
you.

When you own the frame, others react to
you.

Like Peter Parker’s transformation into Spiderman, you wil suddenly be empowered by an internal change state that is felt by everyone in the room. Be judicious with this power as you are now in complete control of the situation. If you stand, pack up your things, and leave, it wil be a social disaster for Mr. Big and his staff. So be benevolent, give Mr. Big the promised 15 minutes to arrive, and act politely but true to your frame.

And if he does not show at that point, you leave. You do not deliver your presentation, you do not leave brochures, and you do not apologize.
Your
time has been wasted, and you don’t even need to say it. They know.

If it seems appropriate, and if this is a company with which you want to do business, tel the most important person in the room that you are wil ing to reschedule—on your turf. That’s right, you offer to reschedule and acknowledge that these things happen (we have al missed meetings before), but for the next meeting, they must come to you.

This is a subtle framing technique known as
prizing. What you do is reframe everything your audience does and says as if they are trying to win you over.

A few moments earlier, you learned that Mr. Big wasn’t coming to your meeting and apparently you were just the morning entertainment. Now, however, you are communicating to your buyers that
they are here to entertain you
. What prizing subconsciously says to your audience is, “You are trying to win my attention. I am the prize, not you. I can find a thousand buyers (audiences, investors, or clients) like you. There is only one me.”

It also conveys to your audience that if they wish to get any further information from you, they wil first have to do something to earn it.

Prizing 101

To solidify the prize frame, you make the buyer qualify himself to you. “Can you tel me more about yourself? I’m picky about who I work with.” At a primal, croc brain level, you have just issued a chal enge:
Why do I want to do business with you?

This is a powerful and unspoken expression of your high status and your frame dominance. It forces your audience to qualify themselves by tel ing you exactly how interested they real y are.