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In a B2B pitch, you're not there to close a deal, you're there to open a relationship. The three objectives of a pitch, therefore, are to Snap, Crackle 'n Pop: stimulate interest, start a customer-focused conversation and build trust.
If you achieve these three objectives, your prospects will not see you as another vendor, but rather as a trusted advisor.
Sales Pitches That Snap, Crackle 'n Pop shows you how to achieve this in straight-forward and sometimes hard-hitting language.
Dr. Tobias Kiefer, Global Learning & Development Head at Booz & Co says, "Jack slaps you in the face with best practices and makes you laugh...
Continue reading "The Book: Sales Pitches That Snap, Crackle 'n Pop" »
Oh, Facebook, you hurt my feelings.
Again, baby!
Oh, we've had a rocky relationship right from the start.
And each time you hurt me, we kiss and make up, and then we slowly slide back into the state of normalcy. Correction: I slowly slide into your new definition of normalcy.
You give me vague explanations. You tell me that this is for my own good. But I'm beginning to wonder about this relationship. I'm beginning to see the light.
You're a wicked soul mate, Facebook.
I'm hooked on you... as a product.
A product is something we buy and sell. It's something we use.
Sure, it's cool that you let me use this valuable product for free and then you monetize it. You sell advertising. Cool.
A brand, however, is a relationship.
A brand is so much more than a logo or a trademark.
It's an expectation of an experience.
A great brand inspires trust.
A great brand inspires loyalty.
And your brand sucks.
You're riding high because your product is the biggest game in Palo Alto. Will that last forever? When the chips are down, will your brand carry you, Facebook? Will it? Will it?
Have you built strong, trusting relationships?
Not with me, baby!
I'm not too upset that Mark Wunderkind Zuckerberg (allegedly) screwed his best college friend out of millions... billions... while insisting he's not driven by money.
I'm not too upset that I have to adapt to this week's "new views" on my homepage. I've been keeping up with technology for 30 years, and I can handle this.
But I do question why you feel you need to be the editor of my life, of the community that I've stored on your platform, Facebook. What other bits of my information are you editing?
I do question why you were commercializing my data without notifying me. I found out through other, more trustworthy relationships. They coached me on how to proactively adjust the settings that you surreptitiously manipulated and abused.
I'm upset that you've been cheating on me, Facebook!
I'm upset that I heard it through the grapevine!
I'm upset that our relationship is always on your terms!
Oh, I've been such a fool! I now see that... you're just using me, Facebook!
I've pulled myself together. I've wised up. And now I'm just gonna' use you back... your heartless product, that is. I'm just gonna' use it.
But your brand?
You ain't been showin' me the love, honey!
Your brand has breached my trust.
I can only imagine what you're doing when you come home a little late and then feed me that line of bull... you and your nerdy friends eating pizza at the office while writing HTML code.
My imagination runs wild. I've got pictures in my head of you runnin' around town, sellin' my soul to the highest bidder, sellin' my data to any bidder, and then tellin' me that everything's gonna' be just fine.
Oh, I've wised up alright, Facebook.
And I'm sorry, baby, but... I don't love you any more.
Sure, I still need you. I've gotten used to this lifestyle, and I need this roof over my head for a little while longer.
But it won't be long and I'll be cheating on you, too, Facebook. When another product of equal utility comes around, my heart won't hold me down to your brand.
I just know I'll start sneakin' out out the back door from time to time... with another social network!
You can bet that if that relationship starts working for me, if I start building trust in that brand... I'm just gonna' walk right out that door, honey.
Because I don't trust you.
And that's not my fault.
Your brand sucks.
Photo by http://logo-s-collection.blogspot.com/2009/10/facebook-logos-facebook-facebook-logo.html
Lisbon Rocked!
The Toastmasters 2011 European Spring Conference in Lisbon exceeded all expectations.
Hats off to the Lisbon organizers. Bem feito, amigos! You folks knocked everybody's socks off.
Conference keynote speaker and 2001 Toastmasters International Speech Champion, Darren Lacroix, also knocked his share of socks off.
Show Me! And Make It Fast!
I won't hide the fact that I went into Lisbon with skepticism. "O.K., so you won a speech contest once ten years ago," I thought to myself. "How does that affect my life? What's in it for me?"
I was willing to give Darren the benefit of the doubt. We are fellow Toastmasters, after all. We share a certain bond.
But still... I can be a cynical jerk and quick to judgment. Darren would have to prove himself rรกpido.
And he did. Long before he even went on stage to deliver his keynote, in fact.
At the opening dinner on Friday evening, Darren approached me and introduced himself. He cited my successes in Toastmasters, and he also asked me about the panel discussion I was leading on Sunday.
Good start, Darren!
He did the same with other people throughout the evening. He didn't have to prove himself with chest-pounding before proving himself with his keynote the next afternoon.
And what a keynote it was. Powerful. Inspiring. Funny. Self-deprecating in just the right places. Engaging from start to finish.
One full hour filled with pearls of wisdom, yet structured so we could get it.
My Biggest Takeaway: Why Pausing Works
I've long been a fan of listening during sales calls. Of asking good questions. Of exploring client challenges and then listening some more.
As salespeople we still have to balance exploring and listening with presenting effectively... with talking.
And pausing in just the right places increases your effectiveness, as Darren points out.
It can be torturously difficult to pause. It can feel awkward... and threatening! What might the prospect be thinking?
But pausing pays big dividends.
Pausing allows the prospect (or audience) to catch up with us.
It encourages the audience to frame our concepts in their mind.
It encourages the prospect to sell him or herself on our concepts.
But Isn't That Dangerous?
The risk in pausing, one might think, is that the prospect has time to raise an objection that they would not have otherwise raised in your presence.
But skilled salespeople know that the the best time to handle an objection is when you're there... when you're present... when you have the opportunity to address it face-to-face.
And here again, an effective tool to use after handling an objection is... the pause.
Pausing is distinct from exploring and listening.
In pausing, the assumption is that you have spoken. You haven't asked a question. You haven't listened. You've spoken. Perhaps you've presented a great idea or an edgy concept.
Now... give your prospect time to digest it.
(Pause, two, three, four...)
What Did You Like About It?
When Darren finished his Lisbon keynote and exited stage left, I was fortunate to be sitting in a left aisle seat, toward the back. So I reached out my hand. "Man, what a cracker of a presentation. You blew us away!"
Darren smiled, looked me in the eyes, and asked, "What was it specifically that you liked about it?"
"Well, I like to relate things to sales, because that's my space. So much of what you said was relevant not just to presenting generally, but to selling specifically."
And therein lies my Take-Away Number 2 from Darren's keynote.
If somebody tells you they really liked your pitch, ask them, "What was it specifically that you liked?"
It engages people in the positives.
That's a powerful tool to have in your sales toolbox.
