Reading Notes for:
Pitch Anything
By Oren Klaff
An Innovative Method for Presenting, Persuading, and Winning the Deal
9 of 10 pitches that go through the croc brain get coded one of 3 ways.
- Boring = ignore it.
- Dangerous= fight or run.
- Complicated= accidentally pass it on in a severely truncated form.
New rules of engagement. There are 2 rules we ask ourselves after a pitch. 1. Did we get through. 2. Was the message well received?
Your message must make sure 2 things happen. Don’t trigger fear alarms. Make sure that it gets recognized as something positive, interesting, and out of the ordinary. A pleasant novelty.
The ancient crocodile (fight or flight) wants info simple, non-threatening, novel, clear, and intriguing. Not interested in minor points of differentiation. Doesn’t have time for new projects. Wants to decide between 2 clearly explained options, fast. Need strong summarized points. Will ignore you if possible so needs high contrast options. Is emotional. But most important emotion is fear. Likes concrete info and does not like abstract concepts.
So YOU have to bridge the gap between neocortex and croc brain.
Formula
1. Set the frame for your pitch. Put it in an understood context.
2. Seize high social status. Assume a high platform from which to pitch.
3. Create messages that are full of intrigue and novelty.
S- Set the frame
T- Tell the story
R- Reveal the intrigue
O- Offer the prize
N- Nail the hook point
G- Get the deal
Whenever the croc brain is bored, threatened, or confused- your pitch is in trouble.
Frames are our mental fields that we put up to command a situation. When someone destroys them, our guard is down and they can impose their will. We interpret the world through our frames. It’s our perspectives. 2 people can look at same thing through different frames and see vastly different things.
Frames can be competitive. Whenever 2 or more people come together in a business setting, their frames square off and come into contact. Not necessarily in a friendly manner. Frames are rooted in our survival mechanism. And seek to sustain dominance. The stronger frame will absorb the weaker.
Learning to harness and understand the power of frames is the most important thing you will ever learn.
Sales techniques are for people who have already lost the frame control collision and are struggling to function from a lower status position. When you have lost the social frame you have lost the sale. This can be won or lost even before the pitch starts.
You MUST own the frame to win the game
Frames are used to package your power, information, usefulness, and status. Everyone uses frames whether they know it or not. Every social encounter brings frames together. Frames don’t stay in the same time and place for long without crashing into each other and dominate to absorb the others
The winning frame governs a social interaction.
