Free Pitch Anything: An Innovative Method for Presenting, Persuading, and Winning the Deal: An Innovative Method for Presenting, Persuading, and Winning the Deal by Oren Klaff

that ideas and human relationships have no value.
    Do not let your audience go there—keep audience members focused on the relationship they are building with you. Your intrigue story breaks this analyst rule set in an entertaining way and replaces analytical thinking with narrative discourse.
    Breaking the Analyst Frame with Suspense

    Consider the movie Jaws for a moment. This 1975 Steven Spielberg film is a classic, and decades later, it is stil doing a brisk business on DVD.
    Why does this story work so wel ? In the first part of the film, Spielberg doesn’t show you the shark. The great white lurks below the surface, creating a sense of terror and suspense. Where is it? When wil it strike next? How big is it?
    We see someone in the water, minding her own business. Then we see her as a victim, screaming, kicking, getting pul ed under, and eventual y disappearing in a froth of red water. This predator is unseen, and we have no idea when it’s going to strike next. This creates great tension, and we are riveted to the action.
    Now let’s reimagine Jaws . Let’s assume that the shark is fitted with a GPS transponder and that we know its exact location at al times. We know where the shark is going, where it’s been, and what it looks like. When it comes time to hunt the shark, Police Chief Martin Brody and the crazy shark hunter, Quint, know exactly where to go and what they’re up against.
    Strapping a GPS transponder on the shark strips away the mystery and the intrigue. Tel ing the story this way would have wiped out nearly a bil ion dol ars in box office revenue. If you know where the shark is at all times, you have no tension, no suspense, no blockbuster. The same can be said for your narrative.
    Use the elements of surprise and tension, and as you approach the most interesting part of the story, move away from it and leave the audience intrigued —until you are ready to reveal. Clearly, this technique made Spielberg one of the most successful directors in history. It works for me in business settings, and it wil work for you.
    The Prizing Frame: Reloaded

    Prizing is a way to deal with threatening and fast-approaching frames that are likely to push you into a low-status position. When you prize, you frame yourself as high value in the eyes of your target. Prize correctly, and your target wil be chasing you.
    Establishing a prize frame is the very first thing you need to do when you are on someone else’s turf, ready to begin your pitch. When you get to the end of your pitch and it’s time to get a deal, your success depends on how wel you establish your frames at the beginning and how strong those frames actual y are.
    For a moment, think of the alternative to having strong frames. One is to sel harder by making more cal s and being more pushy. In fact, our business culture has a fascination with the idea that a salesperson should never take no for an answer. There’s pressure from the top. Always be chasing. Always be closing.
    Everyone has heard a friend tel a version of this story: “The buyer didn’t want my product, but I wouldn’t take no for an answer. I just kept pounding away, until he final y signed up.”
    Such stories dramatize the myth that you can succeed by badgering your clients into buying something. The truth is, this rarely works, and when it does, you are sure to encounter buyer’s remorse.
    The same is true with pitching. If you think you can browbeat your target until final y he relents, you have it backwards.
    Whenever we chase someone or value someone else more than ourselves, we assume the subordinate position and put ourselves at a disadvantage. Although we talked briefly about this before, I’l now introduce you in greater depth to the concept of prizing and the prize frame.
    Who is the prize, or who is chasing whom, is one of the underlying social dynamics that influences most meetings. The answer establishes a person’s motivation and tel s us how they wil probably behave in