This is an insert from Jean-Renaud Cherubin’s new book
‘Pitch-Pace-Attitude; & other ways to be successful at work!
This blog is slightly different than other blogs since this blog will read like a book hence it will soon be a book. Each week we will add some parts of chapters on WordPress and my fans and followers will help with the whole process of the book simply by reading and commenting each week on a new insert; leading to newer, fresher rewrites before the final draft of the book. Fans will also help with titles, cover art selection and font style and later they will get the advance copy before the release date in 2014.
Pitch-Pace-Attitude & Other ways to be successful at work!
Chapter 1
CREATE YOUR OWN OFFICE ATMOSPHERE AND OFFICE ROUTINE
Phase 2.5
How to build impulse through your presentation (pitch)
Your morning routine is the most important aspect needed to ensure a fabulous work day. In order to succeed at work you also need a great pitch, pace and attitude. By now you have a good idea what your pitch is all about let us continue from last week when we spoke about creating short stories to show interest in your pitch. Speak smooth and clear and you will not sound like a salesman because no one wants to be caught in between a sales pitch. The moment they see there is nothing in it for them they lose interest and it is hard to get them back. In this instance getting them back means ‘getting them to subsequently do your bidding.’ No one wants to be manipulated as well, so the art of walking away from negative body language is vital. When looking for positive feedback or looking for people willing to work with you and not against you, you will need patience. Before you go into your presentation here are 5 things you need to look for through body language and persons verbiage that can determine if you have found someone worthy of your pitch, offer or tasks at hand.
- Does this person have a vision? If not do they at least understand your vision?
- Does this person have self-confidence? And is not scared to make and repair mistakes?
- Does this person have a positive mental attitude simply by displaying the S.E.E Dynamics (Smile, Eye Contact and Enthusiasm?)
- Does this person expect greatness and success in their daily task? Some are in a hurry to just do the job so they can move on to the next. A quantity mindset instead of quality!
- Does this person have self-discipline to carry on a mission? It is hard to see a person’s mental toughness, but you need to look for it when it comes to team oriented projects or networking projects.)
- Lastly, does this person have persistence with set goals even when it is a dead end?
I have highlighted the boldface words because it is hard to see these features in other people unless you have been reading your body language and monitoring your own mental growth. This is why you need to practice your pitch as much as you can. It is a set conversation you have with people all the time and they do not even know it is a structured conversation. It can put you in the winner’s circle to be able to control conversations that seem rather standard to most. Remember this pitch has a sales background, but if it is presented as a sales pitch you have lost your audience. A fine line or a small difference between someone saying:
- Hi, we are fixing peoples computers for free today,’ just give me your phone number and email address and I’ll get someone to help you right away.’
- Compared to ‘Hi, my name is James the IT Analyst (pause) and my computer company is having a special for all its clients focusing on removing viruses and increasing computer speeds. Your computer is running slow isn’t it? Well, we just launched a program to help out all our customers without having to spend any money or time; I just need your info to see if we can help you?” So what is your email and phone number? Thank you; here is your appointment card for a free computer repair consultation!
Good observation, the second may seem a bit longer in speech, but imagine two different people standing out in front of Best Buy talking to potential clients; Guess who will get more customers. Yes, that is correct the second because it is more conversational designed to create impulse. If it works this great with strangers imagine your coworkers or close ones.
James used what is called the 5 step conversation technique used throughout the sales world. He is essentially giving people what they want with no guess work involved. It is what I have been teaching you in this chapter. By now you can already see the introduction, the short story, but may not completely understand the presentation, the close and finally the rehash. At this point of the chapter we are going to focus on how to give a person a presentation as you are talking to them. And next time we will help you assume the close.
The Presentation
I am here to help you create a successful morning routine and office routine. Read blog 1 if you missed it. The morning portion you are very familiar with and I am very proud of you if you are already implementing some tactics to your mornings. But let us focus on something that you can use every day at work and it is your pitch pace and attitude. We will spend some time on Pitch before we can move on to pace and attitude making it the tri-factor of corporate America. Experiencing the American dream at work is something that people have been doing for generations. Don’t lose sight that it can still happen even if America seems to be losing its grip on the being the number one nation. How you go about your day is the biggest factor that will determine if you can capture the American Dream. I now realize the dream is different for everyone, I believe it is to start your own business, but for years I worked hard at a company to save money so I can start my business. Only my 9-5 day job allowed me to pursue other goals. That’s why I can never bad mouth any man who provides for his family the traditional way through a hardworking job. I write today to let you know that if you are stuck in this job and feel no mobility, remember it is not over there is a bigger picture. You must succeed where you are standing right now, before you can succeed where you want to stand in the future.
With that being said let us look at our scenario of a man from the accounting department looking to work with the marketing department(which he knows nothing about) on a new project he was assigned to work on alone, he has turned it into a team project. The mission starts as soon as he starts talking to the budgeting guy in the marketing dept. Let us review what he has said so far and if he will succeed using the 5 steps to a conversation.
Seen here is the introduction and short story;
“Hey, how you doing today? {Pregnant Pause} Real quick… (I’m doing something special for the accounting department)…..”
“We are focusing on a budget for a new product, {Pregnant Pause} you’re the marketing budget guy right?
“Okay so, I assume you have worked on projects like this before right?”
“You have designed projects like this before right? And if you were to work on this project you wouldn’t change your style right?
“Great………………….
Add the presentation
“We just launched a new program designed to connect a person’s quarterly statement to his or her cell phone using an Application (Mobile App).”
“What we do is set up the app to take the existing information from Quickbooks (financial reporting software,) keeping the statement the same which is in good form and replace it with the App. This process takes minutes and updates in seconds as soon as the statement is due and we stay in contact with the customer more often through notifications on the App. It is light speed faster than paper through snail mail (regular post office) or email.”
“Sounds good, right?”
This is a pitch that is thoroughly thought out and presented well. It has done a few things that the naked eye may not catch, or even the naked ear. Let me explain.
- It is genuine.
- It creates enthusiasm.
- It directly focus on the subject no upturns or detours.
- Lastly, it builds impulse.
Before I show you how it built impulse we have to analyze his choice of words.
- The words ‘We just launched,’ signals it is already a team effort and it is happening as we speak. Always use the words ‘We just’ to create intrigue.
- The phrase, ‘new program designed to’ is the bottom line and it is the first thing you hear instead of the last thing mentioned, as in traditional presentations. This allows you to act like a boss on the subject matter. This can be any subject or project you choose. Be an authority on the subject up front and people will not feel neglected or mislead into doing something.
- The phrase, ‘What we do is’ presents the backbone of the project and shows you did your homework. These key phrases work anywhere as long as you know what you are talking about.
- The phrase, ’The process takes…’ shows what is in it for the customer. The advantage that has made this project or team building assignment worthwhile. Find the features and benefits of anything and express it in your presentation for better results. In this presentation he mentions more than one benefit for the company and the consumer. Excellent job there.
- Lastly the phrase, ‘Sounds good, right,’ creates the last part of creating urgency and that is being indifferent or unconcerned. It is very important to add this as it shows continuation with or without the persons help. Ironically this makes the person want to help more. The four steps to creating urgency will be tackled next time for now, start learning to present your subject matter right in the middle of your conversations.
Thank you for reading today.
Do you agree with Jean Cherubin or disagree, sound off on the comments.
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Check out Jeans first book by clicking;
Amazon’s 2012 The Time is Now 2.0! by Jean-Renaud Cherubin, available now.
Stay tuned next time as we learn to create urgency using the four steps of impulse and assuming the close (Phase 3).
The American Dream Rekindled. 