Pitch, Pace and Attittude! And Other Ways to Succeed at Work. Phase 3

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 3

How to assume the close by building impulse (pitch)

 

How important is it to complete a daily script and a morning routine?  Consistency is very important it is one of the characteristics that employees seek. Basically, they want to know if this person can deliver day in and day out. Well, can you? Yes you can if you have a morning routine combined with a beautiful pitch, a fantastic pace and a great attitude. Those three aspects of your professional life are all considered when evaluating your work ethic. In essence it is very important to create your own pitch, pace and attitude. If you research online there are hundreds of books on attitude adjustments such as, “Attitude is Everything.”  I am glad that today I will help put your best foot forward, and to do that you need a nice pitch, and a nice pace. Please keep reading and you will get a total idea of why pitch, pace and attitude are important and how they all go together.

Reading the prior week’s blog you will notice the intro, the short story, and the presentation portion of your script, but today it is all about the close; to be even more precise it is how to assume the close. A great communicator will not repeat him or herself. The art lies in putting it all down the first time and getting confirmation from the listeners. You do this by closing your conversation and rehashing your key points. This will decrease the amount of time you will miscommunicate with people. First it solidifies the course of action by all parties and second and it has ‘follow up’ built right into the predetermined scripted conversation rather than freestyle conversation. Freestyle is where two people have a conversation with no real destination. It is no longer freestyle once you have control. Here is how to get control. You must assume the close. In business it may be called ‘assume the sale.’  In assume the sale you go right to the signing of purchased products or services, usually once the salesman hears a few keywords allows them the opportunity from the conversation. Here is how you can add this style to your script (Daily Pitch.) Here are the details and how it works.

Done deal!

Assuming the Close

1. Close or End of Conversation.
   1. Assume the close after a few keywords or positive body language from listener.
   2. Here are eight sure fire signs that your listener is interested and willing!

i.     The return the S.E.E Dynamics (Smile, Eye Contact, Enthusiasm) when you mention your initial offer.

ii.     They ask plenty of questions while still in your presence.

iii.     They may even repeat a few questions. To ensure it makes sense to them.

iv.     They say yes to every quick question you ask them. Remember this is the important qualifying portion of your Intro speech.

v.     Positive Body Language.

vi.     Silence is a good sign, but this is tricky if they are silent you have to get them to qualify by asking questions. Make sure that silence doesn’t mean incomprehension, but yet interest and mental process of offer. Allows you to complete your pitch or simply see if they are paying attention to your words. This means it is time to take control and avoid silence. While building impulse or interest.

vii.     Time is of the upmost factor. Your pitch and idea is premeditated and you know where you are going with your pitch. You also know what you need and what you are looking for so keep it short and simple.

viii.     They picked parts of your offer. If a person starts to pick up pieces of your product that means they are looking for a deal and really want in, but it is up to you to make it make sense to them and pick the whole offer not just parts. No need to be aggressive once you see whey want in, just reel them in like a bass fishermen and hook, line, & sinker. Eventually, this will mean a little bit more time and effort on your behalf but you will get your way.

Here are a few questions that you can use to assume the close.

“You are going to work on this alone or with others?”

“Can you make it look like this once completed.”

“Is there another decision maker that needs to approve before we move on?”

Inside the close we have what is called Rehashing or ‘Go Over.’ Here you can also mention other projects you are working on and mention the people already working on it. Lastly you will explain all the steps that lead to the end of the conversation. Repeat some of the answers given. That also means you were listening to them as they spoke during your pitch¹.  This is another great chance to repeat your position on where you stand and the expectations of the combined team effort. Managers do it all the time. It is time you do it now.  While rehashing or repeating specifics, part 2 of the close is building the impulse.

4 Ways to Build Impulse

1. Fear of loss is greater than hopes of gain.
   1. Put the project in their hands and pull it away after mentioning a few details from it. It can be anything. A copy of an email, pictures, or design ideas. Slowly pull it away and look around as if it is a special project and say;

i.     ‘Today is the last chance.’  ‘This week is the set up and due date.’

ii.     ‘This is the only project allowed to leave my desk.’

iii.     ‘All other items are done; people are just waiting for this one.’

1. Create sense of urgency.
   1. After you grab back your physical portion of the project such as the email or design ideas. Do not hang around, your time is precious I want you to slowly walk back one or two steps. They will either come closer or signal more interests with their body movements.  It is a brain twister and at times they may be perplexed or confused. Ease their mind and come back slowly and say;

i.     ‘I am in a hurry and I need and answer right now.’

1. Look for greediness level.
   1. Many time people at work are very nice and want to help as much as possible, but without messing up their own reputation. You may need to make yourself fit in their hectic schedule. You may never need to build this much impulse but it is available to you. To convince them a little more you can say.

i.     ‘This is a great deal of great importance; there will be minimal time and effort on your behalf.’

ii.     ‘Here are the rewards and prizes and accolades involved in this project or offer.’

iii.     Name drop a few higher ups or key players in the organization. ‘Bob would love this to be done on budget.’

iv.     My favorite is to DEPUTIZE. Allow them the power to move freely by saying thing like. ‘This section can be mentioned to other people; it is not as private as the other portions of this project that we are working on.’

1. Showing Indifference.
   1. This is very hard to do and takes practice. Emotional strength is just as important as mental strength. There have been many scientific analyses on the very real Emotional IQ. Here are a few points to show indifference;

i.     Be opposite of aggressive or demanding. Do not cringe your brow.

ii.     Be stern and confident with no fear of loss in your body language.

iii.     Do not be pushy, let them buy into it.

iv.     Most important let them buy into YOU. You are selling yourself here not your project, items or offer.

Building impulse is very important as you create your pitch and pace you will need these factors for back up if you ever need to close someone who is ‘on the fence’ (unsure) about your offer. If they clearly say no, it does not mean it is over. Before you move on and stop your pitch to try and work it on some else, you can use these impulse techniques.

Adding the Close and Building the Impulse

Start talking like a leader and your projects will get done a lot faster, because of team work. You will become a project manager if you are not one already. People will want to work with you especially if you follow through and have a great pitch, pace and attitude.

We need to continue our story of an accountant who needs help with the marketing department. He knows nothing of marketing but has a beautiful pitch to get the help he needs.  James the accounting guy was able to get one of the marketing guys to assist him in a project he was doing alone and he came across some bumps. One bump was the project itself. He has to create a budget for a project he knows very little about.  It is an accounting consumer mobile application for all the company customers’ smartphones. Let us examine his communication style how you can add the close and build impulse in your pitch. Let us see how to put it all together.

THE PITCH

 “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………………….

 “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?”

Add the Close by Assuming the Close.

“So, what we are doing for this project is getting designers and others to work together for a flawless launch date for the App.”

“I just need an okay to see if you can help meet the deadline.”

“Again, you are John right?” “I am James² and it is nice to talk to you today. (Pregnant pause for their response) Is there anyone else we need to get an okay from before we move forward or are you the final decision maker?”

“Okay great, so tomorrow or the next day you can bring one of the first parts of the design and cost analyses of The App Project, Right?”

Build Impulse by Rehashing the Proposal.

Once they give you a reasonable time table you then say; “I am going back to my office to crunch some numbers and make a few phone calls to notify others of your interest and work time table on this project. In case they call you will be very aware of any changes. Thanks for all your help and I’ll talk to you soon.”

 

Okay, this conversation seems simple, but the pitch has been rehearsed by James and the listener likes James and how he presented himself. This concludes what a great pitch resembles; you can modify it any way you like. But there are a few key points that cannot be missing. It needs an intro, short story, presentation, close and a rehash all while building impulse. You have just become a well-spoken person and may I add a very persuasive one at that. Let us break down how James got his way.

Here is how he did it. His total package includes some of these factors and we can break down his verbiage as well:

• It is genuine and shows enthusiasm.
• It creates urgency through his pitch, pace and attitude.
• It makes the participant feel special.
• Lastly, it builds impulse with reasonable work effort.

Here are the 5 closing points to a 6 step conversation: Intro, short story, presentation, close and rehash all while building impulse. Add these steps and key words to your pitch and watch the difference it makes.  In this scenario ‘Pitch’ does not merely mean your tone of voice but your S.E.E Dynamics, your voice, tone, range and your verbiage all create a very interesting person.

• The words; “So, what we are doing…” shows the project or offer is well on its way and even has a few details already in place. It shows that time is of the essence and everyone is looking forward to its completion. It also shows the core interests.
• The words; “I just need…” shows, while this project is in tow it still has missing parts and here they are. This allows the person to see where they fit in and it makes them feel special and they do not want to miss out. It seems as an opportunity instead of work or a chore. They feel needed.
• The words; “Again, you are John right, I am James and it is nice to talk to you today…” No one wants to feel like they have to do something and get nothing back. By reintroducing yourself it shows you are here to make a friend or an associate and you are growing the relationship as you talk. Re-exchanging pleasantries is a nice way to break the coldness of a business deal. It is still professional and work, but yet it almost feels like a favor with a reward attached. They get something out of it. To be honest that is why many people do the things they do. SO feed that part of their ego.
• The words; “So tomorrow or the next day…” shoes urgency and a sample of the time line that you are working with and it transfers that urgency to the new participant as they take the offer. They need to clear their schedule to fit in the offer they just willingly accepted. It also gives the person pitching some authority and time to ask for exactly what is needed. By here they are all hands on deck and you have to take the role of captain as you steer your ship to voyage. One that your partner wants to be in part.
• To end the conversation you need to say what you are doing right after the conversation ends. So the words. “I am going to…” shows you are a team player and you have to go do your part. This shows that the person who took your offer made a great choice. They bought into you. You cannot let them down now. You have set the expectation high. Perfect, right?

Thank you for reading today.

Do you agree with Jean-Renaud Cherubin or disagree, sound off on the comments.

Please follow this weekly blog as there is more to come while setting up this new book blog series.

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 move on to Chapter two: The eight steps to success! As combined with pitch, pace and attitude of course.

Footnotes

¹Listening skills are key factors for being an interesting person because 50% of what you say is your body language. 40% is your pitch, tone and range of voice. 10% is the words you choose.  ‘How to be Interesting: Simple Ways to Increase Your Personal Appeal by Gillespie/Warren-2013 Capstone Publishing.’

²Reintroducing yourself may not be necessary; only if you do not know the person if you know the person cool things off by re-exchanging pleasantries.

Pitch, Pace and Attitude and other ways to succeed at work 2.0! The Presentation

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.

1. Does this person have a vision? If not do they at least understand your vision?
2. Does this person have self-confidence? And is not scared to make and repair mistakes?
3. Does this person have a positive mental attitude simply by displaying the S.E.E Dynamics (Smile, Eye Contact and Enthusiasm?)
4. 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!
5. 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.)
6. 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.

Please follow this weekly blog as there is more to come while setting up this new book blog series.

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).

This Great Ol’ country of mine, the USA.

Sometimes we forget how good we have it in the United States. The land is secure, the people have oportunities and the children have a future in the US. The 3,000+ miles of land really is a mix of many cultures are wrapped into one. The people here have been feeling the pinch of the economy and everyone is thinking twice before spending their hard earned money, but the point is atleast they have that option. My fellow black men and women when are we going to forgive even if we can never forget what 400 years can do to a group of people rezenting slavery after its been over for 116 years, therfore we haven been in America for 516 years griping and other races are passing us by. People we have the land we need to succeed, we have the opportunities and we have all the types of people at our disposal to help us succeed. The land has been tilled, industries have come and gone, the security of the nation might of had a hiccup, but its still a rare event. America lets get back to work, being what we have always been, remember those old school signs ‘#1 USA!’