Perfect Your Pitch

Today is Opening Day for the 2015 season of Major League Baseball. As you may know, of course, I am a big fan of baseball. At the beginning of last season, I wrote this post, and it was very well received. A LOT of you read it.

As you can see, that post was about the reverse K. It was about striking out looking. It was a post about the sadness that is inaction. This year, to celebrate the start of 2015, let's talk about action. Let us talk about the pitch.

By talking about a pitch I will, of course, be speaking metaphorically. As we know, in the world of business, a pitch is a sales message. Your pitch is your sales message. It is the offer you make to the public.

These days, the word “pitch” is generally used in a negative and derogatory fashion. Meaning, when somebody tells you to give them your pitch, they are usually being dismissive. What they are really saying is, “Hurry and tell me what you've got so I can hurry and say No.”

For this reason, if you are in sales, I do not recommend pitching people your products. Rather you should maintain your posture and refuse to be subjugated in such a pathetic manner. I do believe it is fine to tell people the benefits of what you do. But, I also support you when you refuse to jump through hoops like some circus clown.

I will give you a personal example. I will tell you what I do. What my company does is we make it so that top-rated attorneys are completely affordable for people. It's simple and it's powerful. In the beginning that is a person needs to know. So, I do not explain any further. If somebody wants more information, I will happily send it over, or we can arrange for an appointment. Either option is more effective than a pitch. It's win-win.

That said, I do suggest that all people perfect their pitch. To this you may ask, Courtney, aren't you contradicting yourself? The answer is, no, I am not. As I have said, the fact is, the word “pitch” tends to be a pejorative. At the same time, I think it is wise to take ownership of that word. I like taking a negative and turning it into a positive. It is something they did on TV.

Did you ever see that television show called PitchMen, with Billy Mays and Anthony Sullivan? The creators of that show took a negative and turned it into a positive. Because, if you like to berate pitch men, and you know that show, the joke is on you!

So, yes, a pitch is a sales proposition, and I think we should all know exactly what it is that we sell. Even if you are not technically “in sales,” you still need to know your pitch. Like Tom Peters said, “All of life is sales.”

Let's say you want to go to a certain restaurant for dinner. You might need to pitch people on the idea. Or, let's say you want to convince your child to clean up his room. You better pitch hard! The list of examples I could create is endless.

Over the weekend I watched a beautiful presentation by Guy Kawasaki. The name of the talk was “The Art of Innovation,” and Kawasaki knocked it out of the park. What's more, I cannot help but believe that Kawasaki channeled the strength, to hit a home run, by giving the talk in Berkeley (bias revealed)!

At any rate, in his talk, Kawasaki gives the top ten things required to be a successful innovator. On Guy's list, number ten was “Perfect you pitch.” Kawasaki says, “If you're an innovator, you have to learn to pitch.”

Readers of this blog know how we should all be innovators. Even if that innovation only starts off with personal development. And, if you are an innovator, you are an entrepreneur, which is where this blog focuses. As Peter Drucker said, “Innovation is the specific tool of entrepreneurs.” To be an entrepreneur, you need to use innovation, and you need to know how to sell. Period, full stop.

So, what do you sell? How do you help people? Are you clear about it? As I said earlier, my company makes attorneys affordable. I don't know that I could get it much more clear than that. The statement, “We make attorneys affordable,” is pretty simple. But, to be completely honest with you, it took me a long time to figure out. Which is pretty normal.

What Peter Drucker used to tell everybody is that they need to answer the question, “What is my business?” And he warns, the answer is a lot harder than you might think. The answer is really about what people buy, rather than what you think you sell. Do you understand? If not, work on it.

Here is an example. Insurance is not something people buy. What people really buy is peace of mind. Right? What people really want is to know they will be covered in the event of a loss.

Back to my personal example real quick. In a technical sense, what my company sells is a membership. But that is not what people buy. What my customers really buy is the ability to speak with quality attorneys without having to worry about the costs. What my customers are buying are protection, empowerment, and peace of mind. Are you with me?

If you do not know why your customers buy from you, you should work on it. One option is to simply, and directly, ask your customers. Ask them why they bought your product or service. Ask them what benefits they have received from owning your product/service, etc.

You see, the way I look at it, what better time, than the start of baseball season, to learn how to pitch? By the way, click here and you can watch Guy Kawasaki's full talk on YouTube. Go Angels!