You’ve heard of the proverbial elevator pitch, right? The one where you’re riding down the elevator with your boss and you need to sell her on your great idea before you reach the lobby. It’s a high-stakes conversation that you need to be prepared for. What do you do? What do you say? Of course, you may never find yourself in an elevator with your boss (people don’t talk in those things anyway), but we’ve all been in situations where we need to move others. Whether you are pitching an idea to colleagues, negotiating a new contract with a vendor, or just trying to convince your seven-year-old daughter to clean up her room, you’ve experienced a selling scenario. This workshop will tackle the fundamental elements of crafting a message that resonates with the audience, attracts attention, and, ultimately, inspires action.

1. M.J.D’elia
universityofguelph

2. welcome

3. aboutme
Librarian
Instructor
Facilitator

4. Learningoutcomes
At the end of this session
you will…

5. mypitch
Learn pitch techniques to start
meaningful conversations

6. pitchdefinition

7. “sheet music” - Lambda Chi Alpha Fraternity - Flickr (cc)

8. Pitch(music)
Clear and stable frequency
Distinguish signal from noise

9. “molasses ” - Kelvin Beecroft - Flickr (cc)

10. Pitch(resin)
Solid
Sticky (hard to forget)

11. “pitch” - Paul L Dineen - Flickr (cc)

12. Pitch(baseball)
Context specific
Multiple techniques

13. “sir millard mulch” - rick - Flickr (cc)

14. Pitch(sales)
Intentional target
Clear objective

15. Pitch
A concise proposal designed to
move people

16. pitchpractice

17. what+who
Select an idea to pitch
Who will you pitch it to?

18. example(MJ)
Idea: online learning site
Audience: supervisors

19. example
Idea: cross-Canada road trip
Audience: your kids

20. example
Idea: take a dance class
Audience: your significant other

21. what+who
Select an idea to pitch
Who will you pitch it to?

22. adjusttoyouraudience

23. example(MJ)
Idea: online learning site
Audiences:
supervisors v. students v. staff

24. Nancy Duarte (2008)

25. audience:Q1
What are they like?
Walk in their shoes…
Adapted from Slide:ology, Duarte, 2008, pp. 14-15

26. audience:Q2
Why will they listen to you?
Analyze your relationship…

27. audience:Q3
What keeps them up at night?
Understand their frustrations…

28. audience:Q4
How can you solve their problem?
Make their lives better…

29. audience:Q5
What do you want them to do?
Clarify next steps…

30. audience:Q6
How might they resist?
Anticipate concerns…

31. audience:Q7
How can you best reach them?
Increase chance of success…

32. knowyouraudience

33. summary
They’re busy
They hear lots of ideas

34. case:dollarshaveclub

35. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUG9qYTJMsI

36. discussion
What makes that ad work?

37. scripted
“Every moment, every frame,
everything has to have a reason
or a point.”
Lucia Aniello, Commercial director

38. delight
“Don’t give them a video they
could have written themselves.”
Michael Dubin, Dollar Shave Club CEO

39. buildyourblueprint
partone

40. “Make it personal and
make it purposeful.”
Dan Pink, 2012, p. 5

41. content
What do you want them to know?
Key points, primary advantages…
Adapted from To Sell is Human, Pink, 2012, p. 179

42. emotion
What do you want them to feel?
Enthusiasm, indignation…
Adapted from To Sell is Human, Pink, 2012, p. 179

43. action
What do you want them to do?
Invest, approve, switch direction…
Adapted from To Sell is Human, Pink, 2012, p. 179

44. massageyourmessage

45. summary
Brainstorm important messages
Cut the list to essential points

46. buildyourblueprint
parttwo

47. utility
People respond to information
that affects them
Appeal to extrinsic motivation
Adapted from To Sell is Human, Pink, 2012, pp. 166-168

48. curiosity
People respond to information
that intrigues them
Appeal to intrinsic motivation
Adapted from To Sell is Human, Pink, 2012, pp. 166-168

49. specificity
People respond to clear calls for
action
Appeal to desire for detail
Adapted from To Sell is Human, Pink, 2012, pp. 166-168

50. themix
utility + specificity
curiosity + specificity
utility + curiosity
Adapted from To Sell is Human, Pink, 2012, pp. 166-168
R
R
S

51. subjectlinepitch

52. summary
Distill your pitch to a phrase
Stand out despite limited attention

53. causeaconversation

54. “The purpose is to offer something so
compelling that it begins a conversation,
brings the other person in as a
participant, and eventually arrives at an
outcome that appeals to both of you.”
~ Pink, 2012, p. 158

55. questioning
Instigate the conversation
Invite responses, clarify motives…
Adapted from To Sell is Human, Pink, 2012, p. 145-149

56. listening
Inhabit the audience’s perspective
Hear offers, look for opportunity…
Adapted from To Sell is Human, Pink, 2012, p. 189-191

57. improvising
Work with what you are given
Build and improve ideas together
Adapted from To Sell is Human, Pink, 2012, p. 193-194

58. storytelling
Craft a compelling narrative
Build empathy, create context…
Adapted from To Sell is Human, Pink, 2012, p. 170-174

59. objective
The goal is to learn - not win
Refine with each pitch

60. wrap

61. abc
Adjust to your audience
Build a blueprint
Cause a conversation
~ Who
~ How
~ Why

62. “The enemy of persuasion is
obscurity.”
~ Duarte, 2008, p. 10

63. questions?

64. M.J.D’elia
mdelia@uoguelph.ca
Twitter:@mjdelia
Thankyou!

65. references

66. Dachis, A. (Dec 4, 2012). How do I pitch an idea that gets heard? [Lifehacker blog]. Retrieved from
http://lifehacker.com/5965536/how-do-i-pitch-an-idea-that-actually-gets-heard
Duarte, N. (2008). Slide:ology: The art and science of creating great presentations. Sebastopol, CA: O’Reilly
Gibbons, K. (Jul 20, 2012). How Dollar Shave Club got their sales pitch in front of 5 million+ people.
[Search Engine Watch Blog]. Retrieved from http://searchenginewatch.com/sew/how-to/2193070/how-
dollar-shave-club-got-their-sales-pitch-in-front-of-5-million-people#
James, G. (July 25, 2014). Five best cinematic sales pitches. [Inc. Magazine]. Retrieved from
http://www.inc.com/geoffrey-james/the-5-best-cinematic-sales-pitches.html
Levick, R. S. (April 23, 2012). Three marketing takeaways from Dollar Shave Club’s f***ing great ad. Retrieved
from: http://www.fastcompany.com/1835082/3-marketing-takeaways-dollar-shave-club’s-fing-great-ad
Pink, D. (2012). To sell is human: the surprising truth about moving others. New York: Riverhead
Pullen, J. P. (October 2012). How Dollar Shave Club’s ad went viral [Entrepreneur website]. Retrieved from:
http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/224282
references