You either repel or attract people when you pitch yourself to get hired, get a new client or get funded.
Here’s an exercise to assess your own situation, put a plan in place and get you to become magnetic when you ask for anything!
- Identify. What is your current struggle in your personal or business life? Have you been trying to win a new client? Searching for your soul mate? Take a moment to jot down what your challenges are. There may be several, or maybe just one.
- Acknowledge. With those challenges in mind, think about where you are on the ladder with those situations. Are you stuck on the interesting rung? Still invisible? Know exactly where you stand, so you know where to go next.
- Build your personal “yes” toolkit.
- Think about a story that gets someone intrigued enough to ask, “That’s interesting. Tell me more.” Make it your own story that you enjoy telling, but also one that will be relevant and valuable in some way to the person you’ll share it with. Write down your story and practice sharing it with others, but remember that it should feel natural, passionate and come from the heart.
- Concoct a secret sauce that makes you irresistible. This isn’t plain old ketchup on a burger – go beyond the expected and find a way to differentiate yourself. Do something that others don’t want to do. Create something that others can’t. Be someone that stands out in a unique way that is difficult to duplicate.
- Problem-solve. Anybody can talk a big game, but coming to the table with actual solutions to problems – big or small – automatically makes you valuable.
- Listen for pain points. Figure out how you can uniquely solve them.
- Use future-pacing. “Imagine that I had a magic wand that I can wave over your problem. What would it look like if it was a year from now and it was fixed?”
- Offer new ways to see something as a way to solve a problem.
Let’s elaborate further on that last point, because it is by far one of the most intriguing approaches to solving a problem. That’s because it employs the concept of lateral thinking – solving problems through an indirect and creative approach using reasoning and ideas that are not immediately obvious and may not be attainable by using traditional, step-by-step logic.
Let’s paint a picture of lateral thinking and conduct this exercise together using an excellent example from the movie, 16 Blocks:
You’re driving down the road in your car on a wild and stormy night. The weather is like a hurricane, with heavy rains, high winds, and lightning flashing constantly. While driving, you come across a partially-covered bus stop, and you can see three people waiting for a bus:
- An old woman who looks as if she is about to die.
- An old friend who once saved your life.
- The perfect partner you have been dreaming about (your “soulmate”).
Knowing that you only have room for one passenger in your car (it’s a really small car), who would you offer a ride to? And why?
You can pick up the old woman, because she is going to die, and thus you should save her first. Or you can take the old friend because he once saved your life, and this would be the perfect chance to pay him back. However, you may never be able to find your soulmate again.
I encourage you to think before you continue reading, and see what answer you come up with. It may also help to close your eyes and visualize the situation.
The answer from the Bruce Willis character in 16 Blocks:
“I would give the car keys to my old friend, and let him take the old woman to the hospital. Then I would stay behind and wait for the bus with the partner of my dreams.”
What can you do to have lateral thinking to make you magnetic the next time you ask for a yes?
John Livesay ,aka, The Pitch Whisperer, is a keynote speaker to brands and shares lessons learned from his award winning sales career at Conde Nast. His keynote talk ‘”Getting To Yes” shows companies’ sales teams how to become irresistible so they are magnetic to their ideal clients. After John speaks, the sales team becomes revenue rockstars who form an emotional connection and a compelling brand story with clients. He is also the Co-Founder CMO of http://www.quantm.one that helps homeowners get cash for the equity in their home without taking on more debt.
Get your FREE copy of John’s book “Getting To YES” and learn how to climb the ladder from invisible to irresistible! Download the Free Book here- http://bit.ly/2BbJ5kH
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