Pitch Your Ideas and Succeed - Part I!

The ability to sell your ideas is a core competency for success in any organization!

Organizations are looking for ways to:

• Save money
• Increase efficiency
• Grow sales
• Reduce waste
• Improve customer service
• Create new products
• Create new customers
• Maintain the existing customer base
• Improve employee motivation

All these worthwhile improvements require ideas!

Unfortunately, good ideas often go by the wayside because they are not sold effectively. Ideas are a dime a dozen, but the ability to sell the idea and gain acceptance is the core skill.

No one will know how good you are, until your ideas are sold to someone or a group...and implemented consistently!

Let's look at persuasive concepts that you can use to be more effective in promoting good ideas. If you have, what you think, is a good idea, use these strategies to increase your chances of success in selling the idea.

Think about your audience first!

Don't be impulsive and just start blurting out the idea at every opportunity. Think about your audience first. Here are some starter questions:

• Who will decide to approve or disapprove?
• What are their hot buttons?
• What are their top three frustrations?
• What trends are affecting them?
• What are their sensitivities?
• What are their values? Needs? Beliefs?
• What keeps them up at night, eyes open, staring at the ceiling?

Be audience-centered and pitch your ideas to the needs of your audience. If you're selling your idea either to one person or to a small committee, you follow the same process.

Remember, don't focus on what you want to say, build your message around what they want to hear, based on their needs, wants, desires, etc.

Once you determine your audience profile, then move on to the next persuasive concept.

Think benefits – identify the major appeals of your idea

People buy benefits to satisfy their needs and wants! Your idea will have facts, data, information, etc. Translate these features of your ideas into benefits for your audience!

As the common saying goes – people do not buy ¼ inch screws, they buy ¼ inch holes!

A common principle in marketing is that people buy emotional benefits and justify with logical benefits.

But that's not all...

When you sell your ideas in an organization, there are two sets of needs that require benefits:

• The organizational need to save money, avoid waste, increase profits, etc.
• The personal need of the person or group that you’re trying to sell who wants to avoid being wrong by accepting the idea; or, who is concerned about the fear of failure if the idea goes south; and, who has to deal with the fear of embarrassment if the idea is a big bomb!

It's important to use a quantity of both emotional and logical benefits that meet these two needs. Here are some examples:

Fear-based emotional benefits = feeling safe, secure; little risk or no risk; feel comfortable; to reduce personal exposure; to protect reputation; to eliminate criticism

Gain-based emotional benefits = being first; prestige; advancement; accomplishment

Logical benefits = save money; protect assets; reduce waste; be more efficient, etc.

Helpful drill – take a sheet of paper and on the left hand side identify all the facts or attributes of your idea. On the right hand side, identify the ultimate benefits to the audience of each fact.

Focus on getting the attention of your audience

It's important to break through the "clutter" that your audience is experiencing. At any one time your audience could be thinking about 100 different things. It is estimated, marketing experts, that we are exposed up to 2500 marketing messages a day!

You have to break through the "preoccupation barrier" of your audience...and you only have about 8 seconds to do that!

Say something in your opening words that will rivet their attention and gain their immediate interest. I call this "headline language".

Headline language is the use of short, powerful statements that promise a benefit. It can be use anytime during a persuasive presentation, and it is especially effective as an opening statement.

Here are some ways to do it:

• Start with the word "Now" – "Now finally, we have an opportunity to reduce our costs and improve our quality all at the same time!"
• Use a number – "There are seven ways to get new customers in the next month!"
• Use curiosity – "We are missing a little-known opportunity to increase our customer service!"
• Use a penetrating question – "Have you ever wondered why they seem to have such a motivating climate?"
• Fear of loss – "Just how much money are we losing by poor marketing?"

The use of these strategies alone will put you head and shoulders above most people in creating compelling persuasive messages for your ideas.

You will receive additional strategies in Part II that can multiply your ability to influence others and rapidly succeed in your organization.

 

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