Download PDF Pitch Anything An Innovative Method for Presenting Persuading and Winning the Deal Audible Audio Edition Oren Klaff McGrawHill Education Books

Product details Audible Audiobook Listening Length 6 hours and 14 minutes Program Type Audiobook Version Unabridged Publisher McGraw-Hill Education Audible.com Release Date April 16, 2014 Whispersync for Voice Ready Language English, English ASIN B00B4FAMR6

Pitch Anything An Innovative Method for Presenting Persuading and Winning the Deal Audible Audio Edition Oren Klaff McGrawHill Education Books Reviews

• Pitching is highly valued today. It is an ‘art form’ requiring knowledge of human nature, how the brain receives information, communication skills, courage and a lot of practice.
  
  Pitching is essential to leadership in all aspects of life – motivating others to act, gaining traction for an idea, raising capital, landing the job or promotion you seek, raising children, and reaching consensus on key issues with your spouse.
  
  Pitching for me is integral to my work which is creating new companies in health care. Primary tasks include developing a core value proposition, creating a team – executive team, board of directors, advisors – and raising capital. I know the value of effective pitching firsthand and have had many great teachers – Charan, Gallo, Duarte, Weissman – who have helped me shape my pitching style. I can now add Oren Klaff and his “Pitch Anything” to the list. Klaff who is the Director of Capital Markets at Intersection Capital has written a gem of a book on pitching.
  
  “Pitch Anything” from my point of view is a must-have for novices and those seeking to improve their “pitching method.” Its’ subtitle, “An Innovative Method for Presenting, Persuading, and Winning the Deal,” describes perfectly what you will gain from this book.
  
  I have learned in my work with start-ups that many entrepreneurs and inventors build their pitch around what they want their audience to know, rather than what the audience needs to make a decision. There is a big disconnect between the way the pitch is given and the way it is received by the “target”. Entrepreneurs and inventors have incredible knowledge about their subject and make the most important points clearly, but despite being well organized and passionate, their pitch is not convincing and they lose an opportunity. First impressions are lasting.
  
  The book begins with an overview of Klaff’s preferred and proven six-step method for pitching, STRONG.
  1. Set the frame
  2. Tell the story
  3. Reveal the intrigue
  4. Offer the prize
  5. Nail the hook point
  6. Get the deal
  He has used this six step method to raise tens of millions of dollars for his clients.
  
  He continues with two excellent chapters on the importance of frame control (who owns the frame/power) and of status. Understanding and managing these contextual issues will influence the receptivity of your audience.
  
  ' Frame control - Everyone brings a frame to his or her social encounters. Only one frame will dominate and it will crowd out the weaker frame. This happens below the surface in every business meeting, every sales call and in every person-to person business communication. If your frame wins, you will enjoy frame control.
  ' Status - How others view you is critical to your ability to establish the dominant frame, and then to hold onto power you gained after taking control. Status is not earned by being polite. It is not earned through small talk. Neither according to Klaff will serve you well as they only reduce your status. Klaff shows how to create situational status so you can positively alter the way people think about you.
  
  Klaff then outlines a good pitch and uses a case study to underscore each of the keys to success. Several key takeaways include
  
  • Let the audience know how much time you will take to put the “target” at ease. Why? They do not know how long they are going to be stuck listening to a stranger. This will help in keeping their attention.
  • Introduce your idea in one minute without details. The idea introduction pattern – “for _____(target customers who are dissatisfied with the current offerings in the market)…my _____is a _______(new idea or product category) that provides _______(key problem/solution features). Unlike _______(the competing product), my idea/product is ______(describe key features).” Then let them in on the “secret sauce” and the budget.
  • Make sure they know that the most important deliverable is you.
  • Use frame-stacking and hot cognitions (a whole chapter is dedicated to this) to lead them to a positive decision. Most major decisions are not made by cold cognitive processes such as evaluation analysis, but instead by hot cognition. Data is generally used to justify decisions only after the fact.
  
  This is only a snapshot of what Klatch describes. You will find much more detail with ‘how to” guides that are extremely helpful in crafting and delivering a successful pitch.
  
  Another key subject area that is covered in the book is ‘neediness’. Pitching or selling does not come without rejection no matter how skilled you are in the art form. The disturbing thing about rejection is that you really never get used to it. It’s natural and unavoidable to become disappointed when you get a “no”. You are human. If you let it, though, it will lead to validation-seeking behavior which is the number one deal killer.
  
  Klaff provides several key sources of neediness that come from within. We fall into validation-seeking behaviors when
  1. We want something that only the target can give us
  2. We need cooperation from the target and can’t get it
  3. We firmly believe that the target can make us feel good by accepting our pitch
  4. The target seems uninterested in our pitch, begins to withdraw, or shift his or her attention to something else.
  
  The formula for thwarting this deal-killing behavior follows the rules of Tao
  1. I want nothing – eliminate your desires
  2. Focus only on the things you do well – be excellent in the presence of others
  3. Announce your intention to leave the social encounter – withdraw at crucial moment when they are expecting you to come after them.
  Success here will make them come after you.
  
  Those who pitch MUST consider that the brain has limited focus and capacity. For most, 90% of the message will be discarded. “Pitch Anything” provides a guide to pitching so you can get and keep the attention needed to own the room, drive emotions, and “hook ‘em” to the conclusion you seek.
• First of all, I don't even write reviews as this is my first one because I had to warn people. This books is all fluff. He talks about the crocodile brain mumbo jumbo that are basic cognitive science. It will pique your interest in the beginning if you're not familiar with it, but it's awful later on in the book. He talks about how awesome he is and how amazing his techniques are endlessly. Do me a favor, try to find this book somewhere else for free then tell me how to practically implement his strategies. I'll wait.
• I originally bought this book because, while I'm not in sales, I'm constantly having to sell myself and/or my ideas to my bosses and I find I spend a tremendous amount of time qualifying everything to them. I bought this book with the added audio narrative because of the way I learn; I like to listen to the lecture and make note for later reference. So I listen to the book during my commutes and I like the way the author reads his books because it's as if he's speaking to you directly. I also have the digital book so that I can refer back to points made as well as notes I've made. That said, I'm hesitant to give this book a great review because I don't want that many people having the same advantage that I now have!
  
  This book will not only give you better tactics and strategy on how to pitch ideas, products, or services, but it will (or at least with me it has) change the way you think. I find myself thinking about and looking for frames. Listening to others, I catch myself thinking how I would have framed their dialogue. I'm constantly looking for beta traps and thinking how to get around them...and this is when I'm NOT trying to pitch anything. I also quite enjoy playfully re-framing some of my boss's comments to put him a bit back on his heels.
  
  This really is an outstanding book. It's well written. It offers tips and strategies along with anecdotes to show how it's applied. It's not very difficult concept to learn and employ, but it's not as easy as the author makes it out to be (but then again doesn't success require work and effort?). I'm very pleased with the amount of knowledge I've gained and been able to implement within a short period of time.
• Oren Klaff did a great job in this book explaining how the human brain works and how people perceive your message. He delivers a framework on how to shape your message for your audience and how to be persuasive in your pitch. All based on research how your brain works. Although he has a background in finance, this approach is highly applicable for other industries where pitching is needed, such as advertising. I read this book on a flight to Denver (to see the band Phish!) and thought about the methods he discusses a lot on my trip. It stuck with me.
  
  We all think we can make presentations and people will receive them based our calm and analytical approach. This has been proven false! The audience's first reaction is pure instinct and there is nothing you can do about that. Once you are aware of this you will change your message accordingly.
  
  He also delivers tips on how to handle so called beta-traps from your opponent letting you wait in the lobby, saying they don’t have much time for you, interrupting during a presentation, etc. The situations he describes are very recognizable to most of us and I'd like to memorize this book for those situations.
• Entertaining and eye opening on the how and why deals happen. If you sell ANYTHING - this audiobook is for you! Can’t get enough and notes galore. Already closed a huge VC deal and many smaller deals with simple approaches to owning the room and framing-up the process. Will Pay for itself 1000x in First month after you listen/read. Shared with others who thanked me as well.