Dad 2.020.
How to Pitch Nearly Anything to Nearly Anybody
Feel free to quote me, with appropriate citations. Thanks.
Speaker’s Notes
1) Masterpitch theatre
“welcome…to Masterpitch Theatre”
2) Everybody wants to get into the act
What is the act? It’s getting involved with brands. It’s getting your message out there with a product/company that is aligned with your brand and your goals. It is finding an outlet for your writing; freelance magazine stuff, an agent for your book idea, a major corporate player for your vlogs. That’s the act. And the key to getting into the act? The Pitch.
3) Why Me?
Why me? 4 reasons. Number one, I’ve been pitching magazines, with some degree of success since 1986. Number two: 72 – I pitched 71 different agents and indie publishers for my melanoma book in 2015 before I found one that was excited to take it on. In fact, one agent said, “I love your 3 sample chapters but I’ll be honest, you’re not famous and nobody dies. So I’m gonna pass.”
On the 72nd pitch, not only did I get a yes, I got an incredibly enthusiastic yes from a publisher that has turned into a long relationship - articles for their website, a partnership in a classical book project called “What’s the Big Idea? Books that matter” and I also narrate their r audiobooks.
Three: 17. On my second book, I had to find a different outlet. Agents and publishers have different niches and mine wasn’t the right fit for the new book. It’s titled “From Jim Crow to CEO, the Willie Artis Story.” It’s the story of a very poor Black man, born in 1935 in the Jim Crow south, and how he came to be a multi-millionaire industrialist in Flint who served as a minority business advisor to President Obama. It took me just 16 pitches before I found a publisher who was thrilled to take on this project.
And four, I am a huge reader. I can’t imagine a book written by a tenable author written on this topic that I haven’t read and put to use.
4) A pitch is not a proposal.
That’s right, a pitch is not a proposal. A pitch is a letter of introduction, the appetizer on the menu of business interactions, the free samples at Costco on a Saturday morning. It gets them interested in what you have on offer. It’s in the proposal where you hammer out the details. Don’t turn your pitch into a proposal. Just like on a great first date, leave them wanting more.
5) The docket
Number One. Choose wisely. Be the right fit. In other words, set yourself up for success. Send your pitches to those who are most likely to be aligned with your brand, your ethos, your readers and fans. Don’t just throw a bunch of stuff out there with nothing attached but thoughts and prayers. We all know how much Ts & Ps change things.
Number Two. Get organized. You need a system. Who’d you call, who’d you email? When? When is your first follow-up?
Number Three. Do the work. Nothing is easy.
Don’t waste your time. Dig deep-get to the people who can say yes, right off the bat. Find out who the decision maker is for what you’ve got. Brand managers are good, social media managers might not be, Use Linkedin, Use RocketReach. Lowe’s has a influencer@lowes.com just for us. Heck, just call the company and ask who is the influencer contact because you have a pitch. Be as specific as possible.
Number Four. Follow-up.
Send another email. Shorter, this time. Reference the first. Include the date. Ask for more information. Don’t be afraid to pick up the phone and actually talk with a real person. Pro-tip: You might want to script out your 1st 2 or 3 sentences so you don’t get tongue tied. What should you say? More on that in a minute. So crucial. Your first emails will probably be ignored. That’s how mission critical follow-up is.
Number Five. Getting over no.
6) No. (We hate you.)
No. Nyet. Non. Nein. May Yoiw. W.e. we hate you and you’re worthless.
This is maybe the most important topic today. Sit tight, I’ll get to that in a couple minutes, too.
7) Pitch/Query Tips
Item one – Don’t bury the lede. In other words, don’t make your reader wade through a full paragraph of background to get to the pitch. Tell ‘em up front, then deliver your supporting stuff. If they’re interested in the idea, they’ll keep reading. But if they stop reading, they’re bored, after 2 sentences, you’re screwed.
Item two – Cute. Sneaky. Twee, Adorbs. Don’t. Just don’t. Get to the point. These folks are pros, they’re reading pitches for an hour at a time, every few days. Be their friend.
Item three – SUBJECT LINE, yep, we’ve all seen the clickbaity “17 SUREFIRE SUBJECT LINES TO GET YOUR EMAIL OPENED!!!” Yea, those don’t work on you. They’re not gonna work on brand pros and agents and editors. I generally just put “Pitch (or query) from David L. Stanley” Who are we kidding here? I’m selling. I want to know if you’re buying.
Item four - #JustAsk Two things here. Ask for what you want. And two, ask big – no one is too big to get pitched, and don’t be afraid to ask for what seems, to you, like a lot. I guarantee, whatever brand you’re pitching, someone has gotten more. Just by asking.
8) Be granular
50,25,12,6 – Give them just enough.
This is so damn crucial. Describe your thing – your idea, your #JustAsk in 50 words. From Daniel Pink
Cut it down to 25 – that’s probably the lede of your pitch. If it’s not, you’re doing something wrong.
Cut it down to 12 – This is your pitch when you follow up your first email. That’s also your elevator pitch, your first sentence or two if you get someone on the phone.
Cut it down to 6. Or maybe even three or four – That’s the tagline for your campaign.
Why? Why? Why? Why? From the Hatch Brothers.
Ask yourself “Why do people do XYZ?” Then ask yourself why they do that. Then ask it again. And again. Each time, you’ll drill down deeper to that most granular nugget that can move people.
Why do people read blogs?
1) Because they like to pick up tips and ideas. Why?
2) Because that makes their lives easier; i.e happier. Why?
3) Because that gives more quality time with the people they love.
You do these two activities, incorporate them into your pitch. You will be successful.
This is “crafting the pitch.” It is truly a craft, just like finish work in cabinet making or making roses out of radishes for the buffet. You have limited time to make your pitch. You must absolutely choose the perfect words to perfectly describe your pitch. Maybe you can share it with a “Pitch Buddy’ before you send it off. If you do this right, you are going to have remarkable success.
It. Takes. Practice.
9) What Moves People to Act?
1) Authenticity. Every bit of current research shows that people don’t share click-bait crap, it’s cheap and easy to produce, but it is not effective and driving ideas, change, and sharing, i.e. -all the things that brands and agents want. People share because it is real.
2) Emotions. People act because of emotion. Even most brand managers who have to justify their decisions with data. Your pitch grabs them by the feels, they will find the data to justify their decision. I promise. What kind of emotions?
3) Fear. For sure, people are moved by fear. You can’t dip from that well too often. Every aggregator I’ve ever heard says that “Fear Fatigue” is real. We’re all sick of fear-based political ads. We’ve tuned them out, 100%. You want to look at a company that does great and positive stuff in what is essentially a fear-based industry, look at Bark Tech. They do an incredible job of taking the justified and reasonable fears we have about our children on-line, and creating content that doesn’t play into the fears.
4) Joy. We love to share stuff that makes us happy. Brands want stuff that makes their customers happy. Create some joy in your pitch.
5) Awe. This is the number one driver today. Awe. Visit the Grand Canyon, that’s awe. You feel miniscule, completely insignificant, yet totally in touch with the universe at large, right? You lay on your back at night with your kids in the backyard and watch the stars, you feel awe. You feel love. You feel protective and joyous. You feel.
6) Interconnected-ness. That, in essence, drives all human behavior. We all want to be a part of something much bigger than ourselves, we want to touch people, we want to share all that is good about humans. You make a brand manager or an agent understand that interconnectedness will come about as a result of working with you? Damn, you nailed it.
And a quick word about negative emotions. Cause for sure, sometimes we can connect with brands with nays instead of yays. If you do go negative, don’t make people sad. Sad is a low arousal trigger. Focus, with negative stuff, on MAD, ANXIOUS, or DISGUSTED in your pitch. Those move people to act.
10
Those
pesky no-es
You will hear no a lot. BTW- that’s my ear, and that little brown thing in front of my tragus? That was my melanoma. On the upside, I gotta book out of it, and I didn’t die, so…anyway-
Back to NO. Over the years, I’ve written a lot about bike racing for national magazines. I have relationships with editors. Even with them, I am successful about 20% of the time. Maybe 30%, on a slow news month.
Remember these things. One, your work, your brand; you have value. Two, your pitch offers value. Three, you aren’t getting a NO forever. What NO means is that you are not a good fit. AT THIS TIME. I’m saying that again. AT. THIS. TIME.
Four, don’t, no, NEVER burn bridges. Don’t ever write a brand off. Or a magazine. Whatever you’re pitching. Keep them in your lists. Go back to them. “Hey, I pitched you last October about this idea. Well, I spun that into something a little different, and it’s June. Can we talk about it?” I’ve gotten onto both Michigan Public Radio and NPR’s Here and Now with that.
11) The Pitch. Zen Mind.
In a roundabout way, we are going to address the 800 lb gorilla in the room. Getting over NO.
Look, our egos are fragile. They are under constant attack. Everything that we’re connected to runs straight from point of attack to the limbic system. Our feelings get hurt. The answer?
Don’t attach. Don’t be in love with your pitch. Develop professional distance between your pitch and yourself. You are not your pitch. Reframe the self-talk in your head about the pitch. Don’t daydream over it. Don’t spend the money, in your head or god forbid, for real, involved in your project. Nothing matters until things are signed.
This isn’t your big break. There is no such thing as a big break. Every overnight success in every field worked their ass off for years before you heard of them.
12) Do not attach.
Send it off. Check it off the list. Move on. In other words, Let it… never mind.
13) Questions?
Before I take questions, I want to ask you a few questions.
One) What can I do to help you be successful?
Two) If you want to share a pitch with me, either here during the conference or email, I have my contact info for you at the end of the slideshow.
Three) If you want to do the 50/25/12/6 activity or the 4 Whys? and share that with me, again, I’m here for you.
Now, a few keys; the takeaways from this.
14) Takeaways, Part 1
Have a mission. What exactly does one do to get a mission? When your values and your goals align, you have a mission. When you are on a mission, you can shed negativity like water on a steep-pitched roof. When I wrote my melanoma book, I was on a mission to ensure that no one who knew how to read would have to live my nightmare. Trust me, without a sense of mission, I would have quit long before I sent off that 72nd pitch and got a “Yes, we are extremely proud to associate with you in this project. It is with great pleasure we tender this offer.”
15) Takeaways, Part 2.
Number 1) Choose wisely. Set yourself up for success. The shotgun approach is never good. Be a sniper.
Number 2) Be granular. Say exactly what you mean, in very precise terms. Use your words. Properly.
Number 3) Just ask. Don’t be embarrassed. Don’t feel like an imposter. Don’t be a dick. Just ask. For what you need.
16) The mantra
BTW- that is my brain, The docs were checking to see if I had any brain tumors from my melanoma, that’s what kills, usually, in melanoma, it heads straight to your brain.
I am worthy. My work has value. I am not what they need. At this time. I’m going to repeat this. Say it with me. I am worthy. My work has value. I am not what they need. At this time.
17) Where do we go now?
In the words of Izzy and Slash and Axl, where do we go now? Here’s all my contact info. I am here to help. Connect with me.
± Twitter - @DStan58
± Instagram - @DStan_58
± Medium - @DStan58
± Facebook - david.stanley.754
± Personal Blog - dstan58.blogspot.com [Rants & Mutters)
± LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-stanley-26809b3b/
± DStan58@Gmail.com
Suggested Readings;
a very short list. These are books I’ve read and found useful. It’s alphabetical.
If you have a favorite not on my list, please let me know so I can add it. You’ll get a shout-out for the add.
Jonah Berger – Contagious, Why Things Catch On
The Catalyst, How to Change Anyone’s Mind
Invisible Influence, The Hidden Forces that Shape Behavior
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi - Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience
Susan Cain – Quiet, the Power of Introverts in a World that can’t Stop Talking
John K. Coyle – Design for Strengths: Applying Design Thinking to Individual & Team
Strengths
Angela Duckworth – Grit: The Power of Passion & Perseverance
Charles Duhigg – The Power of Habit
Tim Ferriss – Tools of Titans: The Tactics, Routines, and Habits of Billionaires, Icons,
and World-Class Performers
Malcolm Gladwell – Outliers; the Story of Success
The Tipping Point: How Little Things can Make a Big Difference
Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking
David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants
Daniel Goleman – Emotional Intelligence, Why it can Matter More than IQ
Adam Grant – Originals: How Non-conformists Move the World
Jeff Haden – The Motivation Myth
Chip & Dan Heath – Made to Stick
Daymond John – The Power of Broke
Steven Johnson – Where Good Ideas Come From
Daniel Kahneman – Thinking, Fast and Slow
Austin Kleon – Show Your Work
Steven Levitt & Stephen Dubner – Freakonomics, A Rogue Economist Explores the
Hidden Side of Everything
SuperFreakonomics
Jonah Lehrer - Imagine: How Creativity Works
Jane McGonigle – Reality is Broken: Why Game Make Us Better and How They Can Change the World
Sakyong Mipham – Ruling Your World: Ancient Strategies for Modern Life
Wes Moore – The Work: Searching for a Life that Matters
Cal Newport – Deep Work
Daniel Pink – To Sell is Human; the Surprising Truth About Moving Others
Drive; the Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us
Ken Robinson – Out of Our Minds
The Element
Simon Sinek – Start With Why
David Stanley & Willie Artis – From Jim Crow to CEO
J. B. Strasser – Swoosh: the Unauthorized Story of Nike & the Men Who Played There
Strunk & White – The Elements of Style (ed. note – Why this? Because if you can’t write clearly and easily, none of these books will help you be successful.)
Sun-tzu – The Art of War
Twyla Tharp – The Creative Habit: Learn it & use it for Life
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