SELL YOURSELF FIRST

Part 2 of 5

WORKING BACKWARD Series

Wait a minute. This is a series on working backwards and you are telling me what to do first!

Yes and no. The idea of selling yourself first is predicated on the idea of IDEAL OUTCOME. The ideal outcome may be a sale, a partnership… or it may mean a job, a promotion or simply a second meeting. By thinking through what you want, you put a great deal of focus on the elements supporting that end result and allow the information come out in a more natural form.

I once worked with a physician who had created and developed a whoop-de-doo (yes, that’s a medical term) device in his area of expertise. The manufacturing company thought it best to allow the creator to speak directly to other physicians who would utilize this whoop-de-doo device in their surgeries. Oh dear. His presentation was devoid of any personality or enthusiasm. Here was the inventor, for goodness sake, whose credibility seemed questionable both in delivery style and execution as he stumbled through a memorized speech. He showed no excitement or interest in his own invention (he even seemed mildly confused) but spoke coldly on its surgical application and mechanics. You might think a like-minded group of surgeons would appreciate the lack of theatricality but in looking out over the audience I saw yawning, texting, whispering and even, exiting. Yes, some people just left the room, never to return. The delivery was more distracting than the subject matter.

This may seem like an extreme case, but I see this quite often: people so focused on what they want to say, they forget there is a human being on the listening end of the presentation.

Oh, come on. These surgeons are professionals! Surely they could suck it up for an hour or two… see past the delivery... and some could. But in the end, we’re all human. In my professional opinion, which I was paid to give, the IDEAL outcome for this particular event was emotional investment, passion and peaked curiosity. (There would be a reception later for one-on-one time with the inventor.) This was not the time to give a detailed ‘how to’ lesson in a piece of equipment these people had yet to buy. Obviously another, tried and true surgical procedure was already in place with a different device that seemed to work just fine. (How many times are you trying to have others see the logic in your argument, but they are in a mind set that seems to be working just fine, thank you.)

SO! Working backwards, the ideal outcome was to interest these physicians to the point they felt compelled to find out more. We wanted them to see the need in utilizing this gizmo, and they in turn would need to convince their hospitals to make a rather sizable investment... this necessitates an emotional as well as practical investment. I believed the best process was to first peak interest and go for the emotional buy in: introduce actual cases studies where real lives were changed drastically. In a professionally produced video, doctors who had used this device talked about their joy over saving time in the operating room, shorter recovery time and happy outcomes. Thrilled patients told how much better they felt after the procedure and the difference it made in their lives. The Inventor then gave a short talk on what led to his discovery- yes, he was coached on conveying a bit more enthusiasm. But what was most amazing, was how his personality blossomed more naturally as he spoke, not of the equipment itself, but of its evolution and time saving qualities, which in this case, were actually life saving. The onus of creating a snazzy introduction was taken from his nontheatrical shoulders and as a bonus, the video helped him prepare (get in the mood!) as well.

When he spoke, the good doctor sold himself first - his passion, interest, thought process and his own excitement, before even trying to sell the product. The audience could relate to him as a person, his experiences. Their interests were peaked, more devices sold... a win-win.

When analyzing your ideal outcome, ask yourself if an emotional connection with your audience would help. The time for "what" to say will come. But the "how" you make your approach paves the way.