Business Sales Psychology

Pitch Anything: An Innovative Method for Presenting, Persuading, and Winning the Deal (Summary)

by Oren Klaff

You walk into a pitch with a group of powerful executives. They make you wait 15 minutes, then tell you, 'You have 20 minutes, go.' What do you do? Most people would start their pitch. Oren Klaff packed up his briefcase and walked out, telling them to reschedule when they had the full hour. By refusing to be the needy supplicant, he seized control and ultimately won the $15 million deal. The secret isn't a better slide deck; it's controlling the social frame.

The Person with the Stronger Frame Wins

Every social interaction is a battle between competing perspectives, or 'frames.' The stronger frame always absorbs the weaker one. To win a pitch, you must impose your frame of authority and importance, rather than getting pulled into the buyer's frame where they hold all the power.

When a VC says, 'We only invest in companies with $10 million in revenue, and you're only at $2 million. Why should we invest?', they are setting a powerful analytical frame. Klaff teaches how to deflect this with an 'intrigue frame,' responding with a short, compelling story that changes the subject and re-establishes your own control, like: 'That reminds me of the time I almost got kidnapped trying to close a deal in Colombia...'

Pitch to the Crocodile Brain First

Your audience's brain has a primal, 'crocodile' filter that ignores anything boring, complex, or not immediately threatening or exciting. To get through, your message must be simple, visual, novel, and focused on survival-level stakes (gaining a huge advantage or avoiding a critical loss).

Instead of opening a presentation with a 30-slide deck full of numbers and charts, Klaff opens with a simple, high-stakes idea. For a new airport technology, he didn't detail the specs; he showed a picture of an airplane and said, 'This is an $80 million asset. On the ground, it's not making money. Our system gets it back in the air 22 minutes faster. That's it.' This clear, high-impact message flies right past the analytical brain and hits the croc brain directly.

You Must Be the Prize, Not the Pitcher

The traditional sales dynamic is a supplicant begging for the buyer's money. Klaff flips this entirely. The presenter must be positioned as the prize—a valuable, in-demand resource that the buyer has to qualify for. This creates desire and shifts the power balance.

During a pitch, Klaff will often manufacture a reason he has to leave early, stating, 'I've only got about 20 minutes before I have to get to my next meeting.' This subtle act of 'prizing' implies he has other, more important things to do and that the buyer's time is no more valuable than his. The buyer then instinctively works harder to keep his attention and prove the meeting is worthwhile.

Use Intrigue and Pushing-Away to Create Pull

Humans are drawn to what they can't have and are fascinated by puzzles. Instead of laying out all the facts, start with an intriguing story or a bit of mystery. Then, by subtly 'pushing away' or showing disinterest, you make the buyer want to pull you back in and chase the deal.

When an investor group seemed lukewarm, Klaff told them, 'You know what, I'm just not feeling the chemistry here. I don't think this is a good fit. We're a particular kind of company and we're only looking for a very specific kind of partner.' This act of taking the deal away made the investors immediately reverse course and start selling themselves on why they were the right partners for him.

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