by Oren Klaff
“The Kovat 480!” someone shouted.
“Yeah, the 480,” came a few dozen echoes, because every Kovat 480 had the same story and only someone who grew up driving in the Czech Republic would know about the brake, that damn alarm, and the double-kick rear trunk—and how red was the best color.
“That’s right,” Lukas said. “The 480 was the toughest damn thing on four wheels short of a tank.”
A low murmur rose up from the workers gathered around the platform. Heads started to nod vigorously. I smiled. Nodding heads and leaning in are always clear signs that Status Alignment has been achieved. I was loving this. Lukas was right on schedule, like he’d been doing this kind of presentation for years.
Now that we had their attention, it was time for Lukas’s Flash Roll. He drew a deep breath and launched, rapid-fire: “Today, your best quality car is the Volka Láska 100, but it has more than thirty competitors! Even though it’s not the cheapest small car out there—that’s the Nissan Versa—it costs less to buy than the Ford Fiesta or VW Polo, and what’s amazing is you still deliver the Láska with alloy wheels, air-con, digital radio, rear parking sensors, automatic emergency braking, and a leather steering wheel. It’s impressive. Sure, I know some of your competition offer fancier technology, but as a safe, dependable supermini, the Láska is very hard to fault. Your real advantage over the other superminis is horsepower. I know you’re still selling the 74 horsepower non-turbo three-cylinder Láska to the older people and the boosted 1 liter Tuned Port Injection in 94 horsepower trim to commuters—the 94 horse version is the one I like to drive. But you really caught the attention of the younger generation with the supercharged 108 bhp horse turbo in the seven-speed twin-clutch DSG automatic. If we could convince you to add a rear spoiler, front air intakes, and a lumpier camshaft—say we get 115 horsepower—we’d have a solid shot at another 250 million euros of annual sales in the supermini segment.”
Man, what a Flash Roll! The guy was a champion. After this speech, the crowd was silent, no jeers or heckles. That’s usually a sign that the buyers have accepted your authority and expertise in the subject. You have instilled certainty in the listener. From here on out, they won’t interrupt or waste your time. With this kind of rapt attention from the buyer, it’s time to deliver the Pre-Wired Ideas: Winter Is Coming, 2X, and Skin in the Game. I was on the edge of my seat, waiting to see how Lukas was going to pull it off. It was hard to follow perfectly because, again, Trevor the accountant had to translate everything for me, but this is pretty accurate for what Lukas said next about how Winter Is Coming.
“For 120 years your competitors have tried to discredit you, to outsell you, to take your customers, and they have succeeded from time to time, but they never succeeded in building a tougher car than you. So 750 of those competitors are now in the junkyard of history and you’re still here, making the Láska, Vik, Zipp, and Basecamp. Today, after making twenty-five million cars . . . Volka is one of the most important manufacturers in the world! But you cannot relax, because now, some real competitors are coming for you fast and they’re out for blood.
“On one end, the Koreans are coming. They sold 1.3 million cars last year and they want all your customers. Not some—all of them. Volka has never faced a smart, rich, and aggressive global competitor like this. But it gets worse, because coming from the other direction is BMW. They’re trying to build a submini that will eat the entire segment. If we get caught between Kia and BMW, it will not be good. We will be in retreat and they will take over the market. But there’s still enough time to maneuver against them by creating a clear message for UK buyers about our vehicles. We have to get that message out fast, and do it correctly, or we’ll start to lose market share.”
Now it was time for Lucas to get into the 2X formula.
“If we act now, I know we can double sales in the next five years, and we’ll kick Kia all the way back to Korea. And BMW will walk away wishing they’d never heard the words submini or Volka.
“What kind of advertising message will do this? What can we tell consumers to avoid the frontal attack by Kia and the rear assault by BMW? What marketing will double sales in just a few years? Today, we have a very good ad campaign ready to launch, but it will take a little time to test, refine, and make it perfect. Give us that time.
“Why us? In the next six months, we will dedicate all of our key staff to making this campaign work. In other words, we will be all in. No other agency can offer that level of commitment. We will fight Kia. We will send BMW back to Bavaria. Together we will double your sales. This is how we fight—together—because I would rather die on my feet fighting with you against Kia than live on my knees, watching them take the UK market. And I know you feel the same way.”
Shouts went up from the workers as Lukas finished. A few fists were thrust into the air. This resonated with them, of course, because Lukas was describing their brand in a way that they would have described it to their friends or even a person who knows nothing about cars. He was touching on the values that already resonated with them. It was all very Plain Vanilla. But if we wanted to cement our status as the clear choice, we couldn’t be entirely Plain Vanilla. We’d have to show these workers that we were also offering to take them into the new normal, that we were different from everyone else in one key way.
“In the past, consumers chose a car by its reputation. Volvos were safe. A Toyota lasts forever. BMWs are fun to drive. Mercedeses are classy. Jeeps go anywhere. Hondas sip gas. But today, things are different. Consumers have discovered that all cars are good, efficient, fun to drive, and super safe. There isn’t a bad car out there. Believe it or not, a Pontiac is as safe as a Volvo. And the cost from one model to the next is similar. The supposed differences between brands have mostly become myths. Quality is the new normal. It’s the same with Volka: Your cars are high quality, have advanced technology, and are extremely safe and low-cost to operate. But so are others. So in the consumer’s mind, you are just another car, very similar to Toyota, Nissan, VW, and Hyundai. Except . . . for one big difference. A Volka is tough. This is a real difference that Western Europeans can understand and appreciate. More than any other car, we are practical, honest, and tough. So if you want a high-quality car with all the features and performance of any other car, but you want something functional and tough, then you want a Volka.”
I continued to be impressed. Lukas had obviously been practicing for this moment during the off hours, and a star was born. He had expertly framed our offer as Plain Vanilla with just one unique element. He showed them that we could become the new normal for a big part of the UK market. But he wasn’t done yet. It was almost time to invite pessimism and ask the buyers to question him and the deal. But first, Lukas was going to reveal his Buyer’s Formula. He was going to teach these factory workers a quick lesson on choosing an ad agency.
“I know . . . up here we’re a bunch of guys in suits; we have ten minutes to talk to you, give you a few lines, make a few promises, then we all fly back to New York, London, Frankfurt, Tel Aviv . . . wherever. And you never see us again, but you still have to rely on us to help you sell cars. How are you supposed to make such a big decision in such a short amount of time? I cannot tell you who to choose, but since I do this kind of thing a lot, maybe I can show you how to choose.
“First, pick someone who has studied your 125-year history and has driven your cars. And not just the mighty flagship Basecamp but the lowly ten-thousand-euro Minimoto too. And ‘driving’ doesn’t mean a one-hour test-drive; it means driving thousands of miles over many years. For example, I once drove my Kovat 480 to Spain and back . . . in three days!
“Second, forget how big an ad agency is, because in our world, a big agency looks like it would be the best, but big is slow—and slow is dead—meaning size hurts you instead of helping you. Third, don’t pick someone you feel good about, and think you might ‘like as a person’ and get along with (and this might not make s
ense now), but pick someone you can argue with, fight with, disagree with . . . and still, even though mad and frustrated—they will show up the next day, to work. They don’t show up for ‘sensitivity counseling’ or to talk through their feelings or to complain about you to the bosses. They just show up to do the work.
“The table stakes are high, because we’re talking about the very future of Volka, so you don’t want to hire prima donnas and sensitive types. If it were me, I’d pick the kind of people you can have a few drinks with, and make sure they drink Branik dark, not Corona Light.”
Many heads nodded knowingly about Branik dark, possibly the best beer in the Czech Republic.
“Finally, I think you pick someone who knows cars, not car advertising. Because look at these ads—they are all the same.” He held up a stack of small posters and flipped through them. “Is this an ad for Toyota or Nissan? Ford or Kia? Who knows? The right agency won’t make these cliché ads, because they love cars, not advertising. Now look at this Porsche ad. You can tell they love cars. And this ad for Ford trucks. These were done by agencies like us—small agencies, people who love cars and make easy-to-understand car ads. And may God strike me down, but we will never put singing hamsters in a Volka TV commercial.”
With that final dig at Kia, it was done. He stopped talking, put the microphone down, and hopped off the platform. The small crowd erupted into applause that seemed to go on and on. It took a few precious and expensive minutes to get everyone settled down enough to listen to the Kevin guy from Bradford-McCoy. And they hated him right from the start. Although he spoke some decent Czech, it sounded like he had learned it from a Rosetta Stone app on an iPad on the flight over. He came across as elitist and privileged. These factory workers weren’t buying what he was selling. He had failed to achieve Status Alignment. After just a few minutes he was talking to some very bored workers. Giving the wrong speech to the wrong audience, he finally accepted defeat, slumped down off the platform, and trailed off without any real call to action. When he finished, the manufacturing line restarted and the workers were gone.
The rest is history. A few hours later Simon and team were all on a flight back to London with a signed Volka Motors UK contract for 10 million euros in hand. And Lukas had earned a place in advertising history.
Personally, I just couldn’t wait to get back home to California to cook a large meal in my new kitchen and take my son to hockey practice. Just be a dad for a little while and slow things down. Yeah, that was going to be nice.
Simon had pulled the Volka card on me, same as I had on him, claiming the rules “forced” him to book me an economy ticket on the return flight to the States, so I leaned back and snuggled into the world’s most uncomfortable seat, then glanced down at my phone as a new text message came in. It was from an unknown number but the sender clearly knew who I was.
“Oren. Confidential deal. $40 million. I’m in Boston tomorrow. See attached file. You in or out?” That was all it said.
I had to admit, I was intrigued. Was it Anton? John King? Logan? Billy?
“Who’s this?” I texted back.
“Mike Bixby,” came the immediate reply.
OK, that got my attention. He was the CEO of Hyperloop, the revolutionary transportation company that was worth almost a billion dollars.
“I’m IN. See you there,” I typed. Then I paused, my finger over the Send key.
I took a breath. I thought about my little boy back home, and my beautiful wife who missed the heck out of me (if her recent texts were to be believed). Too many deals lately. It was starting to take a toll. I tried to remember the last time I’d been home for two weeks straight. It had just been deals, deals, deals. Maybe one too many.
I deleted my first message and wrote, “Sorry Mike. Love to, but I’ll have to catch you on the next one. I’m Out.” Then I put the phone into airplane mode. This time, I was going to keep it there.
CONCLUSION
IT’S YOUR TURN
You’ve seen how I used these principles in high-stakes situations to land important deals without pressuring or coercing the buyers. With a little practice, you’ll soon be doing the same.
Since developing this set of techniques, I’ve taught it to thousands of people—and regardless of their skill level or experience, I’ve watched them apply this approach, flip the script, and achieve inception in their deals. They’ve been astounded by the results, and so have I.
So here’s a quick recap of the process; think of it as a quick-start guide:
You’ll start by getting your audience—whether they’re a buyer, an investor, or a business partner—to pay full attention to you and take you seriously, as they would a partner or colleague. And you’ll do this by achieving Status Alignment, the first step to making a deal.
No buyer of any kind is going to listen to you until they feel they’re in the right place at the right time with the right person. That’s why the Status Tip-Off is so powerful. When your buyer sees that you understand who they are, can speak their language, and are part of their in-group, they’ll immediately become receptive to what you have to say. Whether you’re talking to an assembly line worker or the CEO of the company, you need to establish that you fit right into their world.
Either way, a Status Tip-Off works the same—it’s a brief story or phrase that would be known only by an in-group member and will instantly cement your status as “one of us.”
But achieving Status Alignment is not enough to make a deal happen. You probably have friends whom you trust and respect. However, how many of them would you hire to manage and invest your money?
When the stakes are high, you need to instill absolute Certainty in the buyer’s mind that you’re a true expert in your field and that things will happen exactly as you say they will. To do this, you’re going to use a Flash Roll.
While the Status Tip-Off aligns you with your audience by showing them you have a lot in common, the Flash Roll should distance you from your audience, demonstrating your technical expertise in one very specific field—which happens to be the area in which they are having a difficult problem.
Once you’ve established your Status and expertise, it’s time to explain your big idea to the buyer. Specifically, to answer the three questions in the buyer’s mind: Why do I care? What’s in it for me? and Why you? The faster you answer these, and the less cognitive strain you place on the buyer, the better your chances are of closing the deal. The easiest way to do this is using a sequence of Pre-Wired Ideas:
Winter Is Coming
2X
Skin in the Game
These ideas are designed to fit into the deepest pre-wired idea receptors in the human brain while supplying your audience with the answers they need to move forward with you. With Pre-Wired Ideas, your audience will understand everything they need to know about you and what you’re offering.
But you don’t just want your buyer to understand your idea, you want them to buy in and pitch it back to you—to invite you into your own deal. You want to flip the script. And this isn’t going to happen until the buyer feels safe to explore your idea more deeply and entertain both the positives and the potential negatives.
To make the buyer feel interested enough to explore a new idea but safe enough to move forward, you need to find their novelty sweet spot. Show them how your offer is the New Normal—a Plain Vanilla concept with just one key and valuable difference. To keep things moving along, you should lump together all of the ways your product or idea is new and unique so the buyer isn’t overwhelmed or scared to buy it. Then show how your offer is new and different from the status quo in just one key way. If you’re in a room full of Czech business executives as I was, you can tell them you’re exactly the same as the top ten creative agencies in the world, but much smaller (and therefore more effective).
By this point, the buyer is becoming attracted to your idea and
the idea of working with you, and you won’t feel the need to control, pressure, or corner them. Instead, you’ll be in free exchange of ideas and plans to move forward.
However, before you actually turn the power to make the decision over to your buyer, there’s one final step: You need to contain their pessimism within a set of pre-defined boundaries. I call this an invisible fence. To do this, use a Buyer’s Formula to teach them how to buy whatever you’re selling.
When you list the obvious ways to fail before you relinquish control to the buyer, you block off certain options in their mind, like when you tell a late-career athlete about the common mistakes made by other big name late-career athletes or when you tell a car company about the obvious mistakes in hiring a car advertising firm that can cost millions. That’s why it’s so important to build Alignment and Certainty, so you are credible, believable, and in position as the world’s best expert in the buyer’s specific problem.
One note of caution: Through the above five steps, you can’t change who you are or change your values to make the buyer happy. One reason why so many people are mistrustful of salespeople is because they see the seller move through different characters during a sales pitch, and this leaves buyers feeling confused and uncertain. Flipping the script isn’t about changing yourself to give the buyer what they want; it’s about sticking to your guns. Stay consistent to your personality, your character, and most importantly, your values. This is what the most compelling people in the world have that others don’t: character and values.