Inviting Curiosity: How to Engage Your Audience Without the Hard Sell

Welcome back to this week's Opt-In.

It's been a while, and I'm back with ideas on how to help others decide to opt-in to a future WITH you.

This week, I'm aiming my opt-in eye at the pitch. They're the pits, aren't they? We hate creating them as much as we don't like getting pitched to. And worse, if what you're sharing is a person or idea, pitching often backfires, and you get the pitch penalty. AKA, the Ick Tax.

Introducing a new idea, product, or person can feel daunting. It's easy to fall into the trap of pitching hard with all the juicy details and "all this data to back it up!" It's like we're begging for their attention. We're almost saying, "Please pay attention to this super important, extra valuable thing."

Pleading rarely works.

But here's a refreshing thought: what if, instead of pitching, you invited your audience to join you on a journey of discovery?

Recently, I had the opportunity to advise an HR tech company on how to position their product. They had an upcoming meeting with a key decision maker, and an internal employee had asked for "a 1-sheeter I can send them."

Normally, when we hear "1 sheeter," we assume it's the beautifully crafted document that perfectly articulates ALL the reasons our idea or product is brilliant. It's supposed to be a pitch on paper. Something simple the internal employee can send to their boss or decision-maker to say, in essence, "Look at this thing I saw. I think it's cool. You should take a look."

Except they're rarely a pitch on paper, they're more of a product-vomit of all the features surrounded by tag lines like "best in class" and "transformational."

Fortunately for me, the team at the HR tech company was open to a different way of thinking and knew their pitch-on-paper wasn't going to land, so we were open to a different approach. I introduced them to The Invitation Approach, designed to shift from "This is us, buy us!" energy to "Would you like to learn more?" energy.

So now I'm going to invite you to opt in.

Do you want to learn more about this approach? Because I've outlined the core concepts below based on how I lead my new friends through the process. I thought you might find it interesting, too.

See how easy that was?

The Invitation Approach

When you introduce something new, the goal is to spark curiosity, not overwhelm. Think of it as extending an invitation rather than delivering a pitch. During our consultation, we emphasized presenting the product as part of a novel way of thinking about talent management rather than a list of features. This approach shifts the dynamic, making the senior HR executive feel like they're part of an exclusive exploration. Key Lesson: Less is more.

Create Curiosity

Stories are powerful. They resonate on a human level and make complex ideas relatable. Instead of diving into technical specifics, share impactful stories highlighting the real-world benefits of what you're introducing. For instance, we discussed how the HR tech tool helped organizations identify key influencers, significantly improving change management. By framing the product within these stories, we created a connection and evoked curiosity. Key Lesson: Teach, don't tell.

Identify Intrigue Moments

To capture attention, start with a statement that makes your audience say, "Wait, what?" For example, we used phrases like "We turn performance reviews upside down" and "Discover the hidden influencers in your organization." These statements are designed to pique interest and prompt questions. The goal is to encourage your audience to want to learn more. Key Lesson: Intrigue isn't about what YOU think is intriguing.

Personalizing the Message

One size does not fit all. Who says you only need one version of a 1-sheeter? Tailor your message to align with your audience's specific interests and needs. In our case, we customized the materials for the senior HR executive by focusing on the product's most relevant aspects to them. How did we know? We looked them up on LinkedIn and read the first article they posted on their profile. Ok, we guessed, but it's a pretty good guess. This personalized approach makes the content more engaging and meaningful. Key Lesson: No one wants one-size-fits-all.

This is an H2H call, not B2B

We've all heard every VC on the planet say, "I invest in the person, not the product." We do this as people, too. In this company's case, the founder's story is SO surprising and insightful that we wanted to highlight it. And no, we didn't regurgitate his resume; we wove the story of his "ah ha" moment into the document. And our presentation isn't to demo the product but to align on the "ah ha." Key Lesson: It doesn't matter how awesome your product is if they don't trust you.

There's more, but these ideas should get you going.

Just remember, when you're introducing something new (a person, an idea, or a product), what you're initially "closing" for is not a sale but a curious mind. You have to bump up the Intrigue Index as ideas need explanations, and to get this deal done, each person you talk to will need to clearly articulate it's tale of potential. This approach makes your audience more receptive and transforms the dynamic from a pitch to a collaborative exploration of possibilities.

Remember, the journey begins when someone shifts from "I don't get it" to "Oh, that's cool." And that's when they start opting in.

I'm a Potentialist for people and ideas. And I work in the space between "I don't get it." and "Oh, that's cool." I do this by ditching the pitch by switching to potential and, in doing so, increasing the Intrigue Index.