{"id":1882,"date":"2024-07-21T17:11:59","date_gmt":"2024-07-21T21:11:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/paulsyng.com\/blog\/?p=1882"},"modified":"2024-07-21T17:12:17","modified_gmt":"2024-07-21T21:12:17","slug":"ever-pitched-an-idea-and-felt-like-you-were-talking-to-a-brick-wall","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/paulsyng.com\/blog\/ever-pitched-an-idea-and-felt-like-you-were-talking-to-a-brick-wall\/","title":{"rendered":"Ever pitched an idea and felt like you were talking to a brick wall?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Yeah, me too. It sucks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But here’s the thing: We’re doing it all wrong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I used to think selling ideas was about being the smoothest talker in the room.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Boy, was I wrong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It’s not about talking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It’s about listening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Remember that client who seemed impossible to please? The one who shot down every suggestion?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They’re not the problem. We are.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because we’re not really hearing them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We waltz in with our fancy presentations, thinking we know what they need.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But do we?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Have we actually asked?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here’s a wild idea: What if we shut up and listened?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I mean really listened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not just waiting for our turn to speak.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What if we approached every client like a mystery to be solved?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Imagine being a detective, not a salesperson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your job?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To uncover what they really need.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not what you think they need.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It’s not rocket science.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I once had a client who kept rejecting our rebranding ideas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Frustrating, right?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But then I stopped trying to persuade them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead, I got curious.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I dug into their annual reports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I stalked their social media.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I even chatted with the employees I found on Glassdoor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And you know what?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I discovered problems they didn’t even know they had.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I walked into that next meeting, I wasn’t selling a rebrand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I was offering solutions to their actual problems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The result?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They practically begged us to work with them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So here’s the deal:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stop trying to be clever. Start being curious.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don’t assume. Investigate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don’t pitch. Listen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It’s not about your brilliant ideas. It’s about their pressing needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Can you set aside your ego and really hear what they’re saying?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Can you resist the urge to impress and focus on how you can truly help?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you can, you’ll never have to “sell” an idea again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your ideas will sell themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because they’ll be exactly what your client needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not what you think they want.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, ready to become an idea detective or investigative journalist?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your next client meeting isn’t a pitch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It’s an investigation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Go in curious and in student mode.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Soon enough, you’ll distinguish between knowledge and wisdom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Are you up for the challenge?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Yeah, me too. It sucks. But here’s the thing: We’re doing it all wrong. I used to think selling ideas was about being the smoothest talker in the room. Boy, was I wrong. It’s not about talking. It’s about listening. Remember that client who seemed impossible to please? The one who shot down every suggestion? […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","footnotes":"","rank_math_title":"","rank_math_description":"","rank_math_canonical_url":"","rank_math_focus_keyword":""},"categories":[63],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1882","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bxd"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/paulsyng.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1882","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/paulsyng.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/paulsyng.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paulsyng.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paulsyng.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1882"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/paulsyng.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1882\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1884,"href":"https:\/\/paulsyng.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1882\/revisions\/1884"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/paulsyng.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1882"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paulsyng.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1882"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paulsyng.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1882"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}