Ron Popeil and the Power of the Pineapple
“Why would you cut the pineapple? As soon as you cut it they’ll leave.”
In 2010, Malcolm Gladwell, staff writer for the New Yorker and famed author of “The Tipping Point,” published a lesser-known book entitled “What The Dog Saw.” The book is a collection of his selected writings for the New Yorker, some of which he claims are profiles of the worlds “unknown geniuses.” Gladwell stated in an interview that his most fascinating profile was that of pitchman Ron Popeil.
Although you may not know Ron Popeil’s name, you know his work and have probably seen him if you have ever stayed awake past midnight flipping channels. He’s regarded as the infomercial pitch king, the creator and promoter of such products as the Ronco Showtime Rotisserie, the Ronco Pasta Maker and GLH hair replacement. Remember the spray-on stuff that “looks just like real hair!?” That was Ron Popeil.
Ron embodies the American dream. He created products in his kitchen, went out and pitched them on his own. Ron was heavily influenced by another pitchman named Arnold “The Knife” Morris, a mesmerizing pitchman, who could draw large crowds but more importantly, keep them. Arnold said that one of the keys to retaining the audience was anticipation. To do this, he used a pineapple. Throughout the entire pitch, a big beautiful pineapple was perched on the cutting board while Arnold sliced, diced and impressed. Every now and then Arnold would say “and just wait until you see what it can do to this pineapple.” After some exciting demonstrations, he would offer a promo price and people would literally swarm Arnold holding out their cash, afraid the item would sell out.
To this day, Arnold has never cut the pineapple. “Why would you cut it?” he says. “As soon as you cut it they’ll leave.”
One of our biggest challenges as a sales rep is getting the client to spend enough time engaged with us to build trust enough to make a sale. This can be done in just a couple minutes, but sometimes a couple minutes is tough to come by. Every now and then, be aware of when you have a pineapple, a special recommendation, a feature that can’t be announced yet, but you know they’ll love. Use it strategically to keep them engaged.
For example:
“Based on what you’re saying, I’ve got an add-on I think would be perfect for your team, but let’s get your core setup locked in first and then I’ll tell you about it.”
“We just rolled out a new integration you might like, but let’s go through the rest of the platform first and maybe you can add it on.”
“If you’re interested in the analytics module, there’s another feature I think you should see, but let’s get the rest of your package finalized and then I’ll tell you about that one.”
Getting the buyer’s attention is one of the first and most important steps, but keeping it is just as important. Ask Ron Popeil.