… the quiz of the week! *
No it`s not, it`s just a quick note to let you all know that I will be speaking at The Antidote Network in Norwich on Wednesday September 15th for my good friend Nial Adams of Push Marketing.
The Antidote Network`s site is HERE
Doors open at 6pm. See you there!
* Sale of the Century intro. Anybody else remember that show?
In my previous post on California Schemin`, I posed two questions which I`ll now answer for you:
1] Why didn`t these two scots boys just admit straight away that they weren`t american?
In the entertainment business, image is everything. Managers and promoters are looking for products that they believe will make them money. They are not always looking for talent, though that certainly helps. It seems that nobody would take them seriously if they were themselves. Yet there are plenty of performers who put on a public persona that is not who they really are.
Take Lulu for example. She`s scottish but always speaks with an english accent. Or John Barrowman, who speaks like an american even though he too is a scot. Yet neither of them are castigated for not speaking with their own voices. Was it really so impossible for these two lads to rap in american but speak scots in interviews on MTV?
They obviously thought it was a non-starter, given their previous experience of rejection which was the catalyst for the scheme in the first place. But the deception was their undoing.
If they had been honest to the people making the decisions, chances are they would still have made it. After all, if they were good enough to convince the people they were working for, surely they were good enough to convince the public.
2] Why did people treat them differently just because they thought they were american?
Performers – and sales people – are always up against The Perception Problem. Depending on your looks, casting directors will only think of you for certain roles. If you`ve got a certain type of face, that will dictate the type of roles you get offered. And just who decides what type of face someone`s face is?
When someone looks at an actor`s entry in spotlight, the first thing they do is ask themselves if that actor looks like the character they`re casting for. Try it with my own picture in the header for this blog. What sort of characters do you think of when you look at it?
A great game that actors play is making up characters for strangers that they see on the street, waiting in the railway station, sitting across from them in the restaurant etc Try it yourself and become aware of your own perceptions of people based purely on their appearance.
In the case of the Schemin` boys, they had performed the same music as two kinds of person – scots and american – and found that the former was rejected and the latter accepted. Why? The Pigeonhole Effect.
We love to pigonehole people as one type of thing or another, it seems to make it easier for us to lable them as this, that or the next thing. That`s ok if you`re happy to do the same thing for the rest of your career, but if you`re not a personality actor, that can cause problems down the road.
You must always try to confound people`s expectations and give them new aspects of your personality & talent to consider. If you`re an actor that means not playing the same kind of role too often. If you`re a presenter, that means doing different types of shows [think Richard Hammond or Alan Titchmarsh].
The lesson is that there`s nothing wrong with adopting a persona in public so long as it remains just that, a persona. When you cross the line and get into outright deception, that`s when the problems begin. Sales people can take these same principles and use them just as effectively when selling their best product – themselves!
California Schemin` – as I mentioned in my previous post – is a classic example of using acting skills in a social/business setting. Sales people need to be aware of the image they present of themselves to their customers. After all, as the saying goes, they`re not buying your stuff, they`re buying YOU!
People have the mistaken idea that acting is something you have to go to Drama School to learn otherwise you`re not a “proper” actor, whatever one of those is. Leaving aside that issue for the moment, CS shows that acting is not something that you need to be taught. That`s because there are two kinds of acting – Performance Acting & Natural Acting.
Everyone has a certain amount of NA but not everyone has PA skills & so they think that acting is something that only actors do. Not true. As I point out in the book, every one of us uses our innate acting ability every day of our lives, often without thinking. When you are negotiating with a client or a supplier, see your negotiation as a form of acting, cos that`s what it is!
In this instance we have two Scots boys who pretended to be Americans in order to make it as Rap Music stars. They did what any actor does when preparing for a character role [I define the difference between the two kinds of actors - and yes, there are only two - in my book], they surrounded themselves with and submerged themselves in that character`s world.
They adopted fake American accents and watched nothing but American TV and movies. This is exactly the kind of thing that professional impersonators do when trying to get the voice of the person they`re going to play. The ability to switch accents is a great weapon in an actor`s arsenal – think of John Barrowman for example. He sounds American every time you see him on TV but his natural accent is as Scottish as mine. Like JB, Gavin Bain was dual-accented: a Scot who lived in South Africa until he was 10 and could do both accents equally well.
The real challenge with doing accents is being able to convince the locals that you`re one of them. That`s not easy. Particularly when they ask you whereabouts you`re from. [Remember the scene in Where Eagles Dare where Derrin Nesbitt`s SS Nazi questions Mary Ure`s character?]That`s the nightmare scenario and the best reminder of why you should do your homework and then tell them that you moved away when you were just a child!
And that`s where their idea of being Scottish but pretending to be American first ran into difficulties. It`s one thing to pretend to be American in the pub to try and make yourself seem more interesting to the chicks but quite another to carry it off 24/7 with everyone you meet. And then there`s the problem of the people who know you`re not really american at all…
They managed to keep up the pretence for four and a half years before the strain became too much. It`s amazing that they lasted that long…
Now there are a couple of things for you to think about, that I`ll return to in my next post on this:
1] Why didn`t they just admit straight away that they weren`t yanks?
2] Why did people treat them differently just because they thought they were yanks?
Remember – you don`t need to go to Drama School to be able to convince people you`re something you`re not.
And to help you, here`s the California Schemin` Google Search
Ciao For Now…
California Schemin` is a great story [that will almost certainly become a movie] and one that illustrates perfectly the principles of using acting skills to sell your self to others.
When I heard about the book but I was immediately reminded of Catch Me If You Can, a prime real-life example of using performance skills to convince people you`re something that you`re not. They don`t always have to be used negatively but, as any episode of either Hustle or preferably, The Real Hustle illustrates, motivation is everything. Like anything in life, how badly do you want it and what are you prepared to do to get it?
Sales and Business people know that you have to appear confident even when you`re not, particularly when it comes to negotiating things like payment terms. When giving presentations – the scariest thing in the world, apparently – for example, having some basic performance skills behind you can make the whole process bearable, if not enjoyable! In this instance we have two Scottish Rappers from Dundee who pretended to be American to get a record deal.
Now rap music [with a silent "c"] isn`t the first part of Scotland`s musical heritage that you immediately think of. Usually it`s all singing shortbread tins – Moira Anderson, Kenneth McKellar, Andy Stuart, Fran & Anna – or the Official SNP House Band, The Corries. Or pretty much anyone with a fisherman`s polo neck sweater with a finger in his ear wailing about “shoals of herring”. Pop music is of course another thing. Entirely.
Humiliated at a showcase when they sang in their native scottish accents, Gavin Bain and Billy Boyd [no, not the LOTR one!] decided to pretend to be American instead and were accepted. That reminded my of my own Sneaky Fitch story in chapter six of my book [page 56 to be precise] so I could immediately relate to the stress and strain of being one thing but having to appear to be something else. They managed to maintain the rpetence for almost two years before the strain became to much and it all fell apart. I`m surprised they lasted that long.
I`ve only had to do stuff like this for a few hours at a time, to try and keep up the pretence for two whole years…
Stateside, following his Jeff Zucker enforced switch, Jay Leno is back where he belongs and kicking Letterman`s butt in the ratings. Why?
Likeability. Leno is simply a more likeable guy than Letterman, who always comes across – to me at least, as a smartarse. I`m sure he`s a prefectly nice person – maybe – but that`s the perception I have based on what I see. And we make those kind of perception-based judgements about people we don`t really know all the time.
In the business of sales we meet all sorts of people at networking events and we make a judgement on whether we like them or not very early on when we first meet them. And when we come to choose a supplier for our business, sometimes we will go with the higher quote simply because we don`t like the other guy that much.
Politicians are perhaps more aware of this than anybody else. Except actors of course!
Here in good old blighty, we`re going to have a General Election soon and if it were based solely on personality, then David Cameron would win hands down. Gordon Brown should be extremely grateful that it isn`t as he has no discernible personality of his own. [And someone please tell him to stop smiling - it looks fake. Cos it is fake.]
Looking over the herring pond, Nancy Pelosi I find extremely irritating, a sort of American Margaret Thatcher only with more arrogance. Sarah Palin I like, probably partly because I hate to see people getting picked on by the big bully boys of the media. [What is it that they`re so scared of, huh?]
Why is it that some people are more likeable than others? Why do we like the people that we do? Particularly those that we`ve never met!
Because we think they`re like us.
People like people like themselves and if you want people to like you, you have to realise that each of us starts out with a unique personality that has an inbuilt likeability factor. And some will need more work than others to increase that likeability factor.
Think for a moment about the people you don`t like. Think about what it is about them that you don`t like. Chances are those things will be qualitites that you yourself do not posess.
Also, people don`t like people who dislike them. I`m sure we`re all familiar with the admonition to love our enemies but it doesn`t say anything about having to like `em! If someone disagrees with me, fair enough. If they attack me, they are doing themselves no favours in the likebility stakes. Essentially they are saying, I don`t want you to like me, in which case fine, I won`t!
If you are attacked, your natural reaction is either to attack in return, add that person to your Hate List or both. Successful people realise that they need to minimise the amount of people that they “turn off” them.
Popularity isn`t everything but it`s a vital component to any form of success and if you`re not very popular, cahnces are that`s because you`re very likeable. And likeability is based on two basic concepts – being genuine & trustworthy. And it ties into the subject of Rapport, which I deal with in chapter 21 of my book.
If people perceive you as being a “What you see is what you get” kinda guy, if they feel that you have enough internal integrity to mean that they could trust you, then you are more likely to be liked. And as a sales person, you can see the advantages of this straight away. Maybe that`s why the other guy`s succeeding where you`re failing. If you`re succeeding, then make sure you pull ahead of the field. That finish line is closer than you think!
So let`s ummarise what it means to be likeable. Which of these applies to you?
If you can think of a favourite fictional hero – such as the example I mentioned of Jason Bourne – then the first step is to imagine yourself playing that character instead of Matt Damon. Use your imagination to map yourself onto the character and fantasise, as we all do, about what it would be like to be doing it yourself. [Nearly everybody wants to be James Bond, for example]
The next step is to imagine either Jason B or Matt D doing your job, making your pitch, promoting your product. Now sometimes when I ask the question “Would they do a better job than you?” the answer I get is “No. They don`t know what I do.” Ok, so imagine that they do know as much as you do. What makes the difference then is their personality and ability, not their knowledge. Imagine them using those admirable qualities that made you pick them in the first place. Then take those qualities and apply them to your self. Pretend that you`re them when you do your shtick.
The other way to do this, following on from that exercise, is to take say, five qualities that you really like about yourself – not skills, but strong aspects of your personality – and imagine what an Ultimate Version of you would look like with those qualitites max`d out.
Those five things may be qualities like being a good listener, tenacity or never quit-ness, great sense of humour, helpfullness or great communication skills. Maybe you`ve read my mate Rintu`s book and you know some NLP.
Remember the difference between Interview You and Employed You? All you`re doing here is the same thing you are already doing naturally, only this time you`re doing it on purpose.
This kind of character building is sometimes referred to as “modelling”. Use your imagination to “see” what an Ultimate Version of you would look like. Then simply pretend that you are already like that, that you already are a SuperSeller version of you. And whatever product or service it is that you`re selling, He will sell more than you ever can. So let him do the selling for you! Over time you will start to look more and more like him until eventually you will be him!
There are only two kinds of actor. The Personality Actor and the Character Actor. The latter clearly spends his time becoming someone else – looking different, sounding different. The Personality Actor, on the other hand, always looks the same and always sounds the same no matter what he`s in.
Take Sean Connery for example – he`s a Spanish Immortal with a Scottish accent in Highlander and a Russian submarine commander with a Scottish accent in The Hunt For Red October! There are literally thousands of these kinds of actors and they`re the kind that Sellers can learn the most from.
At a recent recording session I asked one of the participants to name a fictional character he really liked. He came up with Jason Bourne. Now Jason B is a character yes, but he looks like Matt Damon and sounds like Matt Damon. Why? The answer is that Matt D has taken aspects of himself and constructed the character of Jason B from them. You can do the same. In fact, you`re doing it already without realising it.
When you go to a job interview, the person on the other side of the desk isn`t seeing the Real You. He`s seeing Interview You. Now who is this person? He`s a character! He`s certain aspects of your personality, heightened, emphasised and brought to the fore for the purpose of helping get you the job. The person doing the interviewing knows full well that, although he`s speaking to Interview You, it`s going to be Real You that gets the job.
Acting isn`t difficult to do but it is hard to do well. Everyone is an actor at some point in their day. How do I know that`s true? Because we all pretend to agree with things we don`t agree with to keep on the boss` good side. Or we try to convince people that we believe things that we don`t to save them from being embarrased: ”Does my bum look big in this?” “Yes love, it `s bloody enormous!” But no, you lie and say the opposite of what you really think. That`s acting at it`s simplest and you need to take that natural ability and develop it to create a character, a version of you. And I`ll explain why that`s important in my next post.
I`ve just seen “Up”.
Another brilliant Pixar movie and probably their best yet in terms of emotional content : I was filling up before Carl`s story – the prologue – was over! Partly I think because Carl reminded me of my own Grandad who sadly died in 2006 aged 92. What a dark day that was. But that`s another story…
Life has a habit of leading you in unexpected directions and taking you places you didn`t think you`d ever go. For instance, ever since I was eight I wanted to be an actor. English was always my top subject at school but I never thought of myself as a writer. Sure I could write and over the years I wrote songs, sketches, monologues, one-act plays, one-man shows – you name it, I can write it – but like I said, I always thought of myself as an actor, not a writer.
And then I wrote a book!
Why do we allow ourselves to be pigeonholed by other people`s opinions of us or our own erroneous ideas of who we are and what we can be?
Why can`t you be an actor and an author? Why not? There`s no reason at all, apart from mistakenly agreeing with people who can only see you as, who only want you to be, one thing or the other. In the acting profession that`s called Typecasting and it`s every actor`s worst nightmare – to become so identified with one particular role that that`s all they want to see you do.
Far too many people end up typecasting themselves in their own head. By being the person other people expect them to be instead of going flat out to become the person they want to be, too many people destroy their own dreams – and that kind of compromise is not just internally corrosive, it`s positively toxic. So don`t allow yourself to be deceived into being defined as “only” any one thing. By either yourself or anyone around you.
Sometimes it takes someone else to point out what`s hidden right in front of us that we can`t see. And if you are ever going to achieve success in your life – however you define that – you are never going to do it without the help of other people. The right ones. I want to be one of those kinda people, because I know what it`s like to be on the receiving end of the other sort.
Writing the book has been a journey of self-discovery and I`ve learned a lot about myself that I never knew before. I hope that when you read it, you will too.
Welcome to act your way to dot com – the blog for “SELL YOUR SELF!”
The book was written over a three month period – 27/09/09 to 27/12/09 – and took another month to edit. That process is now finished and the book is about to be typset and then it`s off to the publishers!
The book will initially be available on both Amazons – UK & US – as a paperback and also on Kindle.
Later this year the E-book and an Audiobook version will be made available for download.
WHY A BOOK ABOUT ACTING & SELLING?
It`s what I know about and there are more similarities between the two than you think!
Everyone can act yes, but not everyone is an actor.
But there are many different kinds of acting…
Actors make the best Sellers because they understand better than anyone that the most important product that you sell is YOU!
Social Profilr
Follow me in these Social Networks