Forbes Q&A
Forbes. Jan 28, 2005
What follows is the transcript of a Jan. 26 online chat on the Forbes.com CEO Network with Ronna Lichtenberg, a management consultant and the author of the new book Pitch Like A Girl: How A Woman Can Be Herself And Still Succeed (Rodale, $23.95).
In the book she divides the business world into "pink" people who approach things in a more relationship-based manner and "blue" people who operate in a fact-based fashion. She says that women aren't necessarily the former and men aren't always the latter, but that it's important for people to determine which type of person they're dealing with to build stronger business relationships. The chat was hosted by Penelope Patsuris of Forbes.com.
Patsuris: Welcome, everyone. Ronna is here and we're ready to begin.
Lichtenberg: Hi everyone.
Stephanie18: Hi Ronna. What would you say is the biggest mistake that women--or anyone else--makes when trying to sell an idea?
Lichtenberg: The biggest mistake is failing to understand the other person's needs and styles well enough to be convincing.
Patsuris: Then Ronna, how do you go about determining these needs and styles?
Lichtenberg: It's easy. If you are in their space you should see lots of cues about whether or not they place a high emphasis on people or on tasks. You can also tell a lot by how people choose to communicate via e-mail.
Patsuris: Really? What can you tell about people from the way they communicate online?
Lichtenberg: If they have what I call a blue style or heavy task focus, they are less likely to have either a salutation or a closing in their e-mail...it is just the message. Someone with a pink style will always have some kind of greeting and some kind of close.
Murphy8: Why do you think we fall into these traps?
Lichtenberg: I don't think that women fall into traps. Women and men just have different strengths. The challenge is to make sure that if you have a pink style and a tendency toward giving priority to relationships, that you are thinking more about them than just, "What are they thinking about me?"
TRichard: How can I get better about being able to promote my own accomplishments?
Lichtenberg: Remember that you are doing the other person a favor when you let them know what you are capable of doing. I call it a mental bank shot. If you focus on how you are helping them, you won't get so self-conscious. If you don't tell them--if you are too modest--they won't know that you are the person they can come to when they need to get something done. You're not doing them a favor if you make them guess. Some people just don't notice and most people just don't have time to sit and think about what kind of light could be hiding under someone else's bushel.
Mongoose: Do you know of any "pink" women or men who are currently leading companies?
Lichtenberg: Oprah is my favorite example of a pink that brings down the big bucks, but I have also talked to a lot of pink guys. You tend to see a lot of pink guys for example in sales. But I was just at Microsoft (nasdaq:MSFT) last week and there were pink guys there, too. The thing is that business now demands creativity. So when the job is to figure out what goes in the box and not just how to ship the box on time, you need some pink.
Jennifer56: Who do you think are the most overlooked prospects by anyone who pitches?
Lichtenberg: Lots of people either forget their boss is a prospect or get so annoyed at their boss they forget to treat them like a prospect. Other great prospects are important people in other parts of the firm, who may end up having a say in what happens to you and to your company.
TRichard: How do you go about treating your boss as a prospect?
Lichtenberg: Pretend that your boss is someone who, if you got her business, could give you a lot of money. That has a way of improving your attitude and helping you focus on what your boss needs to succeed, which you need to know if you want to get her support for you.
Keyes76: Besides hiring a professional, is there any other reliable way to determine my own market value?
Lichtenberg: You want to talk to as many people as you can find who do what you do, or what you want to do. That means networking in your industry and also being nice to headhunters. Take their calls even if you don't want the job, because they are great for giving you an idea of the market's range. You can also find out information for really big jobs in public filings. Your accountant may also be able to help you figure it out.
LisaLin: You seem to believe that much of the way people in business interact with each other is dependent upon gender. Does that ever offend people?
Lichtenberg: I think gender matters on average, but only on average. That's why I work with a concept of pink and blue styles, because you can't always tell what someone's style is by their gender. I've been doing this for years, and there have been a few people who didn't love it. But if everybody loved it, we wouldn't all be different, and I am into the value of differences.
CharlieGee: When you're closing on a pitch what more is there to do beyond stating clearly what the benefits to your prospect will be?
Lichtenberg: It depends on your style, and on theirs. If you are blue and pitching to a blue prospect, you want to restate the competitive advantage for them. If your prospect is pink, you want to communicate that you also care about them as a person and about the broader impact of your proposal. It shouldn't feel like only numbers.
KathyQ: Isn't it a bit disingenuous to act like you care about someone when you are effectively asking them for something?
Lichtenberg: Of course. Especially if your prospect is a pink, he or she will know if you are faking it. But most of the time, if you are sincere about providing value, you can find something about them and their company that you do care about.
ABTheodore: Would you say that there are more pinks or blues in particular industries, or would you say that there are roughly equal amounts in any given office?
Lichtenberg: I don't know for sure. It seems to me as I am now touring the book that the industries like accounting and engineering that place a high value on systemizing skills have more really blue blues. But there is generally more of a balance than I would have expected.
Keyes76: With regard to pitching an idea internally, what do you think is the biggest mistake that people make?
Lichtenberg: People don't think about who they need to convince, and often they overbroadcast. So there is a big e-mail distribution when what is really needed is a couple of phone calls. It's a bad idea to pitch so broadly that you lose any notion of benefit. You need to be able to be very clear about why your recipient would care about a message. I see this all the time, with people being annoyed about getting looped into e-mail threads that are slightly less interesting to them than spam. The key thing is to move your focus from what YOU want them to know, to why THEY might care...not why they should, but why they would. That's why internal communications that are unofficial always get better distribution--because it's the stuff everyone really wants to know.
Patsuris: Well, folks, I think that's all we have time for this afternoon. Thanks to everyone, and Ronna good luck with your book.