If you’re curious about stand-up comedy (what it is, what it isn’t, and what it takes), highly recommend “Dying Laughing” on YouTube.
It’s a 2017 doc featuring takes from Seinfeld, Chris Rock, Amy Schumer, Jamie Foxx, Kevin Hart, and a lot of lesser-known (but equally funny) names. I’ve seen several such docs, and this one was just as solid.
G’night everyone! That’s the post! *waves repeatedly*
Yeah, right. What kind of a Jon Selig post would this be if it didn’t bring this around to sales???
I’ve always rolled my eyes at everyone in sales or sales development looking for “hacks”.
In comedy, “hacks” are unoriginal comics who lean on cheap, unoriginal takes, lame tropes, and ultimately material that DOES get laughs because it will please a certain set of the audience.
In sales “Hacks” are cheats. Using them might yield short-term success which come at the cost of real growth and longer-term development & success.
The best comics material is one-of-a-kind -yet highly relatable. Their viewpoint is packaged in a way that no one else can. Can THAT be shortcutted?
Tossing it over to the the late great Gary Shandling for the answer:
The only thing colder than unsolicited outreach is most prospects’ reaction to it. You need to be relevant and unique with in 6-10 seconds of every cold call, email, or LinkedIn connection request.
To help more sales & sales development pros craft such openers, I’ve launched live, monthly Cohort Classes! Team up with a few colleagues to deep-dive your buyers, what makes them tick, and the problems you solve, – all so you can roast your prospect’s pain, start more conversations, and keep your day job.
