IRD Prospector presents a four part series focusing on some of history’s accidental salespeople: the great visionaries of our time, who you wouldn’t normally think of being in sales, but who nonetheless succeeded in selling us something, be it an idea, a new way of life or their personal quest. 

Here’s the first in the series: Martin Luther King Jr.

Inspire action: what sales leaders can learn from King

King’s “I have a dream” speech is arguably one of the most famous speeches in human history. But what is it exactly, that makes it such an action-inspiring speech?

Simon Sinek, an author, ethnographer and public speaker, has analysed King’s way of selling an idea (and that of many other famous leaders such as Steve Jobs) to find out what makes them stand out from other, without a doubt capable and eloquent, but less pre-eminent leaders. His findings: the most successful, action-inspiring leaders all begin telling their stories by answering the question: why?

Build trust first, leave the facts to the end

According to Sinek, starting your pitch or presentation by answering the why-question appeals to the limbic system in the human brain. This is also the area of our brain where we build trust, loyalty and make decisions.

King answered the why-question by starting his speech on a deeply personal level. It was about his dream, for the future of his children. Creating an equal society for all people, no matter what race, was what he wanted to achieve, but in the hierarchy of his “pitch”, it was secondary to why he wanted to achieve it.

This approach is diametrically opposed to the way most leaders and salespeople would normally structure their presentation: we have been trained to address the what-question first, haven’t we?

And answering this question is still important. The only difference is that the best speakers and leaders in human history only deliver the response towards the very end of their argument. In Sinek’s “Golden Circle” model, the what-question appeals to the neo-cortex system in our brain. It’s where we analyse information, but it is the limbic system that gives us a gut-feeling and influences decision-making.

Read the rest of the article here.