I just saw the surprisingly good Widows.
There are many scenes in this movie that would make for good email — or blog — fodder.
One that sticks out is the following:
Jamal Manning is a former crime boss who’s looking to get respectable, so he’s running for alderman in Chicago’s 16th district.
And in this scene, he visits the reverend of the largest congregation in his district, trying to get support.
The reverend speaks first:
“Election’s in less than a month. If I was a doctor, I’d be telling you to get your affairs in order. Three weeks from now, you won’t need a doctor. You’ll be asking someone like me to give you last rites.”
Manning is getting impatient. He thinks the reverend has already decided to endorse his opponent.
“I didn’t say that,” says the good reverend.
He then suggests he’s still keeping his options open.
Finally, Manning can’t take any more. He blurts out:
“I’m gonna cut to the chase here, reverend. I’m in the driver’s seat. I just don’t have a set of wheels. All I need is your endorsement and your contribution to help me get across the finish line.”
And there it is.
The phrase that tells you you’ve been negotiating right, and are near to crossing the finish line.
Did you catch it?
“I’m gonna cut to the chase.”
That’s not my wisdom.
Instead, it’s straight from the late negotiation expert Jim Camp, who said his students always love to hear that phrase. “Cut to the chase” means the other side is getting worn out and they are ready to agree to just about anything.
So how do you get to that point?
Well, you do what the good reverend did.
Which is something that doesn’t just apply to local politics or crime movies.
In fact, it’s another tenet of Camp’s negotiating method.
And it’s even something that’s been adapted to writing more effective sales emails by that devoted Camp disciple, Ben Settle.
You can try to glean what I’m talking about by closely reading the script above.
Or you can get a copy of my upcoming book when it comes out, where I will cover this topic in much more detail, and give several examples of emails where I’ve used this same strategy.
The choice is yours. If you want the second option, here’s the link: