The Joker is an iconic villain of comics, television and movies. Heath Ledger’s portrayal of the Clown Prince of Crime in Christopher Nolan’s 2008 movie The Dark Knight was awesome. My favourite scene in the movie is the one where the Joker pitches his plan – kill the Batman – to Gotham’s crime bosses. A great pitch should be 10 minutes or less (this takes less than five minutes), be simple and specific (he wants half their money to kill Batman – that’s right, half), and should be memorable (a thing happens with a pencil that’s, just, wow). In this scene, the Joker demonstrates the perfect sales pitch. He’s timely, smart, provocative, and very memorable. Here are seven tips for your next sales pitch from the Joker.

The scene

Demonstrate your credibility

“How ‘bout a magic trick?”

Within 27 seconds of crashing the Gotham mob’s “daylight group therapy session”, the Joker uses a pencil to murder a henchman (note: you should not use pencils for violence in your pitch, interview or presentation). Interviews are a flawed process because it’s hard to deeply understand someone’s potential during a 45-minute conversation across a table under fluorescent lighting. When we provide concrete examples of our capability – building an Excel model, sharing a creative slide deck, or calmly responding to high-pressure-questioning – it helps our audience accurately understand what we’re pitching.

Dress the part

“Oh and, by the way, the suit, it wasn’t cheap. You ought to know! You bought it!”

People are more likely to be impressed during an interview or buy a product when the person on the screen or across the table from them looks good. Have an idea about what clothes you might wear at different stages of your career and also how worthwhile it is to invest in a thousand-dollar suit for a pitch session. The Joker looks great, looks different and isn’t too subtle about the high-quality nature of his threads. Oh, and he leans way into his brand with messy and terrifying face paint.

Know your audience

“I know why you’re afraid to go out at night.”

Whether you’re interviewing for a role or pitching a product to a new client, it’s critical to deeply understand what the person or organization needs. For example, I get pitched on different learning, talent and analytics platforms every day – the folks I listen to differentiate between a values-based co-op and a multi-national bank and present their idea in a way that is customized to my needs and showcases the work they put into the pitch.

With surgical precision the Joker outlines the mob’s weaknesses and his proposal to solve the problem. Clarity is 100% certain by the end of his pitch.

Know your competition

“As for the television’s so called plan…”

In addition to understanding the needs of his audience, the Joker is very aware of his competition. Just before the meeting was interrupted, Lao detailed his proposal to the mob. Lau’s plan involved a non-extradition country and secrecy about where the mob’s money will be kept. The Joker knows exactly why the plan will fail and shares his perspective with his future clients – even if they didn’t hire him on the spot, the Joker left the meeting knowing that, once his competition failed, his proposal (and the price for it) would be matched.

Combine your awareness of competitors in the market with the unique value that you – and only you – can bring to a job interview or investor pitch session.

Keep it simple

“It’s simple. We, ah, kill the Batman.”

Last weekend I judged an undergraduate business case competition. One of my pieces of feedback for one group was that their very clever idea was watered down with superfluous data and processes.  When expressing the value that you’ll bring to an organization be sure that you can deliver the idea in a captivating headline. Here’s a great summary of Chip and Dan Heath’s Made to Stick from The Guardian’s William Leith:

It has taught me a simple thing about communication: keep it simple. And an unexpected thing: that, to be clever, you have to avoid being complex. And a statistical thing: forget about numbers. And an emotional thing: he who spins, wins, which is sad. And which is why it’s worth reading this book. In the right hands, it will help.

Know your value

“If you’re good at something, never do it for free.”

Most people who enter in negotiations are trying to achieve win/win outcomes – the Joker wants to create shared value (everyone in the room will benefit from the elimination of Batman), sure, but let’s be honest that he has way more nefarious plans for Gotham City than he outlines during this pitch. Before entering into a pitch or negotiations, have a strong sense of your value so that, when pressed on your fee or salary, you can provide a well-informed number that is logical and realistic from your audience’s perspective.

Plan for follow-up

“Here’s my card.”

I love that the Joker leaves his card before backing out of the room! Like I said, this pitch has everything! Prepare for next steps or follow-up accordingly based on the insights that you gather from the session. For example, interviews are imperfect because not everyone does their best work in such a setting (the process favours extroverts and fast thinkers). I love receiving thoughtful post-interview emails from candidates that demonstrate self-awareness (“here’s a question I could’ve answered a bit better”), reflection (“based on what I know about your organization and what I learned in the interview, here’s how I would answer the question differently”), and creative thinking (“here’s an idea that I’d like to bring to life in my first 90 days on the job”).

The Joker’s plan is well in motion before the meeting and, following his pitch, he has a stronger understanding of the specific next steps to take.

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Photo credit: Warner Bros

This article was originally published on November 27, 2019.