Stop Pitch-Slapping People: Why Emotion — Not Information — Wins Deals

Here’s the brutal truth:

You don’t lose deals because your product isn’t good. You lose them because your pitch doesn’t feel good.

People don’t buy logic; they buy emotion wrapped in logic.

Why Your Pitch Isn’t Landing

And Why TikTok Has More Influence Than Your Slide Deck

When was the last time a spreadsheet went viral?

Exactly—never.

But a baby laughing at a cat? Two hundred million views.

Why?

Emotion.

Behavioral science tells us that high-arousal emotions—laughter, awe, outrage—spread faster than gossip at a Kardashian wedding.

Daniel Kahneman would call it System 1 on steroids: fast, emotional, automatic.

Meanwhile, too many reps pitch like it’s a TED Talk in slow motion, hoping their 17-point feature list will melt hearts.

Spoiler: it won’t.

A Story From the Field: Iron Man vs. Captain America Selling

I once coached a rep named Jake—smart dude, great product knowledge.

He’d walk into homes armed like Iron Man: data sheets, power-usage charts, ROI calculators, kilowatt breakdowns. He looked like he was prepping for a congressional hearing.

But his close rate?

Lower than the Wi-Fi signal in a basement.

So I told him:
“Stop being Tony Stark. Start being Captain America.”

Lead with heart, not hardware.

Next appointment, he told a simple story—his first electric bill after going solar. He laughed at himself, shared the frustration, the relief, the moment everything clicked.

The customer felt it… and signed on the spot.

Because emotion opens the door; logic walks through it.

The Science Behind “Slay-motional Contagion™”

Psychologists call it emotional contagion—the invisible Wi-Fi network that syncs human feelings.

When you’re lit up, your buyer feels it. When you’re flat and monotone, they feel that too.

Harvard researchers found that high-energy emotions can spread across groups in seconds.

That’s why tone, facial expression, pacing, and presence matter more than your precious bullets and graphs.

Your excitement activates their mirror neurons. Your curiosity becomes their curiosity. Your enthusiasm becomes their justification.

I call this Slay-motional Contagion™.

Patent pending. (…Maybe.)

What This Means for Your Next Pitch

• 1. Lead with a feeling, not a feature.

  Facts don’t move people until emotion gives them permission.

• 2. Tell a real story—where you’re human, not heroic.

  Vulnerability builds trust faster than a spreadsheet builds boredom.

• 3. Use high-energy delivery cues.

  Smirk. Raise an eyebrow. Gesture. Change cadence. Play with pauses. Your delivery is your differentiation.

• 4. Remember: emotion opens, logic closes.

  Emotion earns attention; logic earns the signature.

Final Word: Stop Pitch-Slapping People

Sales today isn’t a data dump. It’s not a feature parade. It’s not a 45-minute monologue disguised as “value.”

Sales is transferring emotion, then supporting it with proof.

When you stop pitch-slapping people and start feeling first, your message becomes sticky. Your pitch becomes memorable. And your close rate goes from Wi-Fi-in-a-basement… to fiber-optic-on-a-good-day.