How to Close Clients as the Underdog w/ Chris Do | Ep 439

**Chris Do** (0:00)
Have you ever found yourself in a pitch situation where you're the underdog, where you don't think you have any chance of winning it? Well, you need to watch this clip because I'm going to break down air, the untold Michael Jordan story about how Nike got Michael Jordan to sign and become the biggest athlete of all time. The lessons that you can learn from watching these clips. But stick around to the very end because there's a clip that most people miss that's even more revolutionary and more profound than the first one.
For context, the year is 1984
Michael Jordan is still a relatively unknown person. He's still a rookie, hasn't played in the NBA. And Matt Damon's character is a talent scout working for Phil Knight of the legendary Nike. And he wants to bet the entire fortune of the company on signing Michael Jordan as a featured athlete. He has to negotiate with Michael Jordan's mom. If you find yourself in a position where you're going to go up against bigger players, people who have a bigger team, more experience, better quality of work, you don't really stand much of a chance unless you can cast some doubt from the client side. And the best thing you can do is think about their greatest weakness and exploit that, and have your potential client focus all their energies on your competitors' weaknesses rather than their strengths. Watch how he flips it around.

**SPEAKER_2** (1:10)
Come on back, take a seat. Mr. Vaccaro, now you do understand that Michael's intention is to sign with Adidas with Condras as a second option.

**SPEAKER_3** (1:19)
I do, and with respect, I think that's a mistake.
I'll make a bet with you. I'll tell you exactly how those meetings are going to go. If I'm wrong, then don't take a meeting with Nike. But if I'm right, please consider that you and Michael come out.

**Chris Do** (1:36)
He's offering non-deal, right? If you think about it, they're not even interested in taking a meeting with Nike at this point. You don't need to meet with us if everyone else is cool. Only meet with us if they both suck. This is the beginning of the psychological operation he's doing at Psyop.

**SPEAKER_3** (1:50)
This is Converse, by the way, John O'Neill who have his hair gelled up. Bunch of them will be wearing red ties for the Bulls. John will have a Rolex for sure.
Now, I've seen a lot of basketball, but the feeling that I get when I see Michael, there's only a few other players who gave me that feeling. Now, when he's done, I'd love it if you would ask him a question. How's Michael going to stand out from these other players? How's he going to be different?

**Chris Do** (2:19)
So here, he's going for a low blow. He tells them how they're going to dress, and it's almost predictable and laughable. And if this were to play out to be true, it almost seems like they're very cookie cutter and formulaic. And the last thing a mom wants for her son is to feel as if she's just part of an assembly line.

**SPEAKER_4** (2:36)
The feeling I get when I see Michael play, there are only a few other players who gave me that feeling.
And those players are here at Converse. It is that simple.

**SPEAKER_5** (2:48)
Michael, we're going to treat you like our superstar before you even set foot on an NBA court.

**SPEAKER_6** (2:54)
We're looking for a shoe that holds appeal beyond the basketball court.

**SPEAKER_4** (2:58)
Well, what could hold more appeal than the shoe worn by the best players in the game? Tradition and history are paramount at Converse.

**SPEAKER_2** (3:07)
You have an impressive roster.
Best three players in the league in Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Julius Irving. But another way of looking at this is that the best Michael will ever be with you is number four.

**SPEAKER_4** (3:21)
Frankly, ma'am, we're talking about Magic Johnson and Larry Bird here. He's going to play like them.

**SPEAKER_5** (3:29)
He's going to be mentioned in the same sentence with them. What can be better than that?

**Chris Do** (3:34)
They know they have the biggest athletes, the three biggest basketball players of the time, and they think that's a strength. And so he uses the strength against them and teaches her how to ask the question. So he tells her to ask them, how is Michael going to stand out? It's going to catch them flat footed. They're not going to expect that so they won't know how to respond. It's going to make them look embarrassed. And so he's helping to create a friction point here that he's just one of them.