Sell Like Fosse: Choreograph The Sale!
- Marty Jalove Master Happiness
- 1 day ago
- 5 min read
Let's start with the most absurd sentence you'll read all week: Bob Fosse can make you a better salesperson.
I know. A Broadway choreographer who died in 1987, famous for jazz hands and bowler hats, holding a sales masterclass? It sounds ridiculous. Stay with me anyway, because this odd little idea will change how you pitch, present, and persuade.
This post is for salespeople, small business owners, and anyone tired of pitches that fall flat. You'll learn where Fosse's genius came from, why his "limitations" became his signature, and a simple five-step framework called F.O.S.S.E. that turns a boring product demo into an experience people remember.
Here's the big takeaway up front: don't just demonstrate the product. Choreograph the sale.
Who Was Bob Fosse, Anyway?
Bob Fosse was one of the most influential choreographers and directors in American theater and film. If you've seen Chicago, Cabaret, or All That Jazz, you've seen his fingerprints. He won eight Tony Awards for choreography, an Academy Award for directing Cabaret, and reshaped what dance on stage could feel like.
But here's the part that matters for you.
Fosse didn't become legendary by dancing exactly like everyone else. According to his longtime collaborator and wife, Gwen Verdon, he often said his distinctive style grew out of his limitations. His thinning hair led him to use hats. His own natural way of moving gave us the bent knees, the turned-in feet, the hunched shoulders, the small precise hand gestures.
He didn't hide what made him different. He built a whole style around it.
The Sales Opening That Started This Whole Thing
When you picture Bob Fosse, what do you see? The bowler hat. The bent knees. The turned-in feet. The little movements of the hands.
Here's what I love about Fosse: many of the things that became his trademarks started with things he considered limitations. Instead of trying to hide what made him different, he built a style around it.
Eventually, you didn't have to be told, "That's Bob Fosse choreography." You could recognize it immediately.
Great salespeople do the same thing.
They don't simply memorize somebody else's pitch. They learn how to take a product, understand what makes it different, and present it in a way the customer will recognize, remember, and feel.
Fosse didn't just show people steps. He created an experience. And selling isn't just showing people products. It's creating an experience that makes them want to move.
So today I want to teach you a little FOSSE of our own.
The F.O.S.S.E. Sales Framework
Every letter is a move. Miss one, and the routine falls flat. String them together, and the customer can't look away.
F — Feature: What Is It?
Start with the facts. What is the product? What does it include? This is the honest, grounded part of your pitch, the "steps" before the artistry.
But be careful here. Most salespeople live and die on features alone. They rattle off specs like a grocery list and wonder why nobody buys.
Example: "This CRM stores every customer contact in one dashboard." True. Useful. But by itself? Forgettable. Features open the show. They don't close it.
O — Outcome: What Does It Do for Me?
Now translate. A feature is what it is. An outcome is what it does for the person in front of you.
Customers don't buy drills. They buy holes. They don't buy that dashboard. They buy the hour they get back every morning because nothing slips through the cracks.
Example: "So instead of digging through five apps before your first coffee, you open one screen and you're ready." Same feature. Suddenly it means something.
S — Story: Help Me Picture It Working
Facts inform. Stories stick. This is where you stop describing and start showing, painting a scene your customer can step into.
Example: "Last month a shop owner told me she used to spend Sundays reconstructing her week. Now? She spends Sundays with her kids. The system already knows what's next."
A good story does what a great Fosse number does. It makes the audience feel like they're part of the performance.
S — Solution: Show Me How It Solves My Problem
Here's where you connect the dots directly to their problem, not a generic one. This is the moment you prove you were actually listening.
Ask about their pain first. Then show, precisely, how the product removes it.
Example: "You told me you're struggling to keep track of follow-ups and leads are slipping through the cracks. With our automated system, you'll get a personalized reminder and follow-up template sent directly to your inbox, no more lost opportunities, no more forgotten tasks. That problem? Completely solved."
The solution step is choreography, not improvisation. You're arranging the pitch around their exact needs.
E — Emotion: Make Me Feel What Life Is Like Afterward
This is the standing ovation. People make decisions with feeling and justify them with logic. So let them feel the "after."
Relief. Pride. Calm. Confidence. Excitement.
Example: "Imagine Friday afternoon. Your inbox is quiet. Nothing's slipping. You actually leave on time, and for once, you're not thinking about work at all."
That feeling is what they're really buying. Give it to them before they even sign.
Common Mistakes When You Skip the Choreography
Feature dumping: Listing specs with no outcome. The fix? Follow every feature with "which means for you…"
Skipping the story: Facts alone don't move people. Add one short, real scenario.
Generic solutions: Pitching the same fix to everyone. Ask questions first, then tailor.
Ignoring emotion: Ending on logic. Always close on how life feels afterward.
Why This Works for Small and Medium Businesses
If you run a small or medium business, you can't out-spend the giants. But you can absolutely out-move them.
Being memorable beats being ordinary. When your team learns to choreograph the sale, your customer experience transforms and your people feel more engaged, because selling stops feeling like reciting and starts feeling like performing.
That's the heart of what we do at Master Happiness. We help small and medium businesses grow by transforming the customer experience and boosting employee engagement, starting with your values, your vision, and better communication built on trust.
Bob Fosse understood something every great salesperson should understand: being memorable beats being ordinary.
Now, the Jazz Hands!
So here's your recap to Sell Like Fosse: Choreograph The Sale!, and then I want you to go steal the show.
Fosse turned his limitations into his signature. You can do the same with your pitch. Use the five moves: Feature, Outcome, Story, Solution, Emotion. Stop reciting specs and start creating an experience your customer can feel. Remember the mantra: don't just demonstrate the product, choreograph the sale.
Your next step is simple. Take your current pitch and run it through F.O.S.S.E., one letter at a time. Rewrite it. Practice it. Perform it.
And if you want to sell more, put a little Fosse in your pitch.
Now step into the spotlight, hit your mark, and give 'em jazz hands. That's how we Master Happiness.
Sell Like Fosse: Choreograph The Sale!
Too often, companies hire salespeople without real, structured sales training. This can be a costly mistake, watching unprepared reps burn through valuable leads is a quick path to missed opportunities and frustration. But there’s hope! By reading the sales posts here at Master Happiness, you’ll gain fresh perspectives on time-tested strategies, all written with unique angles to help the message resonate. Better yet, why not go a step further? Contact me, Marty Jalove, Master Happiness, and let's see if I’m the right trainer or coach to elevate your team. Sometimes, all it takes is one phone call to turn potential doom into true sales delight. Helping your team find sales success is how we Master Happiness!
Comments