If You're Going To Pitch, Pitch Hard Ep 367

In a candid discussion, the host shares a personal story of failure during a stage presentation, emphasizing the importance of decisive action in business. He advocates for a "no half measures" approach, advising to either fully commit to selling or not at all, rather than taking a lukewarm stance. Drawing from his own experience and subsequent reflection, he underscores the value of learning from emotionally charged situations and the power of goodwill. By consistently providing value, he suggests that entrepreneurs can often receive without having to explicitly ask, fostering a cycle of reciprocity. He contrasts this with his own negative experience of a poorly executed sales pitch, which resulted in a loss of potential sales and a lesson in the significance of a strong, confident ask when necessary.

• Speaker A shares an experience of failing at a stage presentation.
• The failure led to a valuable lesson that has since been profitable and reputation-enhancing.
• The lesson is about decisiveness in selling: either fully commit to selling or don't, but avoid half measures.

Completely bombed a stage presentation and one of the most important lessons that I've learned from it that has made me a lot of money since then.

Speaker A reflects on a past experience where they failed during a stage presentation, which taught them a significant lesson that positively affected their financial success thereafter.

• Speaker B introduces the conversation's focus: acquiring more customers, increasing customer value, and retention.
• They mention learning from failures and lessons as part of the entrepreneurial journey.
• The podcast aims to share experiences and strategies for business growth.

Welcome to the game where we talk about how to get more customers, how to make more per customer, and how to keep them longer, and the many failures and lessons we have learned along the way. I hope you enjoy and subscribe in.

Speaker B sets the stage for the discussion, highlighting the podcast's purpose of guiding listeners on improving customer acquisition, value, and retention while learning from past mistakes.

• Speaker A emphasizes the principle of "no half measures" in sales.
• They recount being invited to speak at a high-level mastermind, particularly a fitness-related one.
• Preparing for presentations is a significant effort for Speaker A, sometimes involving product creation.
• Speaker A was given an unusually long three-hour time slot to speak, which posed a challenge for pitching a product.

No half measures, right? Either sell or don't sell, but don't be in between.

Speaker A advises against indecision in sales, suggesting that one should either fully commit to selling or not engage in it at all, instead of taking a middle-ground approach.

• Speaker A faced unexpected conditions: a smaller audience and an extended speaking time.
• They decided to focus on delivering value rather than pitching for the entire duration.
• The transition to the pitch was planned for the end of the presentation.
• Speaker A engaged in Q&A with the audience throughout the session.

First off, the audience size is one third of what I was told. So I was like, okay, that's a little bit different and disheartening. And I go and piece by piece, I'm doing Q and a with the audience, all that kind of stuff, right?

Speaker A had to adjust their expectations and presentation strategy upon discovering the audience was smaller than anticipated, choosing to provide value and interact with the audience before transitioning to the sales pitch.

• The speaker recounts a negative experience during a sales pitch where they rushed through the presentation and failed to engage the audience.
• The pitch was for a $2,000 product, which was significantly cheaper than what the speaker was accustomed to selling.
• The speaker became annoyed with the audience's questions and responded dismissively.
• The audience had concerns about payment plans and product alignment with their values, which the speaker did not adequately address.
• The speaker felt a mix of anger, embarrassment, and humiliation after the presentation.
• Despite the failure, the speaker reflects on the importance of learning from emotionally charged experiences.

And I went through it, and I was like, yeah, we talked about this, and I'm going through the slides, right super fast, just being like, yes, and this.

This quote illustrates the speaker's rushed approach to the presentation, which likely contributed to the audience's lack of engagement and the overall failure of the pitch.

And then at the very end, I basically make the pitch, right without any kind of pre frame, and I go through it just, like, really fast and kind of half assed, and I bombed.

The speaker admits to not properly setting up the pitch and acknowledges that the lack of preparation and enthusiasm resulted in a failed attempt to sell the product.

And so anyways, I started having people be like, hey, can I do a payment plan on the $2,000? I remember being like, if you need a payment plan, then don't buy it.

The speaker's dismissive response to a potential customer's inquiry about payment plans demonstrates a lack of understanding or empathy for the audience's financial considerations.

I feel like the supplements that you have are against my goodwill because I only promote vegan things. And I was like, cool, then don't buy it.

This quote shows the speaker's dismissive attitude toward the audience's ethical concerns, which further alienated potential customers.

And so I remember the feeling I had afterwards, which was just, like, anger and embarrassment and just, like, humiliate all of those at once.

The speaker shares their emotional response to the failed pitch, highlighting the impact of such experiences on personal feelings and professional reputation.

I was like, I have 4000 freaking locations here that use this licensing model. I pared it down just for you guys so that you can use the materials at one 8th the price.

The speaker attempts to justify the value of the offer by referencing the success of their licensing model in many locations, but fails to connect with the audience's needs and concerns.

I remember sitting there and in the pain of the moment and the humiliation, I was like, what am I going to learn from this?

This introspective moment shows the speaker's shift from an emotional reaction to a learning mindset, emphasizing the importance of extracting lessons from negative experiences.

• The speaker suggests that intense emotions can facilitate a state of hyper learning.
• The speaker references a conversation with Dr. Kashi about the relationship between extreme emotions and learning.
• The speaker equates the experience of failure with the conditions that lead to PTSD, implying that the intensity of the moment could lead to a lasting impact and learning opportunity.

I know from my conversations with Dr. Kashi that when you have extreme emotions, you're actually in hyper learning mode, right?

This quote indicates that the speaker has knowledge of psychological principles that suggest heightened emotional states can enhance the learning process.

The reason PTSD is where basically you tur

Although the quote is incomplete, it suggests that the speaker was about to draw a parallel between the learning mechanisms in PTSD and their own experience of learning from a highly emotional event.

• Traumatic experiences can induce a hyper learning mode in the brain.
• Heightened emotions during trauma signal the brain to learn from the situation.
• The brain ingrains behaviors or responses to stimuli experienced during these heightened emotional states.

In your brain on and it goes into hyper learning mode because there's trauma that is going around you, right? It's a traumatic experience, which just means super heightened emotions. And so what happens is your brain says, learn from this, right?

This quote explains the mechanism behind the brain's response to trauma, emphasizing the connection between heightened emotional states and the brain's urge to learn from the experience.

• Commit fully to actions, especially in business pitches or meetings.
• Avoid half-hearted efforts, as they can lead to suboptimal outcomes.
• The speaker's experience with an executive's failed pitch exemplifies the importance of full commitment.
• Persuasive elements like scarcity, guarantees, and bonuses are still needed even if the audience is knowledgeable.

Either pitch or don't pitch, all right? So if you go into a business meeting or you go to a conference or you go to a whatever, right? Either ask hard or do not ask at all. There is no half asked asking, all right?

The speaker emphasizes the importance of decisiveness and full commitment when pitching or making requests, suggesting that anything less is ineffective.

He half pitched something to our audience. He, like, half pitched. He's like, you guys don't need me to do this scarcity thing, right? You guys don't need me to do these guarantees, right? You don't need me to do these x y, these bonuses, right?

This quote illustrates a specific example where an executive's lack of full commitment in a pitch led to a poor outcome, highlighting the consequences of not fully embracing the pitch.

• The hosts do not run ads or sell products through the podcast.
• They request that listeners help spread the word to support the entrepreneurial community.
• Encouraging listeners to rate, review, and share the podcast is the only ask from the hosts.
• The intent is to assist more entrepreneurs in succeeding, benefiting their families, products, employees, and customers.

Real quick, guys. You guys already know that I don't run any ads on this and I don't sell anything. And so the only ask that I can ever have of you guys is that you help me spread the word so we can help more entrepreneurs make more money, feed their families, make better products, and have better experiences for their employees and customers.

This quote from Speaker C is a call to action for listeners to support the podcast and, by extension, the entrepreneurial community, without any monetary transaction involved.

The single thing that I ask you to do is you can just leave a review.

Speaker A reinforces Speaker C's request by asking listeners to leave a review, emphasizing the simplicity and importance of this action.

It would mean the absolute world to me. And more importantly, it may change the world for someone else.

Speaker C explains the potential impact of listeners' support, not only on the hosts but also on the broader entrepreneurial community.

• Entrepreneurs must discern the right moment to make requests or asks.
• It is often better to hold back on making asks.
• Building goodwill through consistent giving can lead to receiving without the need to ask.
• The concept of "jab, jab, jab, right hook" (give, give, give, then ask) is common but can be enhanced to "give, give, get."
• Reciprocity is a natural human tendency that can be leveraged in business.

"So it's like, okay, well, if I'm either going all in or all out, well then how do I know when to do which, right? And I would say that most times I have been better served in my life by holding back my ask."

• This quote emphasizes the strategic advantage of being patient and discerning about when to make an ask in business and personal interactions.

"If you get to a point of goodwill, if you keep giving and keep giving and keep giving, you don't need to ask ever. You will just get."

• The speaker suggests that by building goodwill through continuous giving, one can receive benefits without explicitly asking for them due to the principle of reciprocity.

• Goodwill is a valuable concept in business that differentiates successful entrepreneurs.
• Big business owners may understand and apply goodwill better than small business owners.
• Providing value to an audience without immediate expectation of return can lead to greater profits.
• Withdrawing from relational capital should be done with a clear and significant ask.

"And so I think the biggest difference between big business owners and small business owners is that they do not understand and apply the concept of goodwill."

• This quote implies that understanding and applying the concept of goodwill is a key factor that separates successful entrepreneurs from less successful ones.

"Right. And I'll do an entire thing on goodwill next time because it's a deep topic that I love talking about."

• The speaker indicates that goodwill is a complex and important topic that merits further discussion, highlighting its significance in business strategy.

• Entrepreneurs should invest in their relationships and overdeliver before making an ask.
• When it is time to ask, it should be done boldly and with intention.
• The ultimate goal is to avoid having to pitch or ask because the entrepreneur is receiving so much already through goodwill.

"And so the thing is, if you're going to make the ask, which means if you're going to withdraw from your relational capital, right, the goodwill that you have in your audience, if you're going to make the withdraw, then ask and ask hard and mean it."

• This quote highlights the importance of making significant asks when tapping into the goodwill one has built, ensuring that the ask is meaningful and impactful.

"And that is one of the biggest lessons that I have learned over time in business for me is that it is so much better to give and keep giving and keep giving. And oftentimes you will get."

• The speaker shares a personal lesson about the benefits of continuous giving in business, suggesting that it often results in receiving without the need for direct asks.

• The speaker shares an anecdote about a past failure, presumably to illustrate the lessons discussed.
• Humor is used to reflect on personal humiliation and to connect with the audience.

"So anyways, that was a story of my bombing. I hope you found some humor in that for my humiliation."

• The quote concludes the discussion with a lighthearted reference to a past experience, using self-deprecating humor to engage listeners and underscore the message about the importance of strategic asking and goodwill.