Pitching? Then you need to know the right things to focus on.
It doesn’t matter if you’re pitching to investors, new clients, or even if you’re presenting a new idea to your team, you need to make sure that you’re focusing on the right things in order to get their full attention and their total buy-in.
I’ve seen thousands of people pitch in my career, and I’ve worked with thousands of business owners in seeking to help them grow and scale their businesses… And one of the most common things I see is an inability to pitch compellingly.
Now, let me be clear, this doesn’t mean that these folks are bad speakers. Some are great speakers, in fact. We’re talking about highly intelligent, incredibly driven people here.
But when it comes time to talk about their business in a way that captures the attention of the room (and, of course, investors, clients, or their staff), they often fail spectacularly.
Why? Because they’re coming at their story from the wrong angle. Each and every time.
People don’t care about the “What”
Sure, people care about what you do, but when we’re talking about “the what,” this largely consists of the most formal or mundane aspects of a business.
Think about the most successful businesses in the world right now. Apple makes consumer electronics. Google is a search engine. Amazon does e-commerce. Starbucks makes coffee. Tesla makes cars. But is that what is most compelling about these companies? No! Of course not.
And let’s be honest, the “What” of a business is in many ways the easiest, most boring thing about it. If you really want to capture people’s imagination and gain their support, you need to focus on the things that people really care about.
People care about the “Who”
Like attracts like, and when you’re pitching to any group of people on any subject, clearly communicating about the others associated with your business, project, or new endeavor is crucial to capturing the hearts and minds of your audience.
Are you looking to bring on new investors? Who have you worked with successfully in the past? Who are some of your mentors that would be meaningful to your audience? What other investors have you brought on that would paint a clearer picture to whom you’re speaking so that they not only feel more confident in what you’re proposing, but now they’re so excited about it that they don’t want to be left out?
The same goes for the way you’re communicating to potential clients or even your own team. Who are the people and the businesses that you’ve served and that you’re currently working with? What impact have you had on those businesses?
What team members are leading this new service or project? Who developed the operational structure? The people supporting these things can be crucial to bringing new people on board.
People care about the “How”
Speaking of operational structure, people really do care about the “How” behind things. Pretty much the moment someone communicates the “What” of an idea — especially when they don’t know anything about the “Who” or the “Why,” their minds will start to drift toward the “How,” and if you’re not telling them this, then you may have already lost them.
When Steve Jobs first introduced the iPod and told people that it would “put 1000 songs in your pocket” people were immediately compelled by this idea, and he very simply and deliberately explained the how behind it in a way that people could understand.
People care about the “How.” Tell them. You’ll hook them. But there might be one thing that people care about even more.
People care about the “Why”
The “Why” behind what you do is probably the most important, most compelling reason that people will align themselves with you. After all, your business’s “Why” is the reason that it exists in the first place.
The “What” of Cardone Ventures is that we are a business consulting organization. Countless businesses do this. But no other business is like Cardone Ventures. And that’s because of our “Why.”
Cardone Ventures exists to help our clients and their teams achieve their personal, professional, and financial goals through the growth of their businesses. Every single thing that we do centers on that idea. It’s why we exist. It’s why people are drawn to us. And it’s why we’re so successful at what we do.
Every single business has this. There’s the thing you do, but more importantly, there’s the reason that you do it, the people that you do it with, and the way in which you accomplish it, and if you are able to perfect how you speak to those things, you’ll win every time.
Are you ready to achieve your personal, professional, and financial goals? Don’t wait! Register NOW for our next exciting, informative, and transformational Cardone Ventures event. The time is NOW!
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