The Art Of The Pitch
I’m going to take this lazy monday morning here on the beach in Maui to write about something that hopefully can help everyone.
Every week at least, I get someone trying to pitch to me an idea, JV opportunity, business opportunity, etc.
95% of the time, I can tell if they have any experience simply by how they pitch it to me. So here are some tips that I think every person who pitches an idea needs to have.
- Not wordy. – The initial pitch should not be long and lengthy. I want the potential investor to invest as little of his /her time as possible until they are interested. If you write a 10 page book on your idea, you’ve given far too many details.
- Not speaking of the benefits. – This is the MOST common problem that I absolutely hate. If you’re pitching an idea to someone, don’t just talk about the idea. Speak of what is in it for the person. I can’t tell you how many emails I get from people saying they’re launching X product or X service and want me to promote it. This is especially important if you do not know the person very well.
- Not giving product details. – Look… Nobody cares you’re making a product called “Really, the best product.” If you don’t explain how it works and what it does to benefit customers, it means nothing. I don’t want to hear just that the product is a twitter marketing product, etc. I want to hear how it works, what it teaches in a brief, no fluff paragraph.
- Not taking all the risk. – When you’re trying to get someone to partner with you, you should be the one taking all the initial risk. I’m not going to want to risk anything based on people I have no trust in, no relationship with, etc.
I know all these points seem super simple, but it’s surprising to me how many people just absolutely do not include most of these items.
I didn’t go to business school or have any fancy degree but these are the things I think are essential in formulating a well thought out pitch based only upon the sheer number of terrible pitches I get.
So, if you have an idea, please feel free to contact me with the above information here. 
