I have certainly been surprised about how much a pitch can change your life! It can be the most life changing experience, particularly financially if you do it right. I am so shocked at how much my life changed, you see I am nobody special. Ultimately I have a lot of reasons I shouldn't be successful as I have been.
What separates the successful from the unsuccessful isn't about race, sex or where you come from. What separates us is our beliefs. Yes, that is 100% true. Do you believe in yourself? This is something that is really rare and special. You see, while there are lots of people that say they believe in themselves, only 1% of people end up following their dreams.
To me success was never about money. It's not about cars, homes or popularity either. I found that much to my surprise, success is about time. It's about having the time to do what you want when you want with the people you want.
To get what you want in life, the time that is to do what you want when you want and to do these things with whomever you want, doesn't happen for that other 99% of all people. It's a shame to understand that only 1% of us can get that feeling of total freedom.
For me this all started when I pitched the Sharks on ABC’s hit show, Shark Tank (season 4 episode 22). It was a real hassle getting picked to be on that show. 40,000-50,000 people apply each year and then 100 or so are chosen to come to LA and then some of those get to pitch a shark then a few of those get a deal. Its an incredible process and it took nearly a year for the episode to air from the day we filmed it.
The good news is you don’t have to appear on national TV to get a chance to get the same results I have. When you realize this, you will be that much closer to success, whatever that means for you. Even if your ideas of success are different from mine, I think we can all agree that we all want more of something. More time, more sunshine, more rain, more.
I wanted to quickly touch on three things you should never do when pitching.
1. Never go over a minute and a half! A pitch is a conversation starter not a killer. If you take to long to get the point your chances of getting a deal will dramatically decrease.
2. Don’t puke! Not literally, but figuratively. I see tons of people who get up to pitch a potential investor and they proceed to tell them everything they can possibly say in that minute thirty previously mentioned. Imagine introducing yourself to someone and telling them everything there is to know. It would come off horribly and they would walk away. Remember its a conversation starter not a killer... at least it should be!
3. Don't be a greedy little pig. What better way to finish off my 3 don'ts of pitching than to end with a quote from Kevin O’leary, the toughest shark in the tank. He's right though! don’t get greedy. It's so easy to get big eyes and try to hit a homerun with your funding. Instead make it easy for them to be your partner and then hit a homer together with the business model. If you are pitching the right person, you should know that they bring much more to the table than money.
If you would like more help on pitches, I created The Magic Pitch which is a complete course that includes a comprehensive worksheet and teaches you how to do it and it's totally free online. Easy.