Pitching Your Product

0:01 hi everybody welcome back we’re so
0:04 excited that you’re here today
0:06 I we are sitting with cups in front
0:07 of us I don’t know if you’re looking or
0:09 not but our Cups have a logo on them
0:11 that are from Groundswell
0:13 Groundswell is a what a startup
0:16 accelerator incubator in Melbourne
0:19 Florida it’s really awesome if you ever
0:21 want to reach out to them they’re a
0:23 great resource
0:24 I’m hoping you’ve been tuned in and
0:27 you kind of know who we are but I just
0:28 want to make sure in case you don’t
0:30 I have Katie with me today who’s the
0:32 inventor of the inventors club for women
0:35 I’m sorry she’s the founder for the
0:37 inventors club for women and I’ve got
0:39 Keith you guys he owns a company called
0:42 Camberlion so he’s The Branding expert
0:45 does online stuff but he is a growth
0:48 strategist and I want people to know
0:50 that because
0:52 I know at least with us we know that
0:54 our companies
0:56 we need help and you’re the guy that
0:58 really kind of gives that guidance and
1:00 that coaching and I know in Nashville
1:02 when I did some mentoring stuff
1:05 we would find that people would pitch
1:07 they’d get their 150 000 dollars they’d go out
1:09 into the world four months later they’re
1:11 broke and have no idea what to do and so
1:13 they would start surrounding them with
1:14 these free mentors well I love that but
1:17 free mentors don’t always give you that
1:19 one-on-one advice that you guys need and
1:21 we all need that help because your
1:23 babies you’re going out into the world
1:24 and building these beautiful companies
1:25 and Keith does that coaching and
1:28 strategy extremely well guys so
1:31 not to give them a plug but he
1:34 really is the man you need so if you’re
1:35 looking for growth and you’re
1:37 kind of stumped look us up
1:39 I’m Luanne
1:41 I’ve been doing this for 30 plus
1:43 years and I help inventors take
1:46 products to market via licensing deals
1:48 or actually trying to get you in front
1:50 of buyers for purchase orders those are
1:51 the kind of two things that I really
1:52 love and have had some real Success With
1:54 all right
1:56 so
1:57 thanks for tuning in and I want to
2:00 talk today about a product that I mean
2:03 I’m sorry I want to talk about a subject
2:06 that is really important
2:09 you guys we’re we’re saying this with as
2:12 much love as we possibly can muster
2:14 but we want to get to the cold hard
2:15 facts you guys we want to talk about
2:18 pitching your product we want you to
2:20 know how to pitch your product in a way
2:23 that you will keep your audience engaged
2:27 you guys that’s 30 seconds don’t do
2:28 what I do I talk too much but there is a
2:31 way to pitch a product that’s effective
2:33 and so go ahead Katie tell them the
2:36 hardest thing that we have to say so
2:41 when you’re standing in front of
2:43 anyone at a pitch competition or even if
2:45 you’re just giving anyone your elevator
2:47 pitch you want to forget about what
2:50 might have happened in the past to get
2:52 to where you are now you want to keep it
2:53 clear concise you want to keep it to 30
2:55 seconds if possible not even 60 seconds
2:58 you want to keep it to 30 seconds
3:01 you really want to talk about the
3:02 functionality
3:04 and a little bit about the brand
3:07 but we just don’t want to hear a lot
3:10 about what might have happened to get to
3:12 this point so practicing that again and
3:14 again in the mirror is going to be
3:16 really helpful okay so you guys
3:18 what she sugar coated is
3:20 it is not I had a problem and then I
3:25 talked to my husband and we realized
3:27 that if we did this we could solve the
3:30 problem and then we took it into the
3:32 garage and we went ahead and started
3:34 working on it and it didn’t work but you
3:36 would never believe what happened
3:37 because in my family’s Thanksgiving
3:39 dinner this friend told us this do you
3:41 get what I’m saying like I already tuned
3:43 out already done so that’s number one we
3:46 love that you invent and everybody’s
3:48 respectful of that but the people that
3:51 you’re talking to don’t have that much
3:52 time so that’s number one is we don’t
3:54 want you to share the back story and
3:56 number two we don’t want you to start
3:59 with this it’s going to make you a
4:01 billion dollars now no if you say that
4:04 you’ve lost in total respect of the
4:07 person that you’re talking to because
4:08 you guys I can’t even think of one
4:10 product that’s ever made a billion
4:12 dollars absolutely right you really want
4:14 to know the problem it solves and I
4:15 think that’s the piece that I
4:17 forgot to mention so sorry about that
4:18 but that is the biggest piece
4:21 maybe why you created it because you
4:23 wanted to solve this problem and that’s
4:25 that’s gonna be the biggest piece I
4:27 think of your opinion yeah making it a
4:28 compelling and clear statement about
4:30 that right because if it’s a problem
4:32 that you know only one or two people
4:34 have absolutely it’s going to be hard to
4:37 relate to so know who your audience is
4:39 and then when you’re pitching to them
4:40 know how you can you know speak their
4:43 language and convey like this is a
4:44 problem that I’ve either experienced or
4:46 seen my you know Close Associates
4:48 experience right because that’s going to
4:49 instantly get their attentions yep start
4:51 with that fear that pain Point what is
4:54 it what is the problem you’re solving
4:56 that now your solution is going to make
4:58 you stop suffering and so when you think
5:01 of I think of note the note stickies the
5:04 stickies you know that was a mistake
5:05 right we all know that story but now
5:07 what problem does that solve you know
5:09 how many times you’ve wanted to leave a
5:10 message or you wanted to leave a note
5:11 and that’s relatable right we all know
5:14 that that’s solving this instant message
5:16 problem so that’s number one is that you
5:18 want to get really clear what the
5:20 pain point is what is it what’s the
5:24 problem first so start with the problem
5:26 in the world blah blah blah and then
5:30 this is how your problem solves it in a
5:34 very simple and concise manner and then
5:36 you’re done
5:37 do better than I do close your mouth
5:40 I think that’s really important to hit
5:41 because a lot of times you know your
5:44 different pitch competitions and they’ll
5:45 be like oh you have five minutes or you
5:46 get to talk to these things you could
5:48 have 12 slides whatever the metric is
5:49 right but you can always grow from there
5:52 if you get really good at your 30
5:55 second Pitch then adding any additional
5:57 information that your particular
5:58 audience or you know your pitch
6:00 competition allows great right I think
6:03 it was I’m probably going to butcher
6:05 this possibly Mark Twain who said you
6:06 know I would have written a shorter
6:09 letter if I had more time right and so
6:11 the idea is like how concise can you
6:13 make that oh I love that expand it out
6:16 absolutely as you have time right for it
6:19 but if you can convey all that value in
6:21 30 seconds then the rest is just
6:23 building on your story I think what you
6:25 mentioned when you are at a pitch
6:27 competition
6:28 for you for those of you that are
6:29 listening that might not be super
6:31 familiar with this you will have your
6:33 your verbal pitch and then you’re
6:35 going to have your pitch Deck with
6:36 slides so they are they are the same but
6:39 they are different because your pitch
6:41 you’re going to be saying that again and
6:42 again
6:43 you’re really going to be saying that
6:45 when you are on an elevator and somebody
6:48 asks you what you happen to be doing or
6:50 what you’re doing or what your interests
6:51 are
6:52 you really want to get clear on
6:54 what your messaging is and you want to
6:55 make sure it’s clear and concise and I
6:57 cannot stress enough practicing it in
6:59 the mirror it’s a really big deal your
7:01 facial expressions
7:03 your excitement your passion that
7:05 really is body language is so much
7:07 people will get an instant impression
7:10 just from you know however you present
7:12 yourself you know if you come in like
7:13 right here’s my pitch
7:15 shoulders back okay you know cut up but
7:18 you don’t want your chin up to be too
7:20 high because then you look arrogant
7:21 which is a thing you don’t want to look
7:23 arrogant when you’re giving your pitch
7:25 but all of these things and you know
7:27 YouTube is awesome for that Google that
7:29 that’s going to be really helpful too
7:30 well and that’s why shark tank is huge
7:32 because people love to watch them pitch
7:35 yes and watch shark tank before you go
7:37 into a pitch competition okay it’s a
7:39 really big deal it is because they do a
7:41 really great job at coaching them right
7:42 to do it but you guys the other thing
7:44 that I like in a pitch that you can do
7:46 is using stats so like if you do have a
7:49 stat that’s not I’m gonna make a billion
7:51 dollars for you but if you have a set
7:53 that’s 65 percent of people suffer with this
7:57 problem then that’s really
7:59 catches on you know but keep in mind
8:01 because I have a friend who does this I
8:03 can’t believe 65 percent of the people do that
8:05 so there’s those guys who will scratch
8:07 their head back that you know what I
8:09 mean keep going down that solid factual
8:12 you know presentation on the fact
8:15 I have to laugh because I’m going to
8:17 share a story because Katie and I we
8:19 talked to inventors every day and we
8:21 work with them to get pitches and we
8:23 get this you do the same thing when
8:25 you’re pitching helping them to do a
8:27 presentation on line even it’s a bit but
8:30 we started a startup Sprint weekend and
8:34 we are now offering weekends that we can
8:37 get people in and out get it’s a Lean
8:39 Marketing program so that you can get
8:43 our product launched in
8:45 less than a year for under a thousand
8:47 dollars and you can hear me my mouth
8:50 even me trying to pitch my own stuff so
8:53 we get that it’s like the they always
8:55 say hire a realtor because you can’t
8:57 sell your own house so we have
8:59 personally haven’t we dealt with that
9:00 like being on video and being like Oh my
9:02 God how do I say that concise absolutely
9:04 so but like you said practice it
9:07 practice it practice it because when you
9:09 get it perfect and sharp then you’re on
9:12 the phone and when you’re pitching I
9:14 know for me if I get in front of that
9:16 buyer and I’ve got it down right I can
9:18 get I can tell because I’m not so
9:21 nervous on my page I can tell to listen
9:24 so when they say to me well I like that
9:26 it does this but there’s also this
9:28 product out there that does something
9:29 similar I’ve heard it and I’m ready to
9:32 answer because you know how you get
9:34 stuck in your own head when you’re
9:35 pitching you’re so worried about what
9:36 you’re saying that you forget to listen
9:38 and that’s crucial and I think
9:41 what you just said is so key because
9:43 that comes into
9:45 videoing yourself which is really
9:47 easy to do these days everybody has a
9:49 phone that has the capabilities for
9:52 video so taking a video of yourself
9:54 doing the pitch so you can re-watch it
9:55 and re-watch it and realize what your
9:57 mistakes are because when you’re saying
9:59 it verbally out loud you’re not going to
10:00 realize you’ve forgotten to say certain
10:02 words oh yeah and it helps
10:06 you like you said to remember and
10:07 identify but then you guys do that
10:10 homework
10:11 picture ideal to the people that you
10:14 want so that you can get their feedback
10:16 so that you keep making the pitch better
10:18 and better so that you actually end up
10:20 with sales absolutely or you get an
10:21 investor and you guys I know Keith is
10:24 going to say this but I keep talking
10:26 it’s got to be about them it’s got to be
10:28 about them it’s got to be about them
10:30 yeah I know and you’re already reading
10:33 my mind because in that we were
10:34 saying you know really practice it and
10:36 now your stuff because then to your
10:37 point whether you’re in a conversation
10:39 with somebody or whether you know you’re
10:41 listening actively for what their
10:43 problem is well now you know the content
10:46 so well you can reframe or you know
10:48 restart from a point where you’ve now
10:50 put it into the conversation in the
10:52 context that you’re having with that
10:54 person right maybe they have this
10:57 particular problem where they described
10:58 it in this way and you’re able to like
11:01 you know kind of show them in their own
11:03 words kind of their own what they care
11:05 about you know how and that is the key
11:07 that is totally the key so you know we
11:09 talk about pitches originally like if
11:12 you’re doing a pitch deck or you’re on
11:13 Shark Tank but what really matters is
11:16 using it in context into who you’re
11:19 selling to because that is going to make
11:21 the difference whether or not you
11:23 actually get a deal or you don’t get a
11:25 deal because if you haven’t heard for
11:26 them they know it pretty quick because
11:28 they’re not nervous and they’re not you
11:30 know writing to you and if you are I’ll
11:31 just give a little tidbit of
11:33 insight if you are doing a pitch
11:35 competition in front of investors make
11:38 sure that you do have intellectual
11:39 property lined up
11:41 that’s a really big deal I’ve heard
11:43 Angels reject innovators some even huge
11:48 success story of a million dollars in
11:50 Revenue two years in a row New York City
11:53 founder and was rejected for any funding
11:55 because he had no intellectual property
11:57 in place so that’s another big
11:59 deal not even so much
12:01 for the case of oh I get my I may get
12:04 my idea stolen that’s not even the
12:07 reason it would it’s more of they’re
12:09 looking at at it as an asset for your
12:11 company and everybody is you guys
12:12 retailers want to know you have it
12:14 manufacturers want to know you have it
12:16 you can tell Katie sleeps with a
12:18 patent
12:20 attorney
12:24 competition I mean you know
12:27 it’s important we don’t want you to
12:29 be embarrassed right oh for sure yeah
12:32 and I have retailers that won’t even
12:33 look at your products and even if
12:35 provisional works just something on file
12:37 and you could do a provisional on your
12:39 own if needed okay stronger position
12:41 too because you know investors right
12:43 they’re now looking at okay who
12:45 am I investing in and what am I
12:46 investing into them who of course is you
12:48 and your team right the what is you know
12:51 they’re definitely have to answer that
12:53 question for themselves well what’s
12:54 going to stop somebody who’s got more
12:55 time more funding a bigger team from
12:57 coming in and just starting your lunch
12:58 so you know the IP can help yeah
13:02 and that’s huge you guys so I joke but
13:04 that’s obviously patents are everything
13:06 and I I most of the time you can’t you
13:09 can’t get in front of a retailer you
13:10 can’t get in front of a yeah a company
13:12 is not going to look at your product to
13:13 license unless you’ve got it so we all
13:15 agree with that and there’s nothing
13:16 wrong with throwing that in I always say
13:19 in my
13:22 emails I always say that someone created
13:24 and patented this product you know to
13:27 solve this problem you know that yeah I
13:29 always tell that story with pitch
13:30 competitions because it’s pretty
13:31 powerful
13:33 Everybody in the room sort of shut up
13:34 oh I know because that is because he had
13:37 he had the most revenue of anyone else
13:39 and he was the only one that walked away
13:41 which is so funny because
13:43 wow I don’t know what that noise was the
13:45 only one that walked away without any
13:47 funding that is so interesting yeah and
13:49 you know it’s funny because if you guys
13:50 watch Shark Tank it’s always what sales
13:53 do you have yeah you had a guy who’s got
13:55 a million dollars in revenues two years
13:57 in a row right but no patent right so
13:59 you guys stack I was told that he could
14:01 not get any intellectual property and
14:04 the angels said go talk to another
14:07 patent attorney find another way wow
14:10 that’s powerful so that’s powerful okay
14:13 so I guess to summarize what’s your tip
14:16 for today my tip is actually go all the
14:19 way back to our mention of Groundswell
14:20 in the beginning right if you are
14:21 practicing your pitch if you need like
14:24 actual live feedback you want to pitch
14:26 in front of people find your local
14:28 incubator accelerator a lot of times if
14:31 there’s like a non-profit one or even
14:33 you know others that are for-profit
14:35 organizations they will have pitch
14:37 nights and Pitch practices right so you
14:38 can get real live pitching real life
14:41 feedback from somebody where you don’t
14:43 have it all on the line right you’re not
14:44 in front of an investor right sometimes
14:46 you may even get lucky maybe an investor
14:48 is there and he likes it but it’ll get a
14:50 lot of good practice yep or at least
14:52 Google if nothing else Google it for
14:53 yourself absolutely that’s awesome
14:57 don’t tell your backstory just stick
14:59 to the facts
15:01 that’s huge you guys we love you but
15:03 that is the hugest thing all right I
15:06 think if I’m to give you the best tip
15:10 I would say because I was gonna say the
15:12 same thing you said
15:14 I think my tip for you guys is to
15:17 listen listen listen so when I
15:21 use pitching I don’t use pitching in a
15:24 in a Pitch deck situation you know in
15:26 a live pitch situation I’m always
15:28 pitching to a buyer or I’m pitching to a
15:30 company for a licensing deal so I think
15:33 like I said I like to use the
15:35 smallest player in the industry that I
15:37 want and I let him teach me so when I’m
15:40 pitching I am literally pitching to
15:43 learn them not to pitch who I am so I
15:46 keep mine so concise that I want them to
15:49 give me an opportunity to learn how I
15:51 can make that industry better with my
15:54 product and so I think listening and
15:57 trying to create a win-win-win because
15:59 I’ve had I’ve literally had people
16:01 say we’re gonna pass and then I’ll say
16:03 but didn’t you mention to me that you
16:05 have this issue and would this not fill
16:07 that and they go oh you know you’re
16:09 right let us take another look at that
16:10 because I’ve had to remind them what
16:12 they taught me so that’s kind of what
16:14 I’m thinking so you guys thanks for
16:16 tuning in and we look forward to
16:18 seeing you next week thanks guys I
16:20 really appreciate your help