Klaff - Pitch anything: an innovative method for presenting, persuading and winning the deal

PITCH ANYTHING

An Innovative Method for
PRESENTING, PERSUADING,
AND WINNING THE DEAL

OREN KLAFF

Copyright 2011 by Oren Klaff. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. Except as permitted under the United States Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

ISBN: 978-0-07-175976-2
MHID: 0-07-175976-X

The material in this eBook also appears in the print version of this title: ISBN: 978-0-07-175285-5, MHID: 0-07-175285-4.

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For Dad, true north

PITCH ANYTHING

Heres the big idea in 76 words: There is a fundamental disconnect between the way we pitch anything and the way it is received by our audience. As a result, at the crucial moment, when it is most important to be convincing, nine out of ten times we are not. Our most important messages have a surprisingly low chance of getting through.

You need to understand why this disconnect occurs in order to overcome it, succeed, and profit. This book tells you how.

I pitch deals for a living. My job is to raise capital for businesses looking to expand rapidly or go public. I am good at it. When companies need money, I get it for them. I have raised millions for deals involving Marriott, Hersheys, Citigroup, and many other household namesand I continue to do so at a rate of about $2 million per week. From the outside, the reasons for my success seem simple: I offer wealthy investors profitable deals that involve Wall Street banks. But others do that, too. Yet I raise a lot more money than they do. They compete in the same market. Do the same types of deals. Pitch the same kinds of facts and figures. But the numbers show I am consistently one of the best. The difference isnt luck. It is not a special gift. And I have no background in sales. What I do have is a good method.

As it turns out, pitching is one of those business skills that depends heavily on the method you use and not how hard you try. Better method, more money. Much better method, much more money. Its no different for you. The better you are at advocating your position, the more successful you will be. Maybe you want to sell an idea to investors, convince a client to choose you over the other guy, or even explain to your boss why you should be paid more. I can help you get better at it using the five methods in this book.

Over the years, Ive pitched toand closed deals withsome of the iconic businesspeople of our time, including founding members of Yahoo!, Google, and Qualcomm. But the story of what I can offer you cannot really be told without my explaining the day I went to pitch one of the guys Tom Wolfe would describe as a master of the universe.

Jonathan (never Johnny or even John) is an investment banker who controls vast sums of capital. He gets between 600 and 800 pitches a year; thats three to four every business day. He often makes multimillion-dollar investment decisions based on no more information than a few e-mails on his BlackBerry.

As a dealmaker, this guyand I have absolutely no intention of giving you his name; he sues everyone and anyone at a moments noticeis the real deal.

There are three things you must know about Jonathan. First, hes a math phenom who can calculate yield curves in his head. He doesnt need spreadsheets. He can instantly analyze what you are pitching him. Second, hes seen more than 10,000 deals and can detect any kind of flaw or BS no matter how well hidden. Third, hes tough talking and, at the same time, witty and charismatic. The upshot: When hes pitching you, his chances are good. When youre pitching him, yours arent. Yet, if you want to be taken seriously in venture capital, you need to have done a deal with this guy. And so, some years ago, when I was working to raise money for a software company, I arranged to pitch Jonathan and his investment team. Given their reputation, I knew if I got them on board, it would be a lot easier to raise money from other investors who were still undecided. Theyd say, Hey, if Jonathan signed off on this, then Im in too. But Jonathan knew the power of his endorsementand he wasnt going to give me an easy win.