Turning Good Intentions into Reality in Your Career, Business and Life
[Read more…] about 3 Ways to Overcome Those Public Speaking Nerves
You have the perfect business idea, but where do you get the money to make it happen? What options are available for those of us who don’t have Mark Cuban on speed dial? Matt McKee is an expert in this area, having secured millions of dollars in funding for multiple projects and startups. Today, he’s sharing his advice with us.
Welcome to episode 68 of The Launch Youniversity Podcast.
Great ideas don’t sell themselves. But a great idea combined with great communication generates momentum. Join us at Elevator Pitch LIVE to do just that on Friday, March 16th at Roam Perimeter Center.
Bad communication is often the graveyard of great ideas. Allow your idea to see the light of day and secure investors, customers and supporters by learning to communicate your idea quickly and effectively.
Ideal for go-getters, startups, entrepreneurs and innovators, this interactive workshop will guide you through proven methods to shape, hone and sharpen your message and polish your delivery. Imagine how a stronger, clearer message could positively impact your next presentation, sales call or team meeting.
Featuring Launch Youniversity’s Jeff Henderson, Shane Benson, David Farmer and Kevin Jennings. Register now.
Can’t make it to the event? Join the waitlist for Elevator Pitch the course and get instant access to a free personal brand assessment.
Parent Chat: The Technology Talk for Every Family by Matt McKee
The Personal MBA: Master the Art of Business by Josh Kaufman
1. You’re not the only person investors are meeting with.
Investors are typically looking at up to 100 different deals at a time. Usually they know what kinds of businesses, products and people they’re looking to invest in. The odds are, it’s not going to look like Shark Tank where you pitch to four people and get to decide which one to go with. You’ll be turned down, a lot. Don’t let it stop you from moving forward. With each pitch, you’ll get better and better. In fact…
2. Be prepared to pitch at least 50 times until you feel any traction.
Until you’ve pitched at least 50 times, you might not even know if there’s a market for your product or idea and if there are investors in that space. If you’ve got a great pitch, what will happen is that you’ll hear “I like what you’re doing, but this isn’t my space… go talk to XYZ.” After going through that around 50 times, you’ll start to get a feel for which investors you need to set up meetings with.
3. Vision is great, but a business plan is better.
You might have the ultimate problem to solve and a genius solution, but if you don’t have a solid business plan then investors won’t be interested. All investors are asking “If I give you this money, what are you going to give me back?” without a business plan, you can’t answer that question.
In this week’s episode, Launch Youniversity members Jeff Henderson and Kevin Jennings discuss communicating new ideas. Launchers tend to believe that their idea alone is magic, but Jeff and Kevin explain why communication, messaging and phrases are key to true impact. When pitching an idea, it’s not about information, it’s about buy in.
Welcome to Episode 61 of the Launch Youniversity Podcast.
Free eBook Launch Loop text LAUNCHPAD to 345345
How I Built This Podcast: Sarah Blakely of SPANX
1. Messaging Matters
Launchers struggle with communicating new ideas. They tend to think the idea is so great that it sells itself. While the idea may be great, communicating it to others is what really makes it come to life. Gone are the days of slide decks and power points.
Most launchers may think, “The more information I have the better I’m going to communicate.” But this isn’t always true. You won’t get buy in of your idea by immediately spouting facts, numbers and details. Finding the right message to showcase your idea is important and can be difficult; but, just because it’s difficult to find the right messaging doesn’t mean you aren’t on the right track with your idea. Don’t be discouraged if it takes time to find the perfect fit.
2. Process. Prepare. Practice.
Jeff is a preacher’s son. As a boy, he remembers feeling amazed that his father’s words had the ability to impact people’s lives in such a strong way. This inspired Jeff to study other communicators to determine what made them successful. He noticed each communicator had a process that he or she followed, similar to the Launch Loop. He also noticed great communicators prepare and practice before presenting to their audience. Ask trusted mentors, coworkers or family to listen to your presentation. Ask for their honest feedback. If you aren’t able to gather anyone to watch, video yourself instead. Both options may feel awkward, but it’s key to being prepared.
3. A Phrase that Pays
When communicating an idea to a friend or colleague, you may see the interaction as simple addition. But to really get traction on your idea, consider it more like multiplication.
Think of it like this: You not only want to impact the person you’re talking to, but you want to impact five people down the line from him or her. You want them to understand your idea so well that they tells others (who will tell others, who will tell others, and so on). Remember, think multiplication if you want your idea to spread with you. Bonus tip: If you want to test whether your idea stuck, ask your colleague to repeat it back to you in the attempt to sell you on your own idea. If you get a blank stare, you know you have more work to do.
You happen to find yourself on an elevator with a person of significance and you have a just a few seconds to pitch them what you’re doing. That’s what an elevator pitch is: Selling an idea in a clear and concise manner, in a short amount of time, and inspiring the person you’re pitching to take action. Whether you know that analogy, or this is the first time hearing it, your elevator pitch matters. Good ideas die with bad communication. This episode is about finding, refining, and improving your pitch.
Welcome to episode 60 of the podcast.
Elevator Pitch is an online, workshop-style video course that guides you through proven methods to shape, hone and sharpen your message and polish your delivery. It includes a printable, digital workbook with exercises providing the step-by-step directions and the writing space you need to develop your pitch as you go.
Following the process outlined in Elevator Pitch, you’ll have crafted your pitch in approximately four hours. How could a stronger, clearer message impact your next presentation, sales call or team meeting? Make your next presentation your best presentation with Elevator Pitch.
Registration for Elevator Pitch is currently closed. It will open soon. Sign up for the waitlist so you don’t miss the next enrollment.
If you can’t say it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.
The goal here is to keep it simple. When you pitch a product, you want to tell people who can tell other people. Nobody is going to share your idea with others if they can’t understand it.
A great idea, poorly communicated, is a stalled, unfunded and unsupported idea.
You might have the greatest idea in the world, but if you don’t know how to communicate it well then it’ll never get off the ground. When you’re building out your idea, practice how you would simply and concisely explain it to others. (And practice it again and again and again.)
Your pitch is like your packaging.
Think about the experience of buying a brand new iphone from the Apple store vs. buying a used one on ebay. One comes in the crisp white box, headphones perfectly folded, screen protector on. The one from ebay will probably arrive in a padded yellow shipping envelope. Which one would you be more excited for? That’s because packaging matters, and your pitch is your packaging. Don’t rely on the fact that you have a great idea and think that the communication doesn’t matter. The communication is what makes the experience great.
