'There Is No Success Without Failure': How to Turn a Pitch Meeting Setback Into Success On the new episode of "Fix My Pitch," business coaches Anthony Sullivan and Tina Frey explain how to reboot yourself when a meeting doesn't go your way.
Key Takeaways
- Practice pitching out loud — connect your thoughts to your body and fine-tune any words or phrases you find yourself stumbling over.
- How you stand is more important than you might think. Your posture reveals your passion!
- Put your logo on full display on your clothing — a t-shirt, hat, a bag. Keep your company name front and center in investors' minds.
- Keep your pitch as simple as possible. State the problem and explain how you are the solution. And avoid insider jargon.
- Slow down! Don't rush to get the information out there. If it is taking too long to say, then cut down on what you're saying.
"I failed my way to success."
This quote is attributed to Thomas Edison, the great inventor who is remembered almost as much for his perseverance as his innovative mind.
Now as easy as it is to listen to people talk about how failure is an empowering thing, it isn't always quite so easy to live through it. You pour your heart and soul (and money) into something, only to get rejected. It hurts, and it can be tough to pick ourselves up and try, try again. But that's exactly what four contestants are being asked to do on Fix My Pitch.
These entrepreneurs all appeared on our show Elevator Pitch, which challenges contestants to wow a panel of investors in 60 seconds or less. For a variety of reasons, each one of them failed to walk away with investment. For most contestants, that's the end of the road. But on this show, they're getting a second shot at glory.
Legendary pitchman Anthony Sullivan and business coach Tina Frey are leading the entrepreneurs through a pitch boot camp. Will their expertise, along with extra help from world-class pitching and startup experts, allow the contestants to succeed in a re-visit to Elevator Pitch? That's what we'll find out at the end of this series.
On this week's episode, Anthony and Tina bring up many helpful hints that these entrepreneurs (and anyone) can use to up their game. Watch the episode above for nitty-gritty advice on these takeaways:
- Practice your pitch out loud — thinking and saying your pitch are two very different things. You need to connect your brain to your body.
- Your posture reveals your passion. Take a superhero stance, be animated — bring the energy!
- If possible, wear clothing with your logo. It shows your seriousness and constantly reinforces the name of your company to the people you're speaking to.
- Keep your pitch as simple as possible. State the problem, and explain how you are the solution.
- Slow down! Don't rush to get the information out there. If it is taking too long to say, cut down on what you're saying.
- And dumb it down! Remember, you live and breathe this product or service. You're an expert. The people you're talking to are not, so keep it high-level and avoid using industry jargon that might be unfamiliar to your audience.
Fix My Pitch contestants
- Ashley Rosulek, founder of Osweetfitness, affordable, high-quality luxury athletic wear
- Brandon Storms, founder and CEO of Retavo, a platform to launch and maintain a state-of-the-art enterprise-grade marketplace at an affordable price
- William Colton, MS, CEO of Paldara, a company harnessing the power of natural bacteriophage to fight and prevent disease.
- Arvin Bhangu, founder of Superintelligence, a research lab that aims to create a system that allows for the co-existence of humans and Artificial General Intelligence (AGI)
Fix My Pitch experts
- Anthony Sullivan, celebrity pitchman and entrepreneur
- Tina Frey, keynote speaker, coach, communications expert, and author of The ART of Facilitation
Fix My Pitch is sponsored by State Farm. New episodes stream Wednesdays now through October 4, 2023 on Entrepreneur.com. Season 10 of Entrepreneur Elevator Pitch premieres on October 18, 2023.
