How to Get Booked as a Speaker: Pitch Mistakes to Avoid.

John: 00:00:00

Here's an uncomfortable question.

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When you introduce yourself as a

speaker, are you actually thinking

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about your audience, or are you

thinking about your business?

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Most speakers pitch the way that

their business thinks, services,

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credentials, what they've done.

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But the person on the other end

of that pitch, whether it's a

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booker or an audience member or

someone deciding whether to hit

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reply, is thinking like a human.

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That mismatch is why so many

pitches, elevator introductions,

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and "I help" statements on LinkedIn

disappear the moment they're heard.

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Today, I'm joined by a returning

guest, Mike Verret, a former

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Hasbro Toys communications

director turned pitch coach.

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He spent his career translating

business thinking into human language.

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We get into elevator pitches,

AI-written bios, and why order

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matters more than content.

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Welcome to Professional Speaking, the show

for people who are serious about speaking

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and becoming known, booked, and paid.

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My name's John Ball, professional

speaking coach, keynote speaker,

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stand-up comedian, and sci-fi nerd.

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I'm here as your guide on the journey

to a successful speaking career

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I'm very happy to welcome back to my

show a special guest who hasn't been, we

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haven't, I think, been maybe four years

or so since we last spoke on the show.

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Mike Verret: 2021.

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John: 2021.

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Gosh, it was a while back.

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welcome to The Professional

Speaking Show, Mike Verret

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Mike Verret: Thank you very

much for having me, John.

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It's great to see you again.

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John: well, thanks, Mike, and, definitely

glad to have you back because I think

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the topic that you are an expert in is

one that probably won't cover as much

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as we could or should on this show,

and certainly a valuable one for people

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who are in the professional speaking

world, which is that of pitching.

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And I think most of us have, probably

a bit of even fear about that.

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Like how are you supposed to do it?

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And, so if you ever watch those TV shows

where people are pitching their businesses

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to dragons or, sharks or whatever they

are, then, you know that most people

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aren't actually that good at this.

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So tell us a little bit about what your

expertise is with pitching and maybe even

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how you came to be an expert in this area.

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Mike Verret: Well, the first fundamental

principle of why pitching is so hard is

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it's your business, and you're thinking

like a business, and everything about

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your business is important to you.

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Not to mention the fact that you're

about to be in a public s- speaking

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situation that people rank over death

and being struck by lightning in

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terms of things they're afraid of.

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So you've got a lot of forces

working there, and the truth is,

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the audience of whatever you're

gonna say thinks like a human being.

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For instance, right now you're processing

information as a human, and then

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you would translate it to business.

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So when we're in our business

role, we don't have a choice.

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We think differently.

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We act differently.

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We talk differently.

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Like if you and I got together for a

cup of coffee and I said, "So John,

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what are your KPIs this weekend?"

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I'd sound like a lunatic.

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I'd say, "What are you

doing this weekend?"

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And business has a way of warping things.

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So when it comes to pitching it,

you can't see the outside world.

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It's very insular because

everything's important to you.

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And it's the exact reason that an author

like Stephen King gets his book to where

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it's ready to be published but gives it to

someone else to read to write the blurb.

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Every word in the book is

chosen with specificity.

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Every word is important to him.

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It would take him five hours and

15 paragraphs to put the blurb

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together, but if I read it, I could

write the blurb in 10 minutes.

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Three hot paragraphs that sell the book.

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That's his practice because he knows he's

stuck in that 100% knowledge, and his

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audience only needs to know 5% of that

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So that's why he does it.

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my background, I was in the

advertising agency world or,

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you know, marketing promotions,

different kind of firms for 14 years.

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My last assignment was at Hasbro

Toys here in Rhode Island, and I was

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their on-site account director for

an agency that was based in Texas.

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my job became traveling around

the world to all the toy fairs.

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and I immediately notice that every other

brand has demonstrators and spokespeople

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to show how the new Optimus Prime works

or the new My Little Pony play set.

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The buyer already knows how it works,

what's in the box, how much the box

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cost them, how much- how many they

could fit on the shelf at Tesco,

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and they've known that since August

when we started pitching it to them.

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They've gotten videos about how it works.

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Like, they already know all that stuff.

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What they're there for is to see, and

more importantly feel, in my mind, what

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we're going to do to drive their business.

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The fact is I have 400 games and

they have six minutes, so obviously

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I'm not gonna focus on 400 games.

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The theme one year was Joy of

Connection, so the way I handled it

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was I'm gonna plant an idea in their

head that they can't escape from.

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So the theme this year

is Joy of Connection.

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I want you to imagine a family around

the table playing a game, no cell

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phones in sight, and just big smiles.

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That's what the joy of

connection looks like.

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I've just put a physical representation

of our concept into that buyer's head.

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So then the next five minutes are

dedicated to showing how it comes to

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life through our five game segments

like kids, preschool, what have you.

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And the last 30 seconds is

explain the benefits to his

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business of the joy of connection.

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Sales would go up 5% to 15% because

I knew how the audience was thinking.

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That's my job, is to walk

in an audience's shoes.

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That's what I've perfected over time, and

that's what makes what I do important.

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Because the biggest problem we have

is thinking like a business when

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everyone else is thinking like a human.

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You processing this information,

you process as a human.

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wouldn't it be smart for a business to

speak in human terms about their business

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and create that interest in it based

on what the audience needs to hear?

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And any audience, the first thing

they need to hear, the first 10

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seconds, they need to connect

with you and need to know more.

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So the importance of starting

a presentation, a public

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speaking opportunity.

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Take TEDx, for example Every TEDx

con-- or talk starts with a question

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or a think about this statement.

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Now, what that's doing for the speaker

and the audience is creating a connection.

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The speaker is thinking,

"Okay, it's me versus them.

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It's my brain versus all of them."

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But the second they see the hands go up

or the, "Oh yeah, that's an interesting

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thing to think about," all of the

sudden it makes this switch that feels

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instead of me versus them, it's us.

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And how you turn a pitch into

a conversation is inherent

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to how people remember you.

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If I come in and read my business

card in a networking event,

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no one's gonna remember me.

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If I'm a PR firm, you ask me what I do,

and I say, "I own a PR firm," well, that's

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a terrible way to start the conversation

because I already know what PR firms do.

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Maybe I'd ask you what clients you have.

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But if you were to, if you were

to say, "I make your news matter,"

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now it's a different story.

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Two things are happening.

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The tell me more effect is there because

you haven't said you're a PR firm.

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And more importantly, what you

just focused on is not a solution.

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What you focused on was their motivation

of why any business would need a PR firm.

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Their news can't fall on deaf

ears, so they need to know more.

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That's the first thing that any public

speaking scenario needs to think

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about, is forming that connection

with their audience immediately.

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You know, I'll give you an

example of what happened to me.

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at the time I was working on the

Transformers brand at Hasbro, and

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this was the first time that I had

to get up in front of the C-suite

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and the amphitheater style of country

managers, you know, other VPs.

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All of these people are in there

and I'm standing in front of them.

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And again, remember, I don't

know what the hell I'm doing.

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I looked out and I was like,

"Oh my God, I'm gonna be sick."

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The first thing that came to mind

was, "Show of hands, how many people

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were terrified the first time they had

to present to this front horseshoe?"

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Every hand, including the CEO's,

went up and that switch occurred.

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All of the sudden, I felt instantly

comfortable because now the audience

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relates to me and I relate to them.

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Forms a connection immediately.

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I feel more comfortable going on

with the rest of my conversation.

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So that's my goal, form that connection,

like joy of connection, right?

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Form that connection and

implant something in their mind.

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how you help that person and give

them a solution in a sentence,

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and you're off and running

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John: The, the connection thing is

a theme I think that comes up, again

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and again with, in conversations I

have with, with people on this show.

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particularly when, when you're

in front of an audience.

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And, and one of the things I really

loved about, the story when you, when

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you were at the event as well is that,

it kind of highlighted for me how a

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l- I see a lot of people get stuck

in doing what they've always done or

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doing what everyone else is doing.

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Lacking the creativity and relying on

the safety of the crowd or the s- or

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the feeling of safety of what you've

always done, rather than looking to see,

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oh, there's actually a theme to this

event, and we actually don't have to

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do what everyone else has been doing.

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In fact, maybe that's

not the best thing to do.

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Like, people are very happy to have

that sort of fast solution to, to their

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problem, but it's probably not actually

really serving them because what they're

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not doing, as you say, is connecting,

being memorable, actually serving the

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audience that they're in front of.

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So I found that very, in- very useful

just in terms of I see this a lot in

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the speaking circuit and on the comedy

circuits of people just, doing what

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they usually do rather than taking

the opportunity to understand how

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this audience is working or what the

theme of the event is that they should

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maybe be, at least tying some of

their stuff into, and being a bit more

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remembered and valuable because of that.

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Mike Verret: Absolutely, 100%.

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Here's an interesting

story about exactly that.

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So first of all, to put it in public

speaking perspective, if you're just

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carrying on about a theme without

setting it up, you've got a problem

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because people don't have a baseline.

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They're just listening to you

reading through something, right?

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This happened for the making of the

movie "Ghostbusters," where they were

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tra- It was actually Dan Aykroyd and

Harold Ramis who were selling it in.

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They couldn't get two studios to

bite, the first two to bite because

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they just jumped into the story.

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"Okay, it begins with this," and

there's no concept of what's coming.

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You don't set expectations.

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So they figured out they needed

a line to set expectations.

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So in six words, they figured

out how to describe the movie.

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Ghost janitors or

custodians of New York City.

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That is exactly what the movie is about.

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They wear coveralls.

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They come out carrying

traps, exterminators.

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There is even a song on the soundtrack

called "Cleaning Up the Town."

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It all set them up for the rest of the

story, and I think that's what we miss a

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lot when it comes to our opportunity to

speak with an audience or to an audience,

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is not relating to them and thinking that

what we think is important, what we have

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to say is going to be important to them.

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John: Yeah

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Mike Verret: It's not unless

you think like a human being

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John: Which is very important

advice to take to heart.

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And so I think for, for speakers, one

of the, one of the situations that

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pretty much every professional speaker

is gonna find themselves in is a place

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where you, you are actually pitching

for, for the business, to, to get

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a-- to land yourself a speaking gig.

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And there's a lot of

pitching advice out there.

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Some of it's okay, some of it's

maybe good, some of it's not so good.

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So there, there's a lot of

voices out there, um, and, and

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I think people maybe don't fully

know how best to go about this.

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But w- what would be, you know,

based on some of the things you're

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saying and maybe other areas of your

expertise, what would be some of the

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things that you would encourage a

speaker to focus on to be able to pitch

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themselves well for picking up business?

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Mike Verret: I think first and

foremost is a point of difference.

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So I'm just gonna, you know,

use like resumes as an example.

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All right?

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The importance of a point of

difference right from the jump means

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that they're going to hold onto

it, they're gonna wanna know more.

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And if they think that, then you've

got them where you want them, right?

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So if everybody's saying, " I'm a

public speaker and I'm looking to

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get paid for it," then what we wanna

come at it with is, "I can deliver

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value based on why you need it."

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That should be the story you're telling.

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So if that's the first thing you put in

their head, my speaking, what I have to

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say will deliver value for you, that's

an important idea to plant because then

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you're going to explain why it's valuable.

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And remember, you haven't even said,

"I'm a speaker looking to get paid."

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You are focused on them and

what they are looking for.

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So they're gonna say, "What

kind of value is that?"

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You're able to explain it, but you've

set up the conversation as a value

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proposal and not as, "I'm a person

who wants to get paid for what I

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say Explain yourself as a dynamic of

speaking and not a public speaker.

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Put it into the outcome of what you

want it to be and lead with that.

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You know?

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You-- Those people need to walk away

with some sort of information from you

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John: Yeah.

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A l- a lot of people tend to lean

into the "I help" statements.

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I- is that a good one to use or

would that be a don't do that?

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Mike Verret: that, StoryBrand Mad Libs.

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So the very first step in StoryBrand,

and people-- The whole program's

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brilliant, but the first step is I

help business A achieve goal B by

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solving problem C with solution D.

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It, it just care- it looks like a

run-on sentence, and I see it under

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profiles on LinkedIn all the time.

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You know, "I help" is a very

common way to start your pitch.

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The two first words out of your

mouth sound just like anybody else.

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So I agree with you there.

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You know, I, I assist, I guide.

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Use those types of words.

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It sounds better than I help

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John: Yeah.

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Yeah.

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So it, we do need to in some, to some

degree be able to nutshell the, the

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actual benefit and transformation or

whatever that we are offering upfront.

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and, and even before we actually

get to expressing that, create a

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little bit of intrigue around it.

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That ma- that all makes

a lot of sense to me.

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So, so what about when we're actually

in the conversation with somebody

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and we, we've said what we do,

where, where do we go from there?

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Mike Verret: I would jump into

a comparative set and how you

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set yourself apart from them.

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So most public speakers are gonna come

here and tell you, "I wanna get paid to

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be a public speaker on your platform.

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That's not why I'm here."

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And set that up, right?

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You haven't even said why you're here yet.

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That could be whatever.

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But this is what you hear from everybody.

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"I'm different."

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That's what you wanna get across.

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So you talk to all these people

who say they wanna be public

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speakers and they wanna get paid

for it, and how they introduce

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themself is, "I'm a public speaker."

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Well, that doesn't add any value.

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That's sort of like an obvious reason for

why s- That's lowest bar to cross, right?

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If you're able to get them thinking

about you're different than them,

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they're gonna wanna know how.

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So it's a simple way to lead them

into that tell me more effect.

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How are you different?

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You know?

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Like, uh, it's not just the

con- it's not just the content,

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it's how you deliver it, right?

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So that's where you want yourself to

stand out, not just as a public speaker

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John: Yeah.

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Yeah, and I think as well one of the

challenges that people tend to face

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in this is thinking that this is

something you're supposed to be able

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to do on the spot, like, like you can

turn up to the call and improvise this.

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That actually it's worth taking

that bit of time up front

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to be able to, do this well.

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Maybe even practice it with somebody,

so that you can run through saying

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the words in an actual conversation

before you ever get onto the phone

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with, with a booker or, or someone

who might want you for, for an event.

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So, it is, it's really very…

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Mike Verret: to pi- I'm sorry, just

to piggyback on that, I would highly

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suggest running it by three people

who know you well and ask them

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specifically, "Does this sound like me?"

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That's the most important thing to pull

out of it, because you need to come

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across as authentic when you're up there.

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You need to be the real deal.

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And if it doesn't sound like you, if it

sounds just like any other public speaker

299

: 00:18:11

in business looking for gigs, right?

300

: 00:18:15

It's not authentic.

301

: 00:18:16

People don't buy into it as much, and

that's what's important to impress on

302

: 00:18:22

them is, "I'm not a public speaker.

303

: 00:18:26

I am a performative, performative,

value provider," whatever you say.

304

: 00:18:34

It's, "I, I provide a dynamic interaction

with the audience that they won't forget."

305

: 00:18:40

Something like that sets them

apart, sets you apart from everybody

306

: 00:18:44

else that they've talked to

307

: 00:18:46

John: Yeah.

308

: 00:18:46

I, I know that, I often have this

conversation these days about how the

309

: 00:18:52

majority of people are even just putting

this stuff into a, into an AI tool and

310

: 00:18:55

saying, "Create, create my pitch for me."

311

: 00:18:59

And well, AI is scraping

information from other people.

312

: 00:19:03

So at, at some point, if you just ke-

if, if people keep putting this stuff

313

: 00:19:07

into their pitches and profiles and

everything like that, that's all it's

314

: 00:19:11

gonna be scraping, is what it's scraped

before and scraped again un- until

315

: 00:19:15

it's like so homogenized that, that…

316

: 00:19:19

But, but it's already, there's already

a bit of that, like you can kind of

317

: 00:19:22

tell sometimes when something has almost

definitely been written by AI, but it

318

: 00:19:27

is that sense of does this sound like

natural words that a person would say?

319

: 00:19:33

and I think that…

320

: 00:19:35

Mike Verret: deliver it.

321

: 00:19:35

Yeah

322

: 00:19:36

John: But to, to, to say actually run

it by people who know you, who actually

323

: 00:19:39

know how you speak and communicate is,

is an even wiser tool because they, they

324

: 00:19:44

actually do know is, is this in your

normal sort of range of how you speak

325

: 00:19:49

and how you communicate with people?

326

: 00:19:50

And if it's not, then to make

it more of a natural fit for you

327

: 00:19:55

is actually very good advice.

328

: 00:19:56

So, so I, so I do, do

particularly like that.

329

: 00:19:59

And there's, there's so many pitfalls

we can fall into this stuff, and

330

: 00:20:02

this is one of those spaces where,

it's not a leave it to I- an leave

331

: 00:20:06

it to AI kind of case at all.

332

: 00:20:09

Mike Verret: you know what?

333

: 00:20:10

The best trick for people who are writing

with AI, and again, I use it to organize

334

: 00:20:15

thoughts and then I write because AI

can't write like me, like I would.

335

: 00:20:22

The easiest thing to do when you

finish it is say, "Now explain it to a

336

: 00:20:28

14-year-old or a 13-year-old," because

it's going to dumb the language down.

337

: 00:20:35

That's what you need

338

: 00:20:38

I had to for a client figure out

a way to explain what terpenes

339

: 00:20:43

are in the cannabis business.

340

: 00:20:45

And terpenes in the wine

business, it's the same thing.

341

: 00:20:48

Like, oh, I'm getting an oaky flavor.

342

: 00:20:50

Well, you pick up on these

things in the soil and where it's

343

: 00:20:54

grown and that kind of stuff.

344

: 00:20:57

And the terpenes are what

give it its distinct flavor.

345

: 00:21:00

So the terpene for lemon

would show up in the plant.

346

: 00:21:05

Explaining these scientific names for

the terpenes is impossible when, you

347

: 00:21:09

know, to a bunch of people who are

shopping at a cannabis dispensary.

348

: 00:21:14

so what I asked it to do was explain

it to a 12-year-old, and what it gave

349

: 00:21:20

back was a comparison using ice cream.

350

: 00:21:24

It was very simple, very

straightforward, and it sounded

351

: 00:21:27

a lot less AI, to be honest.

352

: 00:21:29

But I don't think it's smart to

write with AI and expect that

353

: 00:21:33

to work based on what you said.

354

: 00:21:37

Our ability to see it, and I'm not

talking about software that sees

355

: 00:21:42

it, our ability to see it, you

pick up on em dashes all the time.

356

: 00:21:48

You know?

357

: 00:21:49

They use all of the platforms,

but especially GPT, use

358

: 00:21:53

em dashes all the time.

359

: 00:21:55

There's a cadence to how they do it.

360

: 00:21:57

So if you and I are picking up on that

now, this isn't some resume-checking AI

361

: 00:22:04

system-- you know, AI-checking system.

362

: 00:22:07

These are two people who actually

see that it's written in AI.

363

: 00:22:12

It becomes incredibly evident, so

imagine how the audience is taking it.

364

: 00:22:16

They're thinking the same way.

365

: 00:22:18

Chances are they've used it in

some capacity, so even they're

366

: 00:22:22

John: For sure

367

: 00:22:23

Mike Verret: the output.

368

: 00:22:24

So they've got insight into

what you're writing already

369

: 00:22:27

because they could recognize it

370

: 00:22:29

John: Yeah.

371

: 00:22:30

I

372

: 00:22:31

Mike Verret: And it's never

in your authentic voice.

373

: 00:22:33

That's the biggest problem First

thing to recognize is that all of those

374

: 00:22:37

platforms are yes men until you build an

app that puts guardrails on them, right?

375

: 00:22:43

They're just gonna say yes to everything.

376

: 00:22:46

And if you keep telling it to

change it, it's like, "Great idea.

377

: 00:22:48

Yeah, do it this way," blah, blah, blah.

378

: 00:22:50

Now you actually feel like

you were the one writing it,

379

: 00:22:54

and the truth is you weren't.

380

: 00:22:56

You know, you were just listening to

the yes man tell you yes to everything.

381

: 00:23:01

And what you come out with, because

you spent so much time telling it

382

: 00:23:06

what to do, you are programmed to

think that it's the right thing.

383

: 00:23:10

It's just human nature, right?

384

: 00:23:15

Well, that becomes a problem

because it doesn't matter.

385

: 00:23:20

AI is still going to write like AI.

386

: 00:23:22

There are still end dashes in there.

387

: 00:23:24

There are still-- Like, if you know

someone and how they communicate,

388

: 00:23:29

and then you have them, you know,

replicate it with AI, you're gonna

389

: 00:23:34

see that it's not the same thing.

390

: 00:23:36

It's a visual standout,

let alone content standout.

391

: 00:23:40

John: Yeah

392

: 00:23:41

Mike Verret: I know a guy who, who

built a program around AI, but he

393

: 00:23:46

incorporated neurolinguistic analysis,

and what that meant was it was built

394

: 00:23:54

to understand, like, give me all these

LinkedIn posts, give me your emails,

395

: 00:23:57

give me all of this, and it actually

gets damn close, I'd say 90% of what your

396

: 00:24:02

voice should be because it integrated

so many guardrails, and they're not

397

: 00:24:08

able to just say, "Yes, that's you.

398

: 00:24:10

Yes, that's you."

399

: 00:24:13

John: To, to, to me it makes sense,

but you know, I think the, even, even

400

: 00:24:17

using AI as a collaborator tool now is

challenging because of those things.

401

: 00:24:23

Because I do think there's plenty of

people out there who are rallying against

402

: 00:24:27

it and, and don't like it, and if they

see an em dash or anything that looks

403

: 00:24:32

vaguely AI, they're switching off.

404

: 00:24:35

I don't care what a machine

thinks or, you know, something

405

: 00:24:38

in them is just switching off.

406

: 00:24:40

Even if it's actually your stuff and

it's just been maybe polished up a

407

: 00:24:43

little bit through an AI tool, that,

that still has the potential to happen

408

: 00:24:47

Mike Verret: If they pick up on it

at all, it shifts their perception

409

: 00:24:50

John: Right.

410

: 00:24:51

So in-- we talked about some of the stuff

in terms of the words we say and how we,

411

: 00:24:56

how we structure stuff with, with a pitch.

412

: 00:24:59

Beyond the words, what, what, what else is

important in terms of making a good pitch

413

: 00:25:05

for actually being persuasive and, uh,

and maybe influential with that as well?

414

: 00:25:12

Mike Verret: it actually has to

do with order of information.

415

: 00:25:15

So the order of your

words are more important.

416

: 00:25:19

It's like you need to read the book

in the or- to them in the order

417

: 00:25:25

of pages that they need, okay?

418

: 00:25:28

Not the way the business is thinking.

419

: 00:25:30

All of us, when it's our business, we

think in terms of solutions and services.

420

: 00:25:35

That's what we wanna spell out, but

that's not the right order of pages.

421

: 00:25:39

That's page three and page five

that you're jumping to first.

422

: 00:25:44

They need one, two, and four.

423

: 00:25:47

So understanding the order of the

information that you need to deliver

424

: 00:25:51

directs them through what you're

talking about in the right way

425

: 00:25:55

that they'll hold onto and, that

they'll understand and hold onto.

426

: 00:26:00

If you think and act like a business,

they're not gonna hold onto it.

427

: 00:26:04

Simple as that.

428

: 00:26:06

Because it doesn't relate to them

429

: 00:26:10

The whole thing is about

building a rapport, right?

430

: 00:26:13

Getting the audience on your

side or at least engaged with you

431

: 00:26:17

because an audience is on or off.

432

: 00:26:20

They're binary.

433

: 00:26:21

If they see it's AI, they switched off.

434

: 00:26:24

something catches their

attention, they switched on

435

: 00:26:28

John: So, so let's say we've got,

we've got a good order, we've got

436

: 00:26:31

some good words in the pitch, we

put it all together very nicely.

437

: 00:26:34

Are there things in your opinion

that would undermine that good pitch?

438

: 00:26:40

Mike Verret: The what-ifs.

439

: 00:26:43

We are prone to a little bit of,

call it anticipatory dread before

440

: 00:26:49

we have to get up on stage, right?

441

: 00:26:51

Everybody's got it, and my way of looking

at it is everyone gets the butterflies.

442

: 00:26:57

You can't get rid of them, but how do

you get them to fly in formation, right?

443

: 00:27:02

And once you've made that your first job

is to connect with that audience, that

444

: 00:27:08

puts you at ease with everything else.

445

: 00:27:10

So the what-ifs are what you're asking

yourself before you're out there,

446

: 00:27:15

and it's things that get as deep

as what if they don't like my tie?

447

: 00:27:19

John: Right

448

: 00:27:20

Mike Verret: What if I

stumble over my words?

449

: 00:27:22

What if they don't like

what I have to say?

450

: 00:27:25

All of this stuff is blowing

through our heads every time we

451

: 00:27:29

have to present, pitch, you know,

public speaking opportunities.

452

: 00:27:34

Or there's a 0.1%

453

: 00:27:36

chance that somebody's not gonna like

your tie, or that they're gonna be

454

: 00:27:41

all over you because you missed a

word, because they've missed words.

455

: 00:27:45

It's empathy that's happening.

456

: 00:27:47

It's not, "Oh my God,

I feel like an idiot."

457

: 00:27:50

Just like when I asked everybody

in the room about presenting

458

: 00:27:53

to the C-suite, right?

459

: 00:27:56

It immediately gets them on your side.

460

: 00:27:59

And the what-ifs start asking

questions that will happen.

461

: 00:28:04

What if they are interested

in what I have to say?

462

: 00:28:08

What if they are looking at me because,

you know, I've made this connection,

463

: 00:28:12

they're not looking at their phone,

they're not looking at their computer.

464

: 00:28:16

What if they follow my story along

perfectly because I set it up for them to

465

: 00:28:21

read the book in the right order of pages?

466

: 00:28:24

All those things have a much higher

likelihood of happening, and we never

467

: 00:28:28

ask ourselves those questions because

we're so good at being self-critical

468

: 00:28:32

and terrible about self-embellishing.

469

: 00:28:35

John: Yeah.

470

: 00:28:36

We tend to catastrophize as well, right?

471

: 00:28:38

Yeah.

472

: 00:28:38

We, we always imagine,

473

: 00:28:40

Mike Verret: yes.

474

: 00:28:41

John: we always imagine- Yeah

475

: 00:28:42

Mike Verret: the word I use, John,

when I'm talking to people about this.

476

: 00:28:46

When you get to the what if they

don't like my tie, that's a good

477

: 00:28:49

sign that you're catastrophizing

478

: 00:28:51

John: Right.

479

: 00:28:52

You're focusing on all the things that

could go wrong, ra- rather than what

480

: 00:28:56

could go right, and that, that's really

just, as you say, it was more about our

481

: 00:28:59

personal insecurity than anything else.

482

: 00:29:01

But it is also about just imagining

worst-case scenarios, which our

483

: 00:29:05

brains like to do and, you know,

they, they, they're gonna do it.

484

: 00:29:08

But as you rightly say, the vast majority

of situations, that just never happens.

485

: 00:29:14

The vast majority of people are

actually pretty nice, very…

486

: 00:29:17

pretty friendly, polite at least, and

aren't gonna get on your case about stuff.

487

: 00:29:22

Uh, who knows what they say in private,

but as they, as they always say,

488

: 00:29:25

someone's opinion about you is none of

your business, you know unless, unless

489

: 00:29:29

they choose to share it with you, right?

490

: 00:29:31

so, so my, my take on a lot of this

is, you know, much, much as the

491

: 00:29:36

same in, in the speaking world.

492

: 00:29:38

What's really persuasive isn't

the, isn't always the actual

493

: 00:29:41

words or the logic, although they,

those have, those play a part.

494

: 00:29:44

It's the emotion side of it that really is

the most persuasive element of it, and you

495

: 00:29:50

say the connection side of it that, the

demonstration of, of value of the service

496

: 00:29:55

to, to them, the curiosity creating.

497

: 00:29:58

Mike Verret: That is the mo- that is

the part that makes the difference

498

: 00:30:01

John: Right.

499

: 00:30:02

Yeah, I understand what you say.

500

: 00:30:03

We're, we're all, we're all curious.

501

: 00:30:04

Is that what they call it?

502

: 00:30:05

The Zeigarnik effect or

that thing where we all…

503

: 00:30:07

We don't like having these

sort of mental tabs open.

504

: 00:30:10

We have this need for closure.

505

: 00:30:12

We need, we need an answer.

506

: 00:30:13

So if something hasn't been

answered, we want to get that answer.

507

: 00:30:16

So let me ask you.

508

: 00:30:17

Last time, last time you came on the

show, I, I'm pretty sure I remember we

509

: 00:30:21

talked somewhat about elevator pitches.

510

: 00:30:24

And, you know, I hear different

people saying different things about

511

: 00:30:26

elevator pitches, and some people

say you n- you need that, you don't.

512

: 00:30:30

Where, where do we stand with the

old elevator pitches these days?

513

: 00:30:33

Is it still something important

and something that we should,

514

: 00:30:36

keep in our back pocket?

515

: 00:30:37

And, and if so, why?

516

: 00:30:39

Mike Verret: Well, first, the origin

of this whole thing, you know, it's

517

: 00:30:43

created by BNI is a huge networking

system, and everyone is taught

518

: 00:30:52

to have a 30-second commercial.

519

: 00:30:55

That's your elevator pitch, right?

520

: 00:30:57

The commercials are terrible.

521

: 00:30:59

I've sat in these things, and

they're just not very good.

522

: 00:31:02

But the people are performative.

523

: 00:31:05

Some of them are memorable.

524

: 00:31:06

Great.

525

: 00:31:08

elevator pitch is a concept that the

word pitch probably shouldn't be in there

526

: 00:31:15

because what you're trying to create

is an elevator conversation, right?

527

: 00:31:19

They're not there just to listen

to you talk about your business.

528

: 00:31:24

They're there for you to answer

questions that they have, and their

529

: 00:31:28

first question is: What do you do, right?

530

: 00:31:32

the tr- the true way to look

at an elevator pitch is how you

531

: 00:31:36

turn it into a conversation.

532

: 00:31:38

And it may feel one way, but you're

predicting the questions they ask.

533

: 00:31:42

So I build these pitches based on a

very low-hanging fruit visual of an

534

: 00:31:49

eight-floor elevator, and each floor of

the elevator has what you need to convey.

535

: 00:31:56

And in the right order.

536

: 00:31:58

Okay?

537

: 00:32:00

But the difference is, on my elevator, the

person walks on but doesn't push a button.

538

: 00:32:06

The door's still open, and

they say, "What do you do?"

539

: 00:32:09

If you don't get them to say, "Tell

me more," they get off the elevator.

540

: 00:32:13

That's how it works because they are not

going to be listening to what comes next.

541

: 00:32:19

Use the PR firm as an example.

542

: 00:32:21

"I'm a PR firm."

543

: 00:32:23

"Oh, great."

544

: 00:32:24

Off the elevator But if they say,

"I make your news matter," they need

545

: 00:32:30

to know more, they hit a button.

546

: 00:32:32

After that, you know, their

questions are, "What do you do?

547

: 00:32:35

Tell me more."

548

: 00:32:35

Got it.

549

: 00:32:37

Next thing they're gonna be curious

about is who you help and what

550

: 00:32:39

they're going through, right?

551

: 00:32:41

The challenge.

552

: 00:32:43

Well, so many people

have to deal with this.

553

: 00:32:45

They try to write their own news.

554

: 00:32:47

They get writer's block.

555

: 00:32:48

They can't find the words.

556

: 00:32:50

Okay, well, how do you help them?

557

: 00:32:53

I find the words they can't and

add the impact their news needs.

558

: 00:32:57

Huh?

559

: 00:32:58

How do you do that?

560

: 00:32:59

Now this becomes a three-step

process and not your services.

561

: 00:33:02

This is floor four of the elevator.

562

: 00:33:05

You know, services is floor five.

563

: 00:33:07

But I'm already organizing it for

them by saying, "You need a process,

564

: 00:33:12

steps one, two, and three of what they

would experience working end to end."

565

: 00:33:17

Right?

566

: 00:33:18

So in a PR firm example, we discover

the news we-- you have to tell,

567

: 00:33:22

design the right way to tell it,

deploy it, and measure results.

568

: 00:33:27

Now compare that to, I'll use an analogy,

you bring your car into the mechanic,

569

: 00:33:32

the garage, because something's wrong.

570

: 00:33:35

He doesn't say, "Hey, John, come on in.

571

: 00:33:37

I'm gonna show you all the

tools I have to fix your car."

572

: 00:33:41

He says, "I'll put it on the lift, find

out what's wrong, let you know what

573

: 00:33:44

take, what it'll take to get it fixed.

574

: 00:33:46

We'll get you back on the road as fast

as possible, as quickly as possible."

575

: 00:33:50

Beginning to end what's

going to happen to them.

576

: 00:33:54

So it behooves you to have an easy

high-level way to explain what you

577

: 00:33:59

do before you get into services.

578

: 00:34:02

But here's the trick and why

that process is so effective.

579

: 00:34:06

You are couching your services,

what you're going to do or can do,

580

: 00:34:10

under each of those three steps.

581

: 00:34:13

So it's digested more as a three-course

meal and not just a menu of food

582

: 00:34:19

Makes a big difference.

583

: 00:34:21

Then they're gonna wanna

know what's in it for me.

584

: 00:34:23

Sounds good.

585

: 00:34:24

What's in it for me, though?

586

: 00:34:25

What's the benefit?

587

: 00:34:26

That's what they can do now

that they couldn't before.

588

: 00:34:30

There's a benefit that relates

to what they can do now, not

589

: 00:34:35

what you just delivered for them.

590

: 00:34:37

It's not a benefit to their

business in a direct way.

591

: 00:34:40

It's what, it's what it puts into motion.

592

: 00:34:43

Then they're gonna wanna

know, can you prove it works?

593

: 00:34:46

That's validation.

594

: 00:34:47

Comes in three forms.

595

: 00:34:49

Social proof.

596

: 00:34:51

That's gonna be testimonials, you know,

comments, followers, that kind of stuff.

597

: 00:34:56

People who anecdotally refer

to you, that's social proof.

598

: 00:35:00

Scientific proof is a case study.

599

: 00:35:03

Problem, solution, effect, measurement.

600

: 00:35:07

That's what that represents.

601

: 00:35:10

And the last piece, and this is always

overlooked as part of your, your,

602

: 00:35:14

validation, is your About Me section.

603

: 00:35:18

And 90% of the ones I read bury

the lead on what they should be

604

: 00:35:23

saying up front, but they focus on

themselves and what they've done.

605

: 00:35:28

The audience doesn't care

about that necessarily.

606

: 00:35:30

What they care about is how you

ended up in this place to get it done

607

: 00:35:34

and if you're qualified to do it.

608

: 00:35:37

So when I was working at X, I realized

that A, B, and C was happening, and

609

: 00:35:45

it was having an effect on X, Y, Z.

610

: 00:35:48

So I created the solution,

which is the business, and I've

611

: 00:35:53

been doing this for 10 years.

612

: 00:35:55

Then your experience or the credentials to

back up what you just said you could do.

613

: 00:36:00

That's the right order.

614

: 00:36:03

Just as think about it from a human

standpoint, how did you get here is the

615

: 00:36:08

About Me section, not what have you done.

616

: 00:36:11

John: I think, I, I think I see a lot of

people doing it very wrong on a regular

617

: 00:36:15

basis because, you know, I get, I get

pitched for people who want to be on the

618

: 00:36:18

podcast all the time, and sometimes I…

619

: 00:36:22

So- sometimes I give a, a

full response to the, the…

620

: 00:36:26

And sometimes I, sometimes I don't.

621

: 00:36:27

Sometimes I'm just like, "I

don't know, please remove me

622

: 00:36:29

from your list," kind of thing.

623

: 00:36:30

But, depends on the mood they

catch me in on some days as well.

624

: 00:36:34

But mo- I'd say, I would say 9-

probably around 98, 99% of those

625

: 00:36:39

pitches are pretty terrible.

626

: 00:36:40

And again, they follow a sort of template

that everyone seems to use, and it's

627

: 00:36:45

always, it's, it's always about me.

628

: 00:36:47

"I do this, I do that, I've

done this, I've done that.

629

: 00:36:50

this is why I'd make a

great guest on your show."

630

: 00:36:52

And it's like, much like you're saying,

I, I don't so much care about that.

631

: 00:36:56

What I care about is m- the problem

I need solving is I want excellent

632

: 00:37:02

guests, I want excellent, topics for

my audience that are gonna be relevant

633

: 00:37:07

to them and interesting for them to

want to tune into, that actually help

634

: 00:37:11

them solve some of the challenges that

they have with their lives as a, as

635

: 00:37:15

a speaking business owner, whether

that's on the stage or off the stage.

636

: 00:37:19

So I want to be able to explore all

those, and that's what people don't seem

637

: 00:37:22

to get, is like they claim to listen

to my shows, and they obviously don't.

638

: 00:37:26

They just, they take clips from

the transcripts or wherever

639

: 00:37:29

else and pump it into AI.

640

: 00:37:31

So pump it and give me,

give me a, give me a nice…

641

: 00:37:33

There's one yesterday couldn't even

decide if it was first person or third

642

: 00:37:37

person when the person was writing to me.

643

: 00:37:38

It was very weird.

644

: 00:37:40

But people get this stuff

very, very wrong, and it…

645

: 00:37:43

And I don't think it's really that hard.

646

: 00:37:45

And also you're saying it's like if

somebody came to me and there's a, you

647

: 00:37:48

know what, actually, they, they give me

a bit of curiosity and you saying maybe a

648

: 00:37:51

bit about what they do or how maybe, and

how they do it, and they're very clear

649

: 00:37:55

on what they can do for my audience and

what would a, what a great episode would

650

: 00:37:59

look like for us, it makes it much easier

for me to potentially say yes to that.

651

: 00:38:04

Or at least say, "Hey, look, it's

a no-but-great pitch," you know?

652

: 00:38:08

Which I would as well,

'cause I see so few of them.

653

: 00:38:11

Mike Verret: Yeah.

654

: 00:38:11

And I think they're setting themselves

up for failure because they're thinking

655

: 00:38:16

about them and not the audience.

656

: 00:38:19

What is the-- I keep using the word

value, but use whatever word you want.

657

: 00:38:24

What is the substance that you

are delivering to the audience,

658

: 00:38:28

and why is it important?

659

: 00:38:30

That's the questions that they should

be answering when they talk to you.

660

: 00:38:35

You know?

661

: 00:38:36

And if they start out just saying,

"I've done this, I've done this,"

662

: 00:38:39

like if I came to you and said, you

know, "I've presented to audiences

663

: 00:38:43

of 10,000 people," I don't care.

664

: 00:38:46

John: Okay

665

: 00:38:47

Mike Verret: I wanna know

what the substance was, what

666

: 00:38:49

the reaction was, you know?

667

: 00:38:52

If people left good

reviews on the experience.

668

: 00:38:55

That's what I'm interested in if I'm you,

669

: 00:38:58

John: Yeah

670

: 00:38:59

Mike Verret: what you've done

671

: 00:39:01

John: Right.

672

: 00:39:01

Exactly.

673

: 00:39:01

And I, I don't think, I, I don't

think it's that hard to get.

674

: 00:39:05

But again, this is like people keep

copying what they've seen everyone else

675

: 00:39:09

doing or what AI tools are telling them

to do, and AI tools are telling them to

676

: 00:39:12

do what everyone else is doing 'cause

that's what they mostly see and scrape,

677

: 00:39:17

as well from, from their information.

678

: 00:39:19

And, and it's not, it's not super helpful.

679

: 00:39:22

So, so I think that that's, it's, it's

very, very good advice and, and people

680

: 00:39:26

need to be a bit less, me-focused about

how fantastic they are and more focused

681

: 00:39:30

on, well, what can you actually do?

682

: 00:39:32

What's, what's the…

683

: 00:39:33

And, my only pushback on the word

value before was just like not to

684

: 00:39:36

actually use that word when you're

describing what you do for people.

685

: 00:39:40

Mike Verret: No, I, I agree with you.

686

: 00:39:42

It's just like I helped.

687

: 00:39:43

Change it up

688

: 00:39:44

John: Yeah.

689

: 00:39:45

Yeah, absolutely.

690

: 00:39:46

That, that's, that's all really valuable

stuff, and I think you, you've really,

691

: 00:39:49

I think, laid out very well clear

frameworks and ideas for being able to

692

: 00:39:54

differentiate yourself and step outside

from what everyone else is doing,

693

: 00:39:59

and be noticed more for it as well.

694

: 00:40:01

So I really, really appreciate all that.

695

: 00:40:04

I know you have some stuff that

you're working on at the moment.

696

: 00:40:06

Can you, can you tell us a bit

about what, about what that is?

697

: 00:40:10

Mike Verret: Yes.

698

: 00:40:10

So, for 18 months I decided I was gonna

take a hiatus and do something that

699

: 00:40:16

it's punch in, punch out, and something

I loved in my 20s was bartending.

700

: 00:40:21

I was good at it because I could keep

it-- You know, anybody could pour

701

: 00:40:24

drinks, but how you build a rapport

with who's ordering it increases tips.

702

: 00:40:30

Pretty straightforward, right?

703

: 00:40:32

The, again, the bare minimum

is, "Can I take your order?"

704

: 00:40:36

So I went back to that, and the big

difference was these pla- in my 50s,

705

: 00:40:42

these places closed at 10:00 PM.

706

: 00:40:44

When I was in my 20s,

I worked in Manhattan.

707

: 00:40:47

My shift started at 10:00 PM,

and I was there until 5:00 AM.

708

: 00:40:51

so but it gave me a chance

to step away from everything.

709

: 00:40:56

And I was just talking about

you know 100% of your business.

710

: 00:40:58

You never have an outside perspective.

711

: 00:41:00

Well, it turns out when you step

away from your business for a year

712

: 00:41:04

or two, it's almost like you put

down a crossword puzzle 'cause

713

: 00:41:08

you can't figure out that word.

714

: 00:41:10

You go have dinner, you come back,

you pick it up, and the word is

715

: 00:41:13

like, "Oh, yeah, I got that."

716

: 00:41:15

That's what it felt like.

717

: 00:41:17

So what I thought about was two things.

718

: 00:41:19

One, I have other lines of

revenue, let's say, like retainer

719

: 00:41:24

clients, that kind of thing.

720

: 00:41:26

I teach a corporate workshop to

agencies, marketing firms, companies

721

: 00:41:30

that have to present their ideas

and sell them all the time, right?

722

: 00:41:34

But 80% of the people that I

communicate with day in, day

723

: 00:41:38

out are just like you and me.

724

: 00:41:41

They network.

725

: 00:41:42

They're on LinkedIn.

726

: 00:41:43

They run podcasts.

727

: 00:41:45

That's what we do because we're

not buying a commercial during

728

: 00:41:48

the World Cup anytime soon.

729

: 00:41:51

John: Yeah

730

: 00:41:51

Mike Verret: So we rely on

human engagement and content

731

: 00:41:56

to find what we're looking for.

732

: 00:41:59

Well, what I had was a singular offer

with a sliding scale payment based

733

: 00:42:04

on the side of, size of the business,

and moreover, it was a one-off.

734

: 00:42:09

Like, there's no reason for

them to come back to me.

735

: 00:42:11

So what I did was think about

from a one-off perspective.

736

: 00:42:16

It sh- I don't want a one-off

that's three weeks long.

737

: 00:42:19

So I planned out two products.

738

: 00:42:23

I could do the whole thing, like if

they're coming from zero, I could

739

: 00:42:26

get them to tactical marketing plan.

740

: 00:42:29

But What I noticed was that's a

tough pill to swallow, $3,000 for

741

: 00:42:36

three weeks to build your message.

742

: 00:42:38

But I can do it in less than an hour.

743

: 00:42:41

So I built a pitch power hour, whatever

the hell you wanna call it, and it's

744

: 00:42:46

$500 US, which makes it very affordable.

745

: 00:42:50

It delivers what they need with immediacy,

which is needed, and they review it

746

: 00:42:56

with me, so they're getting the feedback

that they got on the right track.

747

: 00:43:00

So all of those things work for a

great product and not a service.

748

: 00:43:06

The second thing I wanted to

address was the service side.

749

: 00:43:10

To complement the one-off, I wanna

create revenue on a different,

750

: 00:43:14

w- through a different channel.

751

: 00:43:16

So I created what I call the pitch

lab, and the truth is, no matter

752

: 00:43:21

what kind of communication it is,

it's hard for us to do when we're

753

: 00:43:26

talking about us and our business.

754

: 00:43:28

And that could be an email, it

could be a LinkedIn post, it could

755

: 00:43:32

be in a networking event when you

have a minute to pitch what you do.

756

: 00:43:36

All of those are times where you

have to be able to communicate and

757

: 00:43:39

talk about your business the right

way to stand out as, you know,

758

: 00:43:43

this has always been my key point.

759

: 00:43:46

You gotta be first, best,

or different to stand out.

760

: 00:43:49

Those are your three choices.

761

: 00:43:51

First and best, hell if

I could come by those.

762

: 00:43:53

But different we can all do, and it just

takes that understanding of seeing the

763

: 00:43:59

outside world for the h- your customers,

your audience, for the human beings that

764

: 00:44:03

they are, and learn how to translate

from business to human, which is insane

765

: 00:44:10

seeing that you're playing a role in

business and you can't think like a human.

766

: 00:44:16

It blows my mind.

767

: 00:44:18

You know, we would rely on all this--

We were r- we would rely on all

768

: 00:44:21

this research from, like, the global

insights team, and they did quantitative

769

: 00:44:26

and qualitative and focus groups

and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.

770

: 00:44:30

And n- they come back with all of these

insights and none of them are right.

771

: 00:44:38

You know?

772

: 00:44:38

They're all scientific.

773

: 00:44:40

They're all like w- this is the

data report and blah, blah, blah.

774

: 00:44:44

Well, let me ask you a question.

775

: 00:44:45

Have you ever filled out

a quantitative survey?

776

: 00:44:48

Because there's always

a reward at the end.

777

: 00:44:51

Do this and we'll give

you a $25 gift card.

778

: 00:44:55

Do you think you're putting much s-

thought into the questions you're asking?

779

: 00:44:59

Or are you just doing C,

780

: 00:45:00

John: Trying to get through them.

781

: 00:45:01

Yeah, yeah, yeah

782

: 00:45:02

Mike Verret: to get a $20 gift card?

783

: 00:45:04

Qualitative, what if you

catch me on a bad day?

784

: 00:45:07

Focus groups, geographically stifling None

of that's gonna get you what you need.

785

: 00:45:14

However, if you think more anecdotally,

testimonial-wise, like think more like a

786

: 00:45:22

human being, what you'll start to see is

because they think differently than you,

787

: 00:45:31

it's gonna be impossible for you to

get through to them unless you can

788

: 00:45:35

translate what you do into their language.

789

: 00:45:37

That's the bottom line.

790

: 00:45:38

And that ultim- that actually is what

creates the most engagement and stickiness

791

: 00:45:43

throughout an entire, let's say it's

a half hour, it stays sticky for them.

792

: 00:45:50

You know, they hold onto it simply

because it's being explained in human

793

: 00:45:54

language and not business language.

794

: 00:45:56

You know?

795

: 00:45:57

Here's an awesome example of this.

796

: 00:45:59

I don't know if we're up against

time, but you'll appreciate this.

797

: 00:46:03

We…

798

: 00:46:04

Monopoly, the game of Monopoly,

everyone around the world, 96% brand

799

: 00:46:08

awareness, but they buy it for $10,

keep it for 20 years, and replace

800

: 00:46:12

the thimble with a real thimble.

801

: 00:46:15

It's not a luxur- frequency purchase.

802

: 00:46:15

It's not a luxury purchase.

803

: 00:46:16

It's a 10 to 15 to $20 purchase.

804

: 00:46:21

That's it.

805

: 00:46:21

One time.

806

: 00:46:22

So everybody already has Monopoly,

so how do we get them excited

807

: 00:46:25

about a new version of Monopoly?

808

: 00:46:28

And global insights came back with five

or six different insights that we could

809

: 00:46:32

develop off of, and it was like, "Thanks.

810

: 00:46:34

Like, which one do we

choose to work off of?"

811

: 00:46:37

There should be one insight

that drives everything.

812

: 00:46:39

So someone on the team, brand

manager, someone junior, found

813

: 00:46:44

a BuzzFeed poll that said 50% of

people cheat when they play Monopoly,

814

: 00:46:50

exactly half of the people who play

815

: 00:46:53

John: Yeah

816

: 00:46:54

Mike Verret: So we get out, Kate, this

woman Kate was the director of the brand.

817

: 00:47:01

She gets in front of that same scenario,

the horseshoe, the amphitheater, right?

818

: 00:47:05

She puts up just a screen grab of

that that says that 50% of people

819

: 00:47:11

cheat when they play Monopoly.

820

: 00:47:13

For five minutes, everyone in

the room started talking about

821

: 00:47:17

cheating or catching people.

822

: 00:47:19

It was a 50/50 conversation, I swear.

823

: 00:47:22

The next slide introduced Cheaters Edition

Monopoly, where if you get-- There are

824

: 00:47:27

cheats laid out on the board as cards.

825

: 00:47:30

If you get away with it, you get money.

826

: 00:47:33

If you get caught, you go

directly to jail, and we added

827

: 00:47:36

an actual handcuff to it.

828

: 00:47:40

Sold, and then the next slide

was how we'll market it.

829

: 00:47:43

Three slides.

830

: 00:47:43

That was it.

831

: 00:47:45

Sold 500,000 units

832

: 00:47:47

John: Yeah, not surprised.

833

: 00:47:48

Mike Verret: It was a brilliant

example of public speaking, presenting,

834

: 00:47:56

communicating to an audience,

getting them hooked on an idea.

835

: 00:47:59

All of that happened, and it was

based on landing on one insight that

836

: 00:48:04

created that conversation, and then the

solution was evident on the next slide

837

: 00:48:10

Two slides to sell a

product is pretty insane

838

: 00:48:13

John: That's pretty good.

839

: 00:48:14

I, I love that story as well.

840

: 00:48:15

Uh, and, you're, you're quite

right, that I would like that.

841

: 00:48:18

Mike, for any of our listeners who might

like to get in touch with you, what's

842

: 00:48:22

gonna be the best way for them to do that?

843

: 00:48:25

Mike Verret: I always put my contact

info in LinkedIn, which is the

844

: 00:48:29

quickest way to get in touch with me.

845

: 00:48:31

I do have a website, but it's a

landing page, for my new program that

846

: 00:48:36

I've launched called The Pitch Lab.

847

: 00:48:38

And again, it's for any

kind of communication.

848

: 00:48:40

You need to know how to

communicate on their level.

849

: 00:48:43

So I created a monthly membership,

like building a community.

850

: 00:48:48

The Pitch Lab is two lab sessions a

m- a month, which is an hour, hour and

851

: 00:48:53

a half deep dive into whatever your

challenge is, and we work on it together.

852

: 00:48:57

It's not just me preaching, so

it's like a mastermind, right?

853

: 00:49:01

From there, you know, I've got some pretty

effective resources to share, but office

854

: 00:49:07

hours, the lab report is the newsletter.

855

: 00:49:09

All of these tools are based on

how to get you to think like a

856

: 00:49:14

human when you're writing for

business or presenting for business.

857

: 00:49:18

And so that's what I've, decide-

that was the other aspect for that

858

: 00:49:23

recurring revenue is The Pitch Lab.

859

: 00:49:24

That's the conte- the concept.

860

: 00:49:27

so that's where I'm driving people

and that's, I could put it in

861

: 00:49:30

the chat if it's easier for you,

862

: 00:49:32

John: And look, yeah, if you're

able, s- send, send that over to me.

863

: 00:49:34

I'll, I'll make sure that those

links are in the show notes for our

864

: 00:49:36

listeners so they can go and go and

check you out and, um, maybe even

865

: 00:49:40

send you a message on LinkedIn.

866

: 00:49:42

Mike Verret: Nice.

867

: 00:49:42

Yeah, I, I priced the first 30 members

as founding members at $99 a month.

868

: 00:49:49

So it's affordable, it makes sense.

869

: 00:49:52

After that, the price will go up, but

having 30 people in a community is, that

870

: 00:49:57

is a gold standard for a lot of people.

871

: 00:50:00

So if I could get to

there, I'm perfectly happy

872

: 00:50:03

John: Great stuff.

873

: 00:50:05

Mike, thank, thanks for

everything you shared today.

874

: 00:50:06

It's been wonderful to have you back as

a guest on the show, and who knows, maybe

875

: 00:50:09

five, five or six years' time we'll have

you back again or maybe sooner this time.

876

: 00:50:14

But Mike, it's been

877

: 00:50:15

Mike Verret: is I rem- I remember

our first conversation, pieces of it,

878

: 00:50:19

and I'm re- I'm thinking about how

different I sound versus that time.

879

: 00:50:23

Like how I've evolved

over those five years.

880

: 00:50:26

John: Yeah, look, I, I'm gonna put

a link to that co- to that episode

881

: 00:50:29

into the show notes as well for

anyone who wants to go back and

882

: 00:50:32

maybe compare for themselves, yeah.

883

: 00:50:35

See some of the stuff we

talked about way back when.

884

: 00:50:38

Well, Mike's not the only returning guest.

885

: 00:50:41

I also have a lady called Simone Sortner

who is coming back to share more,

886

: 00:50:46

um, more of her PR wisdom with us.

887

: 00:50:49

Returning again after quite a few years

of not having spoken to them on the

888

: 00:50:53

show, It's been great to hear what some

past guests have to say now, where,

889

: 00:50:57

where they've developed, because a lot's

changed in the last five or six years.

890

: 00:51:03

Now, next week I'm gonna be

doing part two on the keynote

891

: 00:51:06

series that I started last time.

892

: 00:51:08

So if you haven't checked out part

one yet, we're talking about the

893

: 00:51:11

right way to use AI in creating

your keynotes and the wrong way.

894

: 00:51:14

The things not to do with that.

895

: 00:51:16

We're gonna go a bit deeper into

keynote creation in next week's episode.

896

: 00:51:19

And then after that, one that I promise

you do not want to miss is gonna be my

897

: 00:51:23

episode with Susanna Reay, and Susanna

has a book out called Framework Thinking.

898

: 00:51:29

And if you have ever wanted to be able

to create pictures and diagrams that

899

: 00:51:35

illustrate your thinking and help to

quantify your intellectual property and

900

: 00:51:40

stay with people much longer than the

words you say to them, that is gonna be an

901

: 00:51:45

episode that you must watch or listen to.

902

: 00:51:48

make sure you're following the

show so that you get that episode

903

: 00:51:52

if you haven't already done so.

904

: 00:51:54

if you are in a position of looking

to become more booked and better paid

905

: 00:51:57

as a speaker, And you haven't already

checked out the Known, Booked, and Paid

906

: 00:52:01

blueprint, Go to presentinfluence.com/

907

: 00:52:04

kbpb, or follow the link in the

show notes, and you can find out

908

: 00:52:08

all about the founding program, and

if it could be a right fit for you.

909

: 00:52:12

Wherever you're going, whatever

you're doing, have an amazing week.

910

: 00:52:15

Go and do something worth talking about.

911

: 00:52:17

See you next time