Comments on: Pitching Your Business http://calmighty.com/formulating-your-pitch/ creeping up on the internet like a mugger in an alley Wed, 11 Nov 2009 06:08:57 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: kris http://calmighty.com/formulating-your-pitch/comment-page-1/#comment-972 kris Wed, 11 Nov 2009 06:08:57 +0000 http://calmighty.com/?p=11#comment-972 I was always asked how I got "in the business". And my answer always was, "you are either born in it or marry into it". I am so lucky to have been born into this. I am glad it was you(Mom)that commented. I almost fell out of my chair when I saw the EXACT verbage. I was always asked how I got “in the business”. And my answer always was, “you are either born in it or marry into it”. I am so lucky to have been born into this.

I am glad it was you(Mom)that commented. I almost fell out of my chair when I saw the EXACT verbage.

]]> By: c http://calmighty.com/formulating-your-pitch/comment-page-1/#comment-21 c Sun, 27 Apr 2008 20:58:50 +0000 http://calmighty.com/?p=11#comment-21 Mikel, Great comment and you are right -- I don't remember the product. This is really great advice though! I'm not sure how well it works in the angel/vc world, but it is very compelling. Thanks for taking the time to share this with my readers and me. - c Mikel,

Great comment and you are right — I don’t remember the product. This is really great advice though! I’m not sure how well it works in the angel/vc world, but it is very compelling. Thanks for taking the time to share this with my readers and me.

- c

]]> By: Mikel http://calmighty.com/formulating-your-pitch/comment-page-1/#comment-19 Mikel Sat, 26 Apr 2008 20:30:38 +0000 http://calmighty.com/?p=11#comment-19 Billy Mays and Vince (?) are both graduates of the very old school of pitchman. Vince gives a "canned spiel" (and does it very well, by the way) that was taught to him by someone else in our business, I don't know who. It would be hard to teach yourself how to be a pitchman; the really good ones were taught. Billy Mays started out working for a guy named Ruby Morris who was a third generation pitchman. You will see pitchman at shows and fairs all over the country. Most of the really good pitchman are dead. They were wonderful entertainers before TV. If you listen carefully to Vince, you will notice he talks in phrases. A good "pitch" should have the cadence of a poem. My husband has been a pitchman for more than 50 years. When I learned how to pitch the Kendo mop (you probably wouldn't know the product)it went something like this: "If you want to scrub a porch, a patio, a breezeway...even on concrete people get a year out of a refill. Is it absorbent? Spill water, washing dishes, taking a shower, daddy shaving, pick it right up. Instead of pressing in the dirt, this mop pushes out the dirt...blah blah blah" If you go and see a pitchman at work, you will notice they say the same thing over and over again...like a broken record. That is what enables someone to work for 10-12 hours and not drop dead. Just think of how exhausting it would be to have to think of new things to say each and every time you presented your product. Unlike salesman, pitchmen talk AT the people, not to the people. The pitch business is a profession. Most people who get in it, stay in it for the rest of their lives. A lot of people confuse pitchman with carnival people, but it is much different. So. That's it. I don't know who you are, but I hope you find this as entertaining to read as I have to write. Mikel Billy Mays and Vince (?) are both graduates of the very old school of pitchman. Vince gives a “canned spiel” (and does it very well, by the way) that was taught to him by someone else in our business, I don’t know who. It would be hard to teach yourself how to be a pitchman; the really good ones were taught.
Billy Mays started out working for a guy named Ruby Morris who was a third generation pitchman. You will see pitchman at shows and fairs all over the country. Most of the really good pitchman are dead. They were wonderful entertainers before TV.
If you listen carefully to Vince, you will notice he talks in
phrases. A good “pitch” should have the cadence of a poem. My
husband has been a pitchman for more than 50 years. When I learned how to pitch the Kendo mop (you probably wouldn’t know the product)it went something like this:
“If you want to scrub a porch, a patio, a breezeway…even on
concrete people get a year out of a refill. Is it absorbent?
Spill water, washing dishes, taking a shower, daddy shaving, pick it right up. Instead of pressing in the dirt, this mop pushes
out the dirt…blah blah blah”
If you go and see a pitchman at work, you will notice they
say the same thing over and over again…like a broken record.
That is what enables someone to work for 10-12 hours and not
drop dead. Just think of how exhausting it would be to have to
think of new things to say each and every time you presented your product. Unlike salesman, pitchmen talk AT the people, not to the people.
The pitch business is a profession. Most people who get in it, stay in it for the rest of their lives. A lot of people
confuse pitchman with carnival people, but it is much different.
So. That’s it. I don’t know who you are, but I hope you find this as entertaining to read as I have to write. Mikel

]]>