It's Tuesday at 2:00pm! (PST Time: I live and work from Southern California)
PITCHING YOUR IDEA.
I really enjoy watching the show on TV, Shark Tank. I like to hear the stories of peoples ideas, and when an entrepreneur pitches their idea on Shark Tank, they are looking for 2 things: First, they are looking for a financial investment and second, they're looking for one of the "Sharks" to bring their experience, network and skills with them to help the business scale. It's a two-part ask, and you can tell when people that are pitching just want the money, and you can see when they find the value of the "Shark" as being the biggest investment.
I'm going to take a couple of weeks to talk about some things we can learn from Shark Tank. We've been talking about different aspects of a start-up organization and things that every leader, founder, entrepreneur needs to be thinking about. We started a number of weeks ago, and you can find those posts HERE.
There are 4 things that we're going to address from the Shark Tank Show that can help all of us:
#1) Know Your Message
#2) Know Your Numbers
#3) Know Your Competition
#4) Know Your Customer
Pretty important things to know. This week, let's simply talk about KNOW YOUR MESSAGE.
I was watching a show recently, and an entrepreneur was standing in front of 5 Sharks, and he was presenting. I listed to him for 3 minutes, and still had no idea what the product was, and what he was trying to pitch. The Sharks stopped him and began asking questions, and after 3 questions, he realized that he had never told them what it was he was asking them to invest in. A classic mistake.
I wish I could say that I've never done that. How ridiculous! Why would you share your idea and not be clear? IT HAPPENS ALL THE TIME!
I remember one time I was pitching our Leader Mundial Summit Program to a group of potential coaches. I decided at the last minute that I would share the history of our organization, Extreme Response first, then transition to the value of leadership development. I was presenting at a Barnabas Group Summit in San Diego California, and there were about 120 people in the room that could have responded favorably to my presentation.
I had 15 minutes to present.
I spent the first 11 minutes telling a great story of how we started Extreme Response back in the late 90's in Ecuador.
I then spent 4 minutes trying to transition to the importance of Leadership Development.
The host then stood up and stopped me, because I had run out of time.
I hadn't done my "ask". I hadn't clearly communicated much of anything. I hadn't invited people to contact me for more information. I had simply just blown the presentation.
I'm sure that's never happened to you.
I learned some valuable lessons that day:
#1) REFINE THE MESSAGE INTO A SIMPLE NARRATIVE THAT THE LISTENERS WILL REMEMBER.
This is so key... we make this too complicated, or like my story, we try to tell the "whole story" instead of the most important part. Doug Brendel writes, "The MESSAGE is more important than the mechanics of communicating it." He's so right! Tell your story, but keep it simple!
#2) PRACTICE PRESENTING THE MESSAGE SO IT'S CLEAR, TIMELY, AND FITS WITHIN THE PARAMETERS OF YOUR PRESENTATION.
This is basic public communication 101, but we forget to do this. Brendel challenges us to remember this: "The MESSAGE must be repeated constantly in terms that the donors understand and in ways that make it count for them." The more you tell your story, the better you'll get at "making it count".
#3) UNDERSTAND WHO IT IS YOU'RE PITCHING TO. KNOW THE AUDIENCE.
Learn as much as you can about your audience so you can connect your story to them. Brendel says this as well, "The MESSAGE must compete with thousands of other matters intruding on the donor's attention." There's a lot of noise out there, and you want to speak clearly to those that will connect with your story.
When someone shows up on Shark Tank and they get this part right, then the investment and partnership come pretty easy. The Sharks understand the vision and the passion, and they want to get involved even before they talk about the finances and the sales.
Think about the next opportunity you might have to share your idea, your vision or your dreams... How can you communicate that in a way that will connect and inspire the audience to take a step forward and learn more?
Don't take your MESSAGE for granted.
"Squeeze your message, squash it, whittle away at it, until it's one sentence - one thought - which communicates the very essence of your mission." Doug Brendel
"No company, small or large, can win over the long run without energized employees who believe in the mission and understand how to achieve it." Jack Welch
"The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams." Eleanor Roosevelt
Things I'm Reading, Listening To and Watching This Week:
Sharon McMahon was a high school teacher in Minnesota (USA) and then she went on a mission to combat misinformation around government and politics. Her WEBSITE links to her courses, and you can also follow her INSTAGRAM for daily engagement, @sharonsaysso. Gina introduced me to her content during the recent Presidential Election in the USA and I've learned much from her about how our US Government was created to operate. Really valuable, non-partisan information.
I forgot about this band until I heard "Carry On Wayward Son" the other day. I'm enjoying some great songs from this band on the Apple Essentials Playlist.
One of my all-time favorite fundraising books is called, "The Seven Deadly Diseases of Ministry Marketing" by Doug Brendel, E. Dale Berkey and Jack W. Sheline. This book continues to challenge me as I think about the message and the way I pitch projects and vision. The book is out of print, but here's a link to limited versions on Amazon HERE. You can see their work on their company website HERE.
I use Freshbooks for business accounting which includes invoices and great reporting. Check it out HERE if you're looking for a good online accounting system.
The Barnabas Group exists to connect Christian Business Professionals with Ministry Leaders. Much like Shark Tank, ministries present their vision and invite Barnabas Partners to bring their TIME, TALENT and NETWORK in support of that vision. It's an incredible community of people that care deeply about The Kingdom of God, and want to invest their time into organizations that are making a difference around the world. If you have questions about The Barnabas Group, write me HERE or visit our website HERE.