Shark Tank Pointers

I was a real fan of Dragons Den. In its early days, when it was more about the ideas, and less about the egos on the comfy chairs. It seems America now has their own flavour. And judging by this Fast Co piece, they’re gleaning many of the pitch lessons I saw from UK start-up hopefuls.

Here’s a quartet of remarks for ears of the salespro on general b2b selling parallels.

Know Your Numbers. Be Humble. Understand Good Timing. Have A Good Story.

I hate it when I see reps just don’t know the ins and outs of the background figures. And when they can’t express the value of their proposal this really hurts.

It truly irks me when I meet a “Flash Harry”. If you say ‘yes’ to everything or flaunt your commission cheques, I’m also out. Not just an English thang.

I loathe to be beaten around the head with a project idea who’s time has yet to come.

I go bananas when I can’t get into any decent stories from the rep about where they’ve changed someone’s life for the better.

How closely are you licking these properly in your pitching at the moment?