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Pitch To Win: How to present, persuade and close the deal
Being the best doesn’t guarantee you’ll get the business. Having the best pitch does.
Whether you’re looking for clients, investors or employees, you need to know how to pitch your products, services and ideas in a way that is most likely to secure you the deal. Justin Cohen’s internationally acclaimed six-step formula is designed to do just that. Having taught and refined his Pitch To Win programme for five years, and having helped secure numerous multimillion-dollar deals in that time, Justin now shares his secrets for success in Pitch To Win, the book. In it he reveals:
• The number one reason a winning pitch gets chosen over the competition.
• The mindset of people who win the most pitches.
• A step-by-step guide to creating and delivering a winning pitch script.
• How to reduce nervousness and develop ‘big pitch temperament’.
• How to win without being salesy.
• How to win with integrity, by living your purpose.
“The Pitch To Win method played a critical role in our winning this competition.” – Julian Kyula, Winner, IBM Global Entrepreneur of the Year
“I’m not sure our auditors have ever got applause after a pitch, but that’s what happened after we applied Justin’s method, winning one of our most important deals.” – Ajen Sita, CEO, EY
"Justin coached our team to win one of our most important pitches. That’s why we had him develop a Pitch To Win methodology for the organisation." – Martin Walbeck, Head of Business Development, EY
"Looking for the bible of pitching? This is it." – Andile Khumalo, Founder, I Am An Entrepreneur
"This is the ultimate formula for pitching anything to anyone. What I love most is you get to do it without being pushy and by living your mission. A true gift to anyone in business." – Martin Sweet, CEO, Prime Stars
"This is the most powerful system to create and deliver a winning pitch that I have ever seen." – Neil Malan, CEO, Elite Entrepreneur
Whether you’re looking for clients, investors or employees, you need to know how to pitch your products, services and ideas in a way that is most likely to secure you the deal. Justin Cohen’s internationally acclaimed six-step formula is designed to do just that. Having taught and refined his Pitch To Win programme for five years, and having helped secure numerous multimillion-dollar deals in that time, Justin now shares his secrets for success in Pitch To Win, the book. In it he reveals:
• The number one reason a winning pitch gets chosen over the competition.
• The mindset of people who win the most pitches.
• A step-by-step guide to creating and delivering a winning pitch script.
• How to reduce nervousness and develop ‘big pitch temperament’.
• How to win without being salesy.
• How to win with integrity, by living your purpose.
“The Pitch To Win method played a critical role in our winning this competition.” – Julian Kyula, Winner, IBM Global Entrepreneur of the Year
“I’m not sure our auditors have ever got applause after a pitch, but that’s what happened after we applied Justin’s method, winning one of our most important deals.” – Ajen Sita, CEO, EY
"Justin coached our team to win one of our most important pitches. That’s why we had him develop a Pitch To Win methodology for the organisation." – Martin Walbeck, Head of Business Development, EY
"Looking for the bible of pitching? This is it." – Andile Khumalo, Founder, I Am An Entrepreneur
"This is the ultimate formula for pitching anything to anyone. What I love most is you get to do it without being pushy and by living your mission. A true gift to anyone in business." – Martin Sweet, CEO, Prime Stars
"This is the most powerful system to create and deliver a winning pitch that I have ever seen." – Neil Malan, CEO, Elite Entrepreneur
160 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 26, 2018
10 people are currently reading
16 people want to read
About the author
Justin Cohen
18 books13 followersJustin Cohen is a bestselling author and international speaker. He hosted a CNBC Africa personal development television talk show where he interviewed some of the world's leading experts on success. Along with Harvard Professor, Matt Kilingsworth, he was the positive psychology expert on the "Joy takes you further" global happiness campaign. Justin is currently doing his doctorate at Middlesex University in London. Please visit him at www.justinpresents.com
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
January 13, 2020
Ideas are ten a penny, so they say, and entrepreneurs fail way more than they succeed. So what is the recipe of the successful start-up or small business?
It’s a question on many of your lips, and in our struggling economy, the competition is intense. So if you want to start in business, or to grow one, it’s essential to know the rules of the game, which are all contained in this concise, easy to absorb little book, Pitch to Win.
In the introduction, Cohen makes reference to the Swedish psychologist Anders Ericsson, who found after decades of study that practise, and not innate ability, is what distinguishes top performers. Top musicians practise about a third more than average ones, but they don’t only practise, they practise with a goal in mind, constantly pushing themselves out of their comfort zones to learn new things.
In business, this translates to honing every aspect of your pitch. And this means watching yourself critically, on film. So yes, if you want to get ahead in the world of business, you do need to dispense with all selfie shame and learn to talk the walk. In other words, there’s much wisdom in the ‘fake it to make it’ aphorism.
Of course there’s more to it than that. In chapter one, Cohen focuses on the power of listening and learning before you pitch. “It may sound harsh but the businesses you pitch to don’t really care about you, your company or your list of features or benefits. They care about themselves. They care about their needs, their desires and their pain. Where you and your offering can help them meet their needs, that’s where they’re interested – but you can’t show them that until you’ve taken the time to listen to what their needs are,” he writes.
Establishing rapport with the client is also important, and here Cohen reminds us of the effectiveness of ‘mirroring’, in other words subtly matching your client’s volume, pace, facial expressions or gestures. “We like people who are like us even in superficial ways… If mirroring seems disingenuous, remember that we all do it anyway. Watch two people in conversation and you will notice a natural mimicry that emerges when rapport is established,” notes Cohen.
The value in Cohen’s book lies in its elevation from the banal teachings you find online, fleshed out with easily digestible explanations and examples. For example, Cohen is a great believer in the story rather than cold facts as the basis of a winning pitch, and he goes into the scientific reasons for the power of human narrative. He quotes luminaries like American poet Maya Angelou, who said ‘people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel’.
So without giving away more of Cohen’s wisdoms, I urge you to get this useful book if you’re an entrepreneur or SME. It’s an ideal holiday read if you need some motivation and confidence in the year ahead.
It’s a question on many of your lips, and in our struggling economy, the competition is intense. So if you want to start in business, or to grow one, it’s essential to know the rules of the game, which are all contained in this concise, easy to absorb little book, Pitch to Win.
In the introduction, Cohen makes reference to the Swedish psychologist Anders Ericsson, who found after decades of study that practise, and not innate ability, is what distinguishes top performers. Top musicians practise about a third more than average ones, but they don’t only practise, they practise with a goal in mind, constantly pushing themselves out of their comfort zones to learn new things.
In business, this translates to honing every aspect of your pitch. And this means watching yourself critically, on film. So yes, if you want to get ahead in the world of business, you do need to dispense with all selfie shame and learn to talk the walk. In other words, there’s much wisdom in the ‘fake it to make it’ aphorism.
Of course there’s more to it than that. In chapter one, Cohen focuses on the power of listening and learning before you pitch. “It may sound harsh but the businesses you pitch to don’t really care about you, your company or your list of features or benefits. They care about themselves. They care about their needs, their desires and their pain. Where you and your offering can help them meet their needs, that’s where they’re interested – but you can’t show them that until you’ve taken the time to listen to what their needs are,” he writes.
Establishing rapport with the client is also important, and here Cohen reminds us of the effectiveness of ‘mirroring’, in other words subtly matching your client’s volume, pace, facial expressions or gestures. “We like people who are like us even in superficial ways… If mirroring seems disingenuous, remember that we all do it anyway. Watch two people in conversation and you will notice a natural mimicry that emerges when rapport is established,” notes Cohen.
The value in Cohen’s book lies in its elevation from the banal teachings you find online, fleshed out with easily digestible explanations and examples. For example, Cohen is a great believer in the story rather than cold facts as the basis of a winning pitch, and he goes into the scientific reasons for the power of human narrative. He quotes luminaries like American poet Maya Angelou, who said ‘people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel’.
So without giving away more of Cohen’s wisdoms, I urge you to get this useful book if you’re an entrepreneur or SME. It’s an ideal holiday read if you need some motivation and confidence in the year ahead.
January 17, 2020
We’re all pitching to win – whether we’re wanting to land a lucrative contract, sell a book project to an editor, ask for a raise or proposing marriage. While this handy guide by Justin Cohen is primarily aimed at those who are looking to pitch for sales, it can be read by anyone looking for tips on how to get ahead. Filled with facts and research, there are also some handy exercises to help you along the way, such as how to breathe to relax when you’re pitching in front of one person or a hall full. There are also tips on how to mirror others; mirroring is a behaviour in which you unconsciously imitate the other person’s speech and gestures. There are also tips on what to say to others to win them over, including not asking closed questions that require only a yes or no, really listening to what others might need and framing your pitch at a level that takes those needs into account. Did you know that waitrons who repeat a diner’s order word for word are likely to get bigger tips than those who don’t? Quite simply, we all want to be liked and heard, and Cohen provides the tools to achieve this. Cohen also encourages you to make friends with rejection – and learn from the instances when you hear ‘no’ repeatedly. Written in an engaging, colloquial style, this guide is highly recommended, whatever your pitch.
November 30, 2020
In consulting I spent a lot of time in research that could have been saved by power listening in a pre-pitch meeting. I also made assumptions and ultimately took a gamble when I could have gotten specific answers to the questions I had about the business. Creating a better understanding of what the client wanted to achieve, where they were at and what their limitations were. What Justin says is so true - A deep understanding of the problem from the customer them self allows you to better communicate your solution using the client’s own language. This is a very powerful tool and I look forward to implementing it and seeing the results!
December 24, 2019
I am not in sales or marketing. I am an academic. These days however, we all need to learn to pitch to win - whether you're selling a product or service or a research idea, or even trying to convince a class of the value of what you are teaching them.
Cohen's book teaches us all lessons for life, winning attitudes that can be applied to so many more situations that marketing. I even found helpful parenting tips in the book: the importance of fostering a growth mindset, of not giving up and seeing failure as inevitable but also necessary on the path to success. His chapter on optimism is important to developing resilience and the chapter on presence is applicable to all of us whenever we make a presentation.
It is a great book, easy to read and one I will probably return to.
My only criticism is that although it is well researched, it is not very well referenced. Many of the interesting studies mentioned are not found in the reference section.
Cohen's book teaches us all lessons for life, winning attitudes that can be applied to so many more situations that marketing. I even found helpful parenting tips in the book: the importance of fostering a growth mindset, of not giving up and seeing failure as inevitable but also necessary on the path to success. His chapter on optimism is important to developing resilience and the chapter on presence is applicable to all of us whenever we make a presentation.
It is a great book, easy to read and one I will probably return to.
My only criticism is that although it is well researched, it is not very well referenced. Many of the interesting studies mentioned are not found in the reference section.
December 5, 2019
Pitch to Win is an excellent resource. I have heard Justin speak and he is insightful and relatable. His book has the same tone. I found Chapter six, 'Story', particularly valuable. It gave me much to think about, and I felt quite inspired to use his advice and make changes to my new business proposals. I made copious notes in the book and will begin implementing them in my business.
January 12, 2020
Excellent, easy read and great information. Just very crammed in the last few pages. Overall valuable and practical!
January 23, 2022
Best sales books I have read so far
August 16, 2022
Saved the day with this book! Very short - can be read the night before 'the pitch'
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews