Pitch Lessons From Steve Jobs.

We all know Steve Jobs for his famous ‘reveal’ pitches. Steve Jobs introduced many products with a pitch, including the ipod, iphone and ipad.

Every time when Steve Jobs pitched a new product, the crowd would leave the room excited.

There are a lot of pitching lessons you can learn from Steve Jobs.

Ofcourse it’s pretty easy to get people excited, when your company is capable of creating high tech devices, which are way ahead of their time. But it wasn’t just the product.

Don’t want to read everything? These are the 8 lessons.

#1 The first 30 seconds he only focuses on making you curious

#2 He builds credibility by referring to previous successes

#3 He creates goodwill by making the audience laugh

#4 He makes fun of the competition with supporting visuals

#5 He uses many power words such as ‘magic’ and ‘phenomenal’

#6 He always focuses on the benefits, never the features

#7 He thoroughly researches who he is talking to

#8 He thanks the audience in a humble way

How did Steve Jobs structure his pitch?

1. Opening (00:00)

2. Introducing the problem (3:30)

3. Introducing his solution (6:30)

4. Mentioning all the benefits (7:30)

5. End (1:17:00)

You can check how to structure a pitch your self here.

The opening (00:00)

#1 The first 30 seconds he only focuses on making you curious. 

‘This is a day I have been looking forward to for 2.5 years’

‘Every once in a while a revolutionary product comes along, that changes everything’

‘You are fortunate if you can work on one of these products in your life. Apple has been fortunate introduce a few of these’

As you can see Steve Jobs comes with three statemens in a row. They all create the feeling that he is going to talk about something mind blowing.

By doing this, he gets everybody to pay full attention.

#2 He builds credibility by referring to previous successes

Although everybody is probably familiar with the successfull products Apple has introduced so far, Steve quickly refers to them.

By referring to previous successes, he creates credibility for the rest of his pitch.

#3 He creates goodwill by making the audience laugh

Although Steve might be known as a difficult and hard business man, he definitely knows how to use humor.

Throughout his pitch Steve continiously makes small jokes. The best example in this pitch is when he talks about how Apple is going to introduce 3 products: An Ipod, a phone and a new internet browser.

After talking about these products for 2 minutes, he confesses that they are actually all combined. So instead of introducing 3 seperated products, he now moves his pitch to one ‘super product’.

Another example is when he shows the picture of the ‘new’ iphone, which obiously isn’t the real iphone.

Receive ’30 Pitch Mistakes You Should Never Make’ 

Click the button and get direct access!

2. The problem (03:30)

#4 He makes fun of the competition with supporting visuals

First of all Steve talks about the current set of smart phones, he explains to the audience that they are limited in their capabilities.

Right after talking about the existing offer of smartphones, he shows an image which compares the Iphone to the others.

Now Steve explained how he thinks about the Iphone versus the competiton, he backs it up with an example.

Again, he uses an image which displays the current set of keyboards.

“It’s ridiculous to have one set of fixed keyboards, when every situation requires a different keyboard”

3. The solution (06:30)

Now Steve discussed why the other smartphones don’t work well, it’s time to show the solution.

#5 He uses many power words such as ‘magic’ and ‘phenomenal’

When Steve introduces the Iphone, he uses a lot of power words. Here’s a list of words Steve used:

• Magic
• Invented
• Phenomenal
• Accurate
• Super smart

You can learn more about power words here.

4. The Benefits (07:30)

#6 He always focuses on the benefits, never the features

A mistake many pitchers or public speakers make, is that they focus too much on the features of a product.

People don’t want to hear which software enables them to make phone calls. People want to hear that they can call their friends, at the other side of the world, with just 2 finger taps.

5. End (1:17:00)

After introducing the Iphone and discussing al it’s functionalities, it’s time for Steve to finish the pitch.

Usually the end of a pitch consists of a call to action. If this was a pitch to solely potential customers, a good call to action would be:

‘If you want to experience the smartphone of the 21st century, get yourself an Iphone’

However, this is not how Steve ended his pitch. Since he knew he wasn’t talking solely to customers, he finished it differently. Researching your audience is lesson number 7.

#7 He thoroughly researches who he is talking to

Since Steve is aware of the potential impact of his speech, he knows that many people will be seeing this pitch. Therefore, his target group does not only consist out of potential customers, but also potentials partners, investors and other stakeholders.

When you’re talking to just one target group, it’s easy to set your call to action.

In this case, Steve decided to end with an inspirational quote. This way he leaves everybody with a positive feeling.

“There’s an old Wayne Gretzky quote that I love. I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been. We have always tried to do that at Apple. And we always will.”

#8 He thanks the audience in a humble way

At the end of his pitch, Steve ends with the simple words:

‘Thank you very much’.

Simply by thanking your audience, you accomplish two things:

1. You create sympathy with your audience

2. Your audience knows you are done and that it’s time to applaud.

Conclusion

Steve was a master in structuring and executing his pitch. Although it’s pretty easy when you are the CEO of an impressive company, Steve did a great job in grabbing the attention from the beginning all the way to the end.

These 8 lessons from Steve’s pitch can be used for your own pitch as well. If you want to check the full video of Steve’s pitch, click here. Credits to Applebub/N2TechGeeks for uploading this video.

If you enjoyed this content, hit that share button below. It would mean a lot to me and it helps others to see the content as well.

When to pitch?

I have good news for you.

A few simple tricks can help you to get new customers, get new partnerships or new investors for your company.

By simply pitching a little bit more often, you’ll increase your network significantly.

What is a pitch?

A pitch is a short presentation about yourself, your company or an idea you have. Basically, you can pitch everything.

A pitch is usually intended to get somebody excited and should be a well-trained weapon in your arsenal.

The advantages of a pitch

There are numerous reasons why you should be pitching. I’ve listed them down for you:

• Get better social skills
• Increase your network
• Increase your salary
• Get new customers for your company
• Make others excited about an idea

This list could go on and on, but you get the point. A good pitch helps you to communicate your vision on the world. At the same time, a good pitch shows confidence and get others to like you.

Why you should always be pitching

Have you ever been in a situation where you find yourself talking to a stranger, and ended up exchanging business cards?

Probably somewhere in the conversation one of you asked the other ‘what do you do for a living?’.

Whenever this question gets asked, it’s time to give a short pitch. I am not talking about a sales pitch. I am just talking about a short story about what you do, and why you love it.

You are not looking to generate business; you are looking to make somebody excited about what you do. By getting other people excited about your work or your company one of the following things can happen:

• He might know a potential customer
• He might know a potential partner
• He might know about an interesting job offer
• He might know a potential employee
• He might know a potential investor

By simply making others excited about what you do, others will be excited to help you out. One way or another.

When you should pitch

1. In meetings

Whenever you find yourself a board member meeting, the annual company meeting or with other companies, you should have your pitch ready.

If somebody asks you about your latest project, you should know what to pitch.

If somebody asks you about which tasks you are responsible for, you should know what to pitch.

2. With customers

You shouldn’t just pitch when you are with new potential customers. Upselling to current customers is usually easier and more profitable than acquiring new customers. Whenever you are in touch with a customer, you should know how to pitch an upgrade to his current product.

3. At networking event

Networking events are the place to practice your pitch. During networking events you usually switch from conversation partners quite often. Because of this, this is a great opportunity to practice your pitch multiple times.

Not only does it help you to sharpen your pitch, it could also actually benefit your or your company. As mentioned, if you are able to make others excited about what you do, everything is possible!

4. At birthday parties (or other social occasions)

This one you should be careful with. Nobody likes to be sold hardcore in a moment which should be relaxed and friendly.

That doesn’t mean you cannot pitch. Actually I’ve gained a lot of business contacts when I’m on holidays. I don’t sell, I simply tell what I do and make the other person excited.

5. With coworkers

Whether you are working on a new project or you are thinking about how to acquire the next big customer, your coworkers can help.

However, if you want your coworkers to help, they have to be willing to help and know what you are looking for. Shortly explain them your idea and how they could contribute to that success will accomplish more than you might think.

Conclusion

You should always be pitching.

When you meet a new person, and he or she asks ‘what do you do for a living’ this should be your signal to start a pitch.

This doesn’t mean you should start a hardcore sales pitch, you simply tell him or her what you do in an exciting way.

Want to learn how to build your pitch?

Did you like this pitch tip? Spread the word, share it with your friends or colleagues.

Tips for writing a pitch.

You have an idea and you want to convince another person about it. Ideally the other person becomes excited and does what you ask him to do.

You did your research and you know which structure you will use for your pitch; now it’s time to write the pitch. Here are some tactics you should use for writing your pitch.

1. Talk to a friend

When you are writing your pitch, keep in mind that you are talking to a good friend of yours. Imagine an old friend who you haven’t seen in a long time, and you are telling him about your idea or your business.

By keeping your friend in mind while writing your pitch your language will come across more natural. This way your listener has an easy time understanding what you are saying and he will be more likely to keep on listening.

2. Storytelling: Connect with your listener

During your pitch it’s important to connect with your listener like you would with a friend. As mentioned you are writing your pitch like you are talking to a friend.

To enhance the connection with your listener even more, you can use storytelling to your advantage.

By telling a little story about yourself and an experience related to your pitch, you give the listener the feeling he knows you.

Also he will feel more sympathy towards you since you put yourself in a vulnerable position.

3. Refer to your research

Throughout your pitch you should refer to your research a couple of times.

By referring to your research you demonstrate authority and you give the listener the feeling you know what you are talking about.

Not only will the listener take you more seriously, he will also remember it better compared to mentioning assumptions.

Conclusion

Since you already know the building blocks of your pitch, you should have a structure of your pitch. Make sure to use these three tactics throughout your writing process to increase the impact of your pitch.

Share these tips with the buttons below.