Pitch Mastery by Oren Klaff

[Ronak]

I've been on Klaf's email list for awhile, always enjoyed reading his stuff and observing his copy/methods.

I recently bought into his program, which is $400, but I gotta say it's an amazing value. Lots of content, pitch decks, etc, but what I really like are his live weekly call recordings.

I was listening to one of the replays while driving to the office and implemented one of the counterintuituve techniques he talked about immediately, and it was amazing how well it worked.

I was looking for reviews online prior to buying and didn't find much, so thought I'd share.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Ronak]

Here is one of his free content emails:

Check this out below: it's a screen capture of my last Zoom call of the day. Professional, right? IT HAS TO BE. I was closing a large deal and 3 million was on the line. So you might be wondering the same thing the buyer was: "Hey Oren ... How do you get your LAPTOP camera to look so good?

ANSWER: This is no "laptop." I designed an A/V station specifically for closing deals on Zoom... ... the microphone alone is a thousand bucks.

And what about all this other stuff? Cameras, switchers, lenses, LED lights, mixer, flashdrives ... this is all hardcore video equipment .... cost me more than 25K to buy, test and get working. When it comes to deal making I do not mess around. I will invest any amount to do it right. But do you really need to spend that much on your Zoom setup? Depends ... do you want to close deals? ;-) Look, I can give you the build sheet for this setup, but here's my suggestion: Become a top notch DEALMAKER before you start buying this level of equipment, so you have a huge financial slush-fund that allows you to buy anything you want, whenever you want it. $9000 in cameras? Who cares, just 'Add to Cart.' To become a top gun Dealmaker, it takes a little work, so let's get started. And here's my top 8 rules for becoming a dealmaker. This is exactly what I teach new hires, and what you should be thinking about as you start your very next pitch or presentation .... 1. In the first 5-minutes of the pitch, don't say anything that doesn't have a number in it.​ When you pitch me for a deal, I'm watching very carefully to see if you really know your business, or you're just throwing out "ideas." If you're selling me web security, for example, what is my RISK of getting hacked, how MUCH does recovery cost, how FAST can my systems be upgraded? I want to see numbers. 2. A Dealmaker should never wait on a conference line for the buyer to show up.​ You can have your assistant wait on the line. Maybe your marketing manager. But senior people do not wait 5 minutes ... 8 ... 10 ... 12 minutes for someone to eventually show up when they feel like it. If they're late, just reschedule the call and move on to higher priority deals. 3. Stop saying "Thank You" so much.​ If you listen, you'll hear how new salespeople are constantly saying Thank You for this, Thank You for that, Thank You very much, Thank you again. FOR WHAT?? This is called "supplicating." Think of a supplication as a request from a servant to a person of higher power. The word carries a sense of awe and adoration with it, suggesting begging and a sense of neediness. Remember, you're The Dealmaker. You're helping the buyer fix their problem. You're helping the client with an investment or a solution. If anything ... they should say "Thanks" to you. 4. Always watch the clock.​ There are 3 basic parts to any sales call or a "pitch." First is the introduction or "why we're all here." Second is The Pitch. Third is the close or confirming next-steps You should know EXACTLY how much time you will spend in each part. My suggestion? 5 min intro 6 min pitch 12 min close (because this requires some interaction with them.) 23 MINUTES TOTAL. Round it up to 25. Today, if you're going any longer, you better be very INTERESTING to listen to. Are you? 5. DON'T offer to do free work. It won't help close the deal.​ Write this on a note and tape it to your computer: People only value that which they pay for. No matter how much free work or free product you give someone .... you will not get them any closer to buying. People want the EXCITEMENT of shopping, negotiating, and "making a deal" with you, and then, only after all this buying activity ... they will actually value your product or service. 6. Don't send a proposal.​ When you send a proposal, they will give it to a competitor and ask, "Can you do better than this?" Sending a proposal is a direct path to competitive bids .... and discounting. What if they ask for a proposal? There's only one answer to give: "We're super busy right now and don't have a ton of time to generate proposals for discussions, how about we work on specific deal terms and an agreement?" 7. Always tell the buyer you're choosy about who you work with.​ If they think you have no standards or personal values, or that you have no red-lines, no bottom-lines and no limits ... they'll think you NEED the deal badly, so the buyer will keep negotiating; they'll keep asking for more and keep thinking that you need the deal more than they do. 8. Never be Needy.​ When you act needy, they buyer thinks they can tell you how much they are going to pay. They will tell you what "extras" you have to throw in. And they'll hold you hostage for payment until ... the ... very ... last ... minute. But what is "neediness"? And how do you know you're "doing it"? Simple. When you are reacting to what they want, you're needy. When you are fetching them proposals and quotes, when they miss calls or come late, when they're rude and all you ever do is smile politely ... you're REACTING to their needs. That's Neediness. These are 8 solid rules for dealmaking - send them around to someone you care about or work with.

 

[Ismail941]

Bingo

Thanks for sharing.

I am also his newsletter subscriber. Yes - he is legit and I love his work. His free emails are valuable. I am also pretty sure his courses valuable too, not to mention - it is affordable.

 

[Cleaningup]

I've been on Klaf's email list for awhile, always enjoyed reading his stuff and observing his copy/methods.

I recently bought into his program, which is $400, but I gotta say it's an amazing value. Lots of content, pitch decks, etc, but what I really like are his live weekly call recordings.

I was listening to one of the replays while driving to the office and implemented one of the counterintuituve techniques he talked about immediately, and it was amazing how well it worked.

I was looking for reviews online prior to buying and didn't find much, so thought I'd share.

I just got in on his Daily dealmaker and the first video is literally only 2 minutes with a short and simple concept but nonetheless an important one.
Exactly as promised, daily, 1-2 short clips about deal making.

I am considering Pitch Mastery. I saw you post about this in the beginning of februari. 3 questions;
1. now the honeymoon phase is over, are you still content with the content?
2. how much is it about pitching to VCs compared to deal making in general?
3. After reading Pitch Anything and Flip the script. Is there way more to learn to justify the 400 dollar?

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Black_Dragon43]

I've been on Klaf's email list for awhile, always enjoyed reading his stuff and observing his copy/methods.

I recently bought into his program, which is $400, but I gotta say it's an amazing value. Lots of content, pitch decks, etc, but what I really like are his live weekly call recordings.

I was listening to one of the replays while driving to the office and implemented one of the counterintuituve techniques he talked about immediately, and it was amazing how well it worked.

I was looking for reviews online prior to buying and didn't find much, so thought I'd share.

Klaff is a great negotiator and salesman, I read his book Pitch Anything recently, meaning last year, and it’s become one of my absolute favorites for sales.

The knowledge he shares, you won’t really find elsewhere. I was using some of the strategies beforehand, without even knowing that somebody had codified them and explained them so well. What he says, especially about implied social hierarchies, frames and dominance, is HUGE, and little known.

 

[Ronak]

The content is still good. Not just VC focused, but broader dealmaking content.

Is the price justified- IMO, yes.

The weekly calls are fresh content that's working based on actual deals he's working on, you get a chance to ask your questions, and IMO, he could charge 5 tines as much and it would still be justified.

More than the money investment, you have to decide whether its worth the time investment, because there's a lot of content to go through. That said, I remember he gave the example of a person that joined and was diligent about attending calls and getting regular feedback- that person is now doing deals with the likes of the Kardashians, etc.

Given enough time and dedication, I think its doable.

One of the downsides is that it can get very complex and you can get lost in all the minutia. Depending on the type of deals you want to do, it may be worth it.

I've found another much simpler and straight forward book by Brant Pindivic called The 3 Minute Rule- this guy was the person behind several hit TV shows like the Biggest Loser, and he put together a formula for pitching which is easy to remember. He's friends with oren Klaf and was on some of the calls as a guest.

For most people, that would be a good start, but if you want to do complex and more involved deals at a higher level, Klaff is the best there is.

 

[Cleaningup]

The content is still good. Not just VC focused, but broader dealmaking content.

Is the price justified- IMO, yes.

The weekly calls are fresh content that's working based on actual deals he's working on, you get a chance to ask your questions, and IMO, he could charge 5 tines as much and it would still be justified.

More than the money investment, you have to decide whether its worth the time investment, because there's a lot of content to go through. That said, I remember he gave the example of a person that joined and was diligent about attending calls and getting regular feedback- that person is now doing deals with the likes of the Kardashians, etc.

Given enough time and dedication, I think its doable.

One of the downsides is that it can get very complex and you can get lost in all the minutia. Depending on the type of deals you want to do, it may be worth it.

I've found another much simpler and straight forward book by Brant Pindivic called The 3 Minute Rule- this guy was the person behind several hit TV shows like the Biggest Loser, and he put together a formula for pitching which is easy to remember. He's friends with oren Klaf and was on some of the calls as a guest.

For most people, that would be a good start, but if you want to do complex and more involved deals at a higher level, Klaff is the best there is.

Yeah I am in b2b enterprise sales in the IT sector. So deals can get very complex.

would you say attending to the weekly calls is enough?
And is it a program that you should do from beginning to end, or is it more like a buffet?

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Ronak]

I recommend both his books first as a starting point.

From that point, depends on how fast you want to go. The concepts take awhile to sink in, so the weekly calls are great for that.

I have not gone into all the content yet, so can't say, but if you're serious about it, I would do all of it.

My problem is more with shiny object syndrome and getting distracted, so I haven't dived deep, rather picked up a few points here and there, but anyone truly serious about it should explore the whole thing. I think it's personal preference as to how to consume it.

Don't over analyze, just pick some of the content and get into it- you can decide what to do from there. Again, the money to me is a no brainer, it's not even like a typical guru program that you have to pay $2000-3000+ for. Good luck.

 

[Cleaningup]

I recommend both his books first as a starting point.

From that point, depends on how fast you want to go. The concepts take awhile to sink in, so the weekly calls are great for that.

I have not gone into all the content yet, so can't say, but if you're serious about it, I would do all of it.

My problem is more with shiny object syndrome and getting distracted, so I haven't dived deep, rather picked up a few points here and there, but anyone truly serious about it should explore the whole thing. I think it's personal preference as to how to consume it.

Don't over analyze, just pick some of the content and get into it- you can decide what to do from there. Again, the money to me is a no brainer, it's not even like a typical guru program that you have to pay $2000-3000+ for. Good luck.

agreed. After reading pitch anything several times and flip the script … and being in enterprise sales for some time … i just recognize the truth in his absolute skill set. Def not a guru.