Pitching is about people.

Yes, yes, you've got a great product...and service...and value proposition.

But f you try to bring it to the people by telling everyone how great you are...you're not pitching. You're gambling.

Don't gamble. Looking to land a job, a client, a second date? Remember these four things...

Segment 01 – Remember that it's not a "moment."

You win most pitches when you understand that it's the exclamation point to a sentence, not the entire sentence. Build likability, trust and rapport FIRST.

Segment 02 – Understand how your audience "buys" and "rejects."

Your pitch isn't about you and your awesome product/service/idea. It's about your audience, and if you don't know them well enough...you won't win often enough.

Segment 03 – Frame your story to trigger your buyer.

What is your pitch about? Careful. Pick the wrong thing, and you can lose. Pick too many things, and you can lose. Much of your sale will come right here,

Segment 04 – Stop making these mistakes.

You're pitching to a real live person – and if you're not thinking about this stuff, you're creating a recipe for disaster.

You got the job. Congratulations?

Now what?

Do you get out there and start making waves in your new gig, or sit back and take it in?

What you need...is a plan, and this week's episode gives you the exact plan you need to succeed in any new engagement...

Segment 01 – Get off of autopilot.

Win with four specific, and helpful skills.

Segment 02 – Your 4-step plan.

Listen. Win. Recommend. Execute.

Segment 03 – Network Better.

Make an Influence Map. Learn about great coffee. Go to all that social stuff you hate.

Segment 04 – Be known for something.

How are you MIRV? What can you recommend? What's your internal "cause?" Are you a "connector?"

Job interviews are harder than they should be.

And a big reason for that is that we don't step back and think about what it takes to succeed with a job interview. Instead...we hyper focus on individual questions, and try to think about what they mean.

There is a better way, one that starts with not getting into the cattle call challenge for a job interview...and instead, building relationships beforehand. TO learn more about that, check out Episode 125, "How to look for a job."

What can you do to ace a job interview? Try these...

Segment 01 – Build a "personally moving" business case.

You aren't a person applying for a job. You are a brand making a connection. Here's how to do that by driving outcomes for the business and influencing the individual.

Segment 02 - Deliver smarter answers.

To deliver a better answer, look to media and presentation training. It's about what triggers you'r audience, understanding what they're really asking and delivering a MIRV answer.

Segment 03 - Try four secrets.

How well are you using gathering time, asking questions, being genuinely curious and following up? These can set you apart.

Segment 04 - Think of it as a performance.

Bring your best self to the table and learn how to project confidence and break into the brain of the interviewer.