Pitch Masters

Pitch Masters

By Danny FontaineBusinessEntrepreneurshipEducationHow ToMarketing
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Pitch Masters episodes

  • S1E20: Jim Highsmith, Co-creator of the Agile Manifesto, Storyteller, Adventurer

    In February 2001, 17 anarchists assembled in the Snowbird ski resort in Utah, USA. They had no fixed agenda and spent two days in lively conversation, creating what we all now know as the Agile Manifesto. A new mindset and movement were born that would change the face of software development, but they could never have guessed just how far-reaching, famous, and infamous their work would become. One of those 17 was Jim Highsmith, and in this episode, he tells me the story about the birth of Agile.

    You'll hear Jim tell me the story of Snowbird, and how that meeting resulted in a worldwide phenomenon. We discuss how Agile was pitched by many people, how it's resulted in unexpected and amazing things, and how it's been misunderstood and misused. We dispel some Agile myths, talk about applying Agile in leadership, and discuss Jim's own career from being a self-proclaimed techie to a VP of Sales and Marketing. 

    Jim's latest book 'Wild West to Agile' is a truly riveting read and I'd recommend it to anyone. The book is available to purchase at Amazon and directly from Pearson.

    If you enjoy the show, please leave a review and share it with someone else who might. Sign up for the mailing list for exclusive content at http://pitchguy.co.uk/ and follow me on social media for video clips of the episode. 

    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dannyfontaine/

    TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@pitchguy

    YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@pitchguy/

    Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dannyfontaine/

    1 hr 14 min
  • S1E20 VIDEO VERSION: Jim Highsmith, Co-creator of the Agile Manifesto, Storyteller, Adventurer

    In February 2001, 17 anarchists assembled in the Snowbird ski resort in Utah, USA. They had no fixed agenda and spent two days in lively conversation, creating what we all now know as the Agile Manifesto. A new mindset and movement were born that would change the face of software development, but they could never have guessed just how far-reaching, famous, and infamous their work would become. One of those 17 was Jim Highsmith, and in this episode, he tells me the story about the birth of Agile.

    You'll hear Jim tell me the story of Snowbird, and how that meeting resulted in a worldwide phenomenon. We discuss how Agile was pitched by many people, how it's resulted in unexpected and amazing things, and how it's been misunderstood and misused. We dispel some Agile myths, talk about applying Agile in leadership, and discuss Jim's own career from being a self-proclaimed techie to a VP of Sales and Marketing. 

    Jim's latest book 'Wild West to Agile' is a truly riveting read and I'd recommend it to anyone. The book is available to purchase at Amazon and directly from Pearson.

    If you enjoy the show, please leave a review and share it with someone else who might. Sign up for the mailing list for exclusive content at http://pitchguy.co.uk/ and follow me on social media for video clips of the episode. 

    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dannyfontaine/

    TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@pitchguy

    YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@pitchguy/

    Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dannyfontaine/

    1 hr 14 min
  • S1E19: Nancy Duarte, communication expert, author, speaker, and CEO of Duarte, Inc

    Video version available on Apple Podcasts and Youtube. 

    This week on Pitch Masters: Nancy Duarte. Listening is essential for anyone who wants to improve their pitches, presentations and storytelling.


    Nancy is another one of my all-time pitching heroes. Her work on ‘sparklines' has had a huge impact on my career and the way that work, and I use her methods every single day at IBM to create the most compelling pitches and presentations.

    In this hour, you’ll hear about how Nancy discovered sparklines, the joy that followed and her moral decision about whether to share it with the world. We talk about speeches and keynotes by Martin Luther King, Steve Jobs, Al Gore, and Jawaharlal Nehru. We discuss how to make presentations like Pixar make movies, how to humanise data, and how to make your audience FEEL something. The episode is available in full as a video on Apple Podcasts and YouTube, and as audio everywhere else.

    As always, I’d love to know what you think.

    Find out more about Nancy and her work at Duarte.

    If you enjoy the show, please leave a review and share it with someone else who might. Sign up for the mailing list for exclusive content at http://pitchguy.co.uk/ and follow me on social media for video clips of the episode. 

    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dannyfontaine/

    TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@pitchguy

    YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@pitchguy/

    Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dannyfontaine/

     

    56 min
  • S1E19 VIDEO VERSION: Nancy Duarte, communication expert, author, speaker, and CEO of Duarte, Inc

    This week on Pitch Masters: Nancy Duarte. Listening is essential for anyone who wants to improve their pitches, presentations and storytelling.


    Nancy is another one of my all-time pitching heroes. Her work on ‘sparklines' has had a huge impact on my career and the way that work, and I use her methods every single day at IBM to create the most compelling pitches and presentations.

    In this hour, you’ll hear about how Nancy discovered sparklines, the joy that followed and her moral decision about whether to share it with the world. We talk about speeches and keynotes by Martin Luther King, Steve Jobs, Al Gore, and Jawaharlal Nehru. We discuss how to make presentations like Pixar make movies, how to humanise data, and how to make your audience FEEL something. The episode is available in full as a video on Apple Podcasts and YouTube, and as audio everywhere else.

    As always, I’d love to know what you think.

    Find out more about Nancy and her work at Duarte.

    If you enjoy the show, please leave a review and share it with someone else who might. Sign up for the mailing list for exclusive content at http://pitchguy.co.uk/ and follow me on social media for video clips of the episode. 

    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dannyfontaine/

    TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@pitchguy

    YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@pitchguy/

    Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dannyfontaine/

     

    56 min
  • S1E18: Jeb Blount, global sales guru and best-selling author of Sales EQ

    Jeb Blount is sales royalty. He's published 15 books on selling, including Sales EQ, Fanatical Prospecting, and Objections, and he's been top of my Pitch Masters hit list since the show began. 

    In this episode we cover a huge amount of ground: qualifying deals, closing deals, relationships, stories, 'the ledge', 'murder boarding' the chessboard of sales, how to withhold information for leverage, and of course, how we can create emotional connections. In 70 minutes we cover the entire sales cycle, and Jeb gives me a ridiculous amount of insights that we can all use to improve our pitches and make more sales. 

    You can find out more about Jeb on his website salesgravy.com and I'd highly recommend you go buy one of his books on Amazon - Sales EQ is my all-time favourite. 

    I'm also pleased to announce that this is Pitch Master's first full VIDEO EPISODE, available on Apple and Youtube - just search for Pitch Masters.

    If you enjoy the show, please leave a review and share it with someone else who might. Sign up for the mailing list for exclusive content at http://pitchguy.co.uk/ and follow me on social media for video clips of the episode. 

    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dannyfontaine/

    TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@pitchguy

    YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@pitchguy/

    Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dannyfontaine/

     

    1 hr 11 min
  • S1E18 VIDEO VERSION: Jeb Blount, global sales guru and best-selling author of Sales EQ

    Jeb Blount is sales royalty. He's published 15 books on selling, including Sales EQ, Fanatical Prospecting, and Objections, and he's been top of my Pitch Masters hit list since the show began. 

    In this episode we cover a huge amount of ground: qualifying deals, closing deals, relationships, stories, 'the ledge', 'murder boarding' the chessboard of sales, how to withhold information for leverage, and of course, how we can create emotional connections. In 70 minutes we cover the entire sales cycle, and Jeb gives me a ridiculous amount of insights that we can all use to improve our pitches and make more sales. 

    You can find out more about Jeb on his website salesgravy.com and I'd highly recommend you go buy one of his books on Amazon - Sales EQ is my all-time favourite. 

    I'm also pleased to announce that this is Pitch Master's first full VIDEO EPISODE, available on Apple and Youtube - just search for Pitch Masters.

    If you enjoy the show, please leave a review and share it with someone else who might. Sign up for the mailing list for exclusive content at http://pitchguy.co.uk/ and follow me on social media for video clips of the episode. 

    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dannyfontaine/

    TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@pitchguy

    YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@pitchguy/

    Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dannyfontaine/

     

    1 hr 11 min
  • S1E17: Neil Mullarkey, Austin Powers star, author, improv comedian and business guru

    Episode 17 of Pitch Masters features the incredible Neil Mullarkey, star of Austin Powers, author of Seven Steps to Improve Your People Skills, and In The Moment, actor and improv comedy maestro. We talk about how to use improv in business, how to cast the perfect team for your pitch, debunking the myth of “Yes, and…”, mirror neurons and monkeys, and, of course, Swedish-made penis enlargers.

    I was lucky enough to be taught ‘business improv’ by Neil a few years ago, and the lessons I learned from him have stuck with me forever. We met downstairs at the Comedy Store in London and spent an entire day telling stories and learning how the exact techniques used in improv comedy are directly applicable to business. In this episode, we drill down deep so you can learn them too.

    This is an episode that is packed with a thousand usable tips for when you’re next pitching.

    You can find out more about Neil on his website neilmullarkey.com, and order his new book In The Moment over at Koganpage.

     

    If you enjoy the show, please leave a review and share it with someone else who might. Sign up for the mailing list for exclusive content at http://pitchguy.co.uk/ and follow me on social media for video clips of the episode. 

    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dannyfontaine/

    TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@pitchguy

    YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@pitchguy/

    Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dannyfontaine/

    1 hr 29 min
  • S1E16: J Schwan, former CEO of Kin + Carta, entrepreneur, and tech services investor

    In episode 16 of Pitch Masters, I speak to inspirational leader and former CEO, J Schwan. We have an incredibly candid talk about what being a CEO really involves. We discuss red and blue oceans, pitching to investors, choosing the right clients for your business, the importance of having a great mentor, and using the story from the movie 300 to motivate a team to success. Grab a coffee (or something stronger), sit back, and enjoy the show.

    Visit J's new business venture, The Second Mountain, at https://thesecondmountain.io/ or find his free masterclass series on Youtube at https://www.youtube.com/@thesecondmountain.

     

    I

    If you enjoy the show, please share it with someone else who might appreciate it, and if you can, leave a review. Follow me on social media for video clips of the episode, or visit the website for more information. 

    Website: http://pitchguy.co.uk/

    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dannyfontaine/

    TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@pitchguy

    YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@pitchguy/

    Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dannyfontaine/

    1 hr 8 min
  • S1E15: Matt Batten, award-winning Executive Creative Director

    Matt Batten is an Executive Creative Director in advertising who’s won over 150 awards internationally. In this episode he talks me through his ten-point-plan for pitching, shares how a flawed loyalty programme landed him the Coca-Cola account, and plies me with multiple anecdotes about brilliant, emotional, and hilarious pitches from his career.

    If you enjoy the show, please share it with someone else who might appreciate it, and if you can, leave a review. Follow me on social media for video clips of the episode, or visit the website for more information. 

    Website: http://pitchguy.co.uk/

    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dannyfontaine/

    TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@pitchguy

    YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@pitchguy/

    Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dannyfontaine/

    1 hr
  • S1E14: Ben Williams, ex-Royal Marine, author of Command Mindset, and co-founder of Loopin

    Ben Williams is a values-driven, authentic, and vulnerable person. He also happens to be an ex-marine, the author of Commando Mindset: Find Your Motivation, Realize Your Potential, Achieve Your Goals, and the co-founder of the team-wellness app, Loopin. In this episode of the Pitch Masters podcast, we talk about self-confidence and belief, humility, psychological safety at work, and the time that he pitched to acquire England Manager, Gareth Southgate. Join me on an emotional rollercoaster of life advice and hilarious pitching anecdotes - you won't regret listening to this one.

    If you enjoy the show, please share it with someone else who might appreciate it, and if you can, leave a review. Follow me on social media for video clips of the episode, or visit the website for more information. 

    Website: http://pitchguy.co.uk/

    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dannyfontaine/

    TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@pitchguy

    YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@pitchguy/

    Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dannyfontaine/

    1 hr 3 min

About Pitch Masters

From the publisher's feed

The Pitch Masters Podcast is dedicated to helping you win more business. No matter how good your products or services are, without the right story, branding, and marketing, you might not get noticed.…