All Forum Posts by: James Paine

Pitch Anything Book Report

INTRO

Book 11 for the year down, boom! This is the best book I’ve read all year. I am going to add this to my list of books I reread every year. Happy Easter, hope everyone had a great weekend! If you own a business or have to do any kind of sales then you NEED to read this book.

As always if you have any friends, family, or coworkers that you think would like to receive these book reports please let me know.

SUMMARY

Pitch Anything by Oren Klaff

When it comes to delivering a pitch, Oren Klaff has unparalleled credentials. Over the past 13 years, he has used his one-of-a-kind method to raise more than $400 million--and now, for the first time, he describes his formula to help you deliver a winning pitch in any business situation.

Whether you're selling ideas to investors, pitching a client for new business, or even negotiating for a higher salary, Pitch Anything will transform the way you position your ideas.

Creating and presenting a great pitch isn't an art--it's a simple science. Applying the latest findings in the field of neuroeconomics, while sharing eye-opening stories of his method in action, Klaff describes how the brain makes decisions and responds to pitches. With this information, you'll remain in complete control of every stage of the pitch process.

SYSTEM OR TECHNOLOGY RECOMMENDATION

Inbox Zero has been one of the biggest game changes in my business life over the last 3 years. There is so much information on the internet about this system I will allow you to review it but I can tell you that if you don’t have an email system you are in love with spend some time looking into this.

TAKE AWAYS FROM THE BOOK

- Your pitch is too long! No pitch should ever need to be more than 20 minutes. The most extraordinary scientific breakthrough of the 20th century is the double helix DNA strand only takes 5 min to explain. Think about that is your pitch more complex or does it need more explanation than the most extraordinary scientific breakthrough of the 20th century?

- Pitch Anything introduces the exclusive STRONG method of pitching, which can be put to use immediately:

Setting the Frame

Telling the Story

Revealing the Intrigue

Offering the Prize

Nailing the Hook Point

Getting a Decision

- To win any pitch you must control the frame and you must have high status.

- In most interactions the alpha in a group is trusted without question. An example is that if a guy in a business suit j walks people follow but if a poorly dressed person J walks no one follows. There have been several studies showing that the alpha or people with high perceived status are trusted and followed.

Pitch process:

Phase 1, Introduce yourself and the big idea: 5min

- Announce that you only have 20 minutes before your pitch starts.

- Introduce yourself by mentioning only the big successes that you’ve had and big or successful places that you've worked. Introducing these 1 to 3 successes is the only thing you need to say as a way to introduce yourself. People tend to average information not give credit for having done more things. Your personal intro needs to be under 2 minutes.

- Introduce you idea using the idea introduction pattern: For (target customers) who are dissatisfied with (the current offerings in the market) my (idea/product) is a new kind of (product category) it provides these (problems, features, solutions) unlike competing products like (competition) my (idea/product) have these important features.

- Show that there is a reason why now is the time for the idea. Not that you are a genius but that there are market forces driving this idea. (Show the idea moving out of the old market and into the new market, in motion. Do this by using the Three Market Forces Pattern:

1. Economic Forces – Briefly describe what has changed financially in the market for your idea
2. Social Forces – Highlight what emerging changes in people's behavior patterns exist for your idea
3. Technology Forces – What technology changes have occurred

- Admit there will be some competition showing that you are not naive about business.

Phase 2, Explain the Budget and Secret Sauce:

- Focus on your budgeting skills not revenue projections, anyone can predict big revenue.

- This is the part of the pitch you are probably going to lose people as soon as you do you need to use a push/pull pattern:

Low Intensity Push Pull Pattern:

- Guys there is a real possibility that we aren't right for each other (then pause) but then again if this did work out our forces could combine to become something great.

Medium Intensity Push Pull Pattern:

- There is so much more to a deal than just the idea, I mean, there is a venture capital group in San Francisco that doesn't even care what the idea is, they don't even look at it when the deal comes in, the only thing they care about is who the people are behind the deal. That makes sense. I've learned that ideas are common, a dime a dozen. What really counts is having someone in charge who has passion, and experience, and integrity. So if you and I don't have that view in common, Passion, experience, integrity, it would never work out between us. (Pause) but that's crazy to think. Obviously you value people over smart ideas. I've met corporate robots before and they only care about numbers. You are definitely not a robot. You're a people person and I think we have some very important things in common our value system.

- After the budgeting section of phase 2 bring up competition and only these two factors:

1. How easy it is for new competitors to jump in the game?
2. How easy it is for customers to switch out your product with alternatives?

- Close phase 2 with your Secret Sauce, this is the one thing that will give you staying power against current and future competition. The unfair advantage you have against others. Keep this high level and short.

Phase 3: Offer the deal

- Describe to your audience what they are going to receive when they do business with you. When, where, and how they will get it.

- AGAIN, no pitch, no matter what, can be longer than 20 minutes, ever. Ever. Nope, never.

Below is a cheat sheet infographic:

PRACTICAL USES OR THOUGHTS

- I am going to design an entire pitch using this system.

- This book is getting added to my read yearly list of books.

- Pitching is a science that with practice and understand can be dominated.

NEXT BOOK

The Alchemy of Finance by George Soros

IF YOU HAVE ANYONE YOU WOULD LIKE TO RECEIVE THESE BOOK REPORTS PLEASE SEND ME THEIR EMAIL.

Hasta,

James Charles Paine

@Account Closed  I am not sure that getting your real estate license offers credibility.  If someone tells me they are a real estate agent I usually dock them a few points they have to earn back ;) 

 As far as a Realtor, I'd go with a Realtor who has purchased at least 2 rentals in the last 3 years for themselves personally. 

On the turn-key provider front it is really hard to find a great one but I tend to like TK providers that do full rehabs on the properties, not just paint and carpet. 

The Everything Store by Brad Stone - Takeaways from the book!

James’s Intro

9th book of the year out of my goal of 52 this year. For me this book had a lot of little takeaways so I’ll just list them out in no order. Feel free to research them more as you’d like. The one thing this book left me feeling like was that I don’t have the desire to be a leader like Jeff Bezos. He is totally compartmentalized and makes decisions which are sometimes very cold with zero emotion. At times he says things that are really cruel attacking people personally when they didn’t turn in good work. I do like that he doesn’t accept anything but people's best. DO BETTER! (Our company's core value).

As always if you have a friend that you would like me to add to this list just send me their email.

Recommended Apps!! Sometimes I recommend a technology or system that I really like. My last big recommendation was www.Grammarly.com (I wish it worked on google docs!) This time I am recommending PanicButton which immediately hides all of your windows on your computer. This is good if you are looking at something you are not supposed to be but also if someone comes up and talks to you and you want to be fully present with them you don’t have to spend 20-30 seconds closing or minimizing your windows. https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/panicbutton/faminaibgiklngmfpfbhmokfmnglamcm?hl=en

Book Summary:

The definitive story of Amazon.com, one of the most successful companies in the world, and of its driven, brilliant founder, Jeff Bezos. Amazon.com started off delivering books through the mail. But its visionary founder, Jeff Bezos, wasn't content with being a bookseller. He wanted Amazon to become the everything store, offering limitless selection and seductive convenience at disruptively low prices. To do so, he developed a corporate culture of relentless ambition and secrecy that's never been cracked. Until now. Brad Stone enjoyed unprecedented access to current and former Amazon employees and Bezos family members, giving readers the first in-depth, fly-on-the-wall account of life at Amazon. Compared to tech's other elite innovators--Jobs, Gates, Zuckerberg--Bezos is a private man. But he stands out for his restless pursuit of new markets, leading Amazon into risky new ventures like the Kindle and cloud computing, and transforming retail in the same way Henry Ford revolutionized manufacturing.

James’s Interesting Facts and Takeaways from the book:

- Jeff Bezos (JB) doesn't allow power point decks in meetings rather 5-6 page narratives. He believes presenting this way fosters critical thinking. In almost all meetings where most people would bring an outline or pitch deck he makes people turn in a 5-6 page narrative that everyone spends the first 15 minutes reading quietly then they all discuss it. Very similarly when you are pitching a new product or service that Amazon should start to anyone on the leadership team you have to write your pitch exactly as it would be a press release. I REALLY like both parts of this. Because my time isn’t as scarce as JB’s I don’t know if I would cut out power points or pitch decks but if someone wants to use a pitch deck I think having them write out a formal press release as if we were announcing the idea to the public is an amazing idea.

- JB gives you full and present attention and isn't hurried in conversation. In another book I read this year called the Charisma Myth it reveals that when you are fully present with people it is one of the strongest ways to draw someone close to you. If you think about how busy JB must be, for him to give full and present attention to people is a powerful gesture. That is probably also why when someone isn’t 100% prepared he won’t meet with them.

-JB started Amazon as a book store because he wanted to start a store that was the middle man for everything. Books are a pure commodity and no brick and mortar store could ever hold the 3MM books in print in the US. Today there are so many books that are telling entrepreneurs to follow their passion and start businesses with meanings or The Big Why. I like that JB’s decision was purely pragmatic. Early on when he started the business he estimated that his business had a 70% chance to fail. I’ve seen a lot of people make negative predictions about their business or prospects but usually it has to do with a low self esteem. JB just ran the numbers and came up with 70%. It is interesting because a lot of other very successful leaders and CEOs had blind faith that their business was 100% going to win from the beginning.

- JB started his career at the quant hedge fund DE Shaw. He was very gifted in science as a child. DE Shaw is famous for hiring the brightest kids from the best schools. They don’t put you through the ringer like the big banks (Goldman, Merrill,etc) with an exhausting intern or two year analyst program. They fly you out and tell you they want you to work there and there is no fluff.

- Amazon was started in Washington because JB was thinking big early on. In those days you only had to collect sales tax from those people who lived in the state where you were headquartered. Again JB using 100% reason and very little emotion.

- Amazon as a company started the affiliate marketing business model. Specifically the CPA (Cost Per Action) in this case a book sale. They were pretty forward thinking because they noticed a lot of sites that had a ton of traffic and no real monetization practice. In turn Amazon offered them commissions for driving people to their site if the people bought books. So you can thank them for muscle pills. 😃

- JB doesn't believe in work life balance. He hated that term. Someone asked in an all company meeting how people were supposed to have a family at Amazon and he said, "We are here to get things done. If that doesn't work for you then this might not be the place for you." Cold but there is something very noble about his honesty and relentless pursuit. You don’t see professional athletes asking their coaches about work life balance. Great sports teams and great companies are there to win championships.

- JB during the dot com boom made like a dozen be purchases of companies. Most all of them failed. Early on the bought companies hoping to grow new business lines or companies and get the top talent from those companies. Later their successful purchases were all made to accelerate the company's flywheel. (Good to Great reference.)

- Amazon always tried to highest IQ and level of talent they could find.

- Start with the customer and work backward. JB and the company’s attitude at all times.

- The founder of Costco told JB that every good idea Costco ever had was stolen. So he didn’t mind that JB was borrowing a few of Costco’s ideas even if he was a competitor. Just reading that makes me want to read about Costco’s CEO now.

- Costco standard mark up is 14% across the board was also shared with Jeff in that meeting. I feel like Costco should really advertise that more. They should say we negotiate the heck out of our suppliers then market up their products 14%. It give the consumer a feeling that things are fair.

- JB, very similar to Musk, believed from a young age their life's mission was to colonize space. JB wanted to turn the earth into a nature preserve. He once said the reason he wanted to get rich was so that he could go to space. Weird but maybe there is a connection here I am not seeing? Maybe they aren’t even human and are just trying to get home? (Creepy music playing in the background.)

- In order to fix their distribution problems Amazon hired scientists and engineers to help in their fulfillment centers not retail distribution veterans. I think this is huge, they wanted to hire people who would think about the problem from outside the industry bubble. JB and I both hate when you ask people why they are doing something a certain way and they respond, “because this is how we’ve always done it” or “Because this is how it’s done” or “this is the way this industry works” F*CK I HATE THAT.

- They applied 6 sigma and Toyota's Lean in the fulfillment centers. If you read any Jack Welch then you just love this! I don’t know enough about Lean and need to buy a few books related to this business management system. I know that a lot of the Rockefeller Habits coaches are starting to push Lean so it is probably worthwhile.

- JB won't take 1 on 1 meetings with his team. He believes those meetings don't focus enough around problem solving.

- The two things JB obsesses most about are the customer and low prices. Amazon will not be beat not matter what on prices, they don’t care how much money it costs them. During Amazon’s negotiation to buyer Dipers.com. Dipers.com CEO calculated the wholesale price of dipers from proctor and gamble + the shipping costs (Amazon free shipping) and determined that over the next quarter Amazon would lose $100MM on dipers alone.

As always if you have a friend that you would like me to add to this list just send me their email.

Also I am looking for suggestions to make my format better!

Best,

James Charles Paine

West Realty Advisors, LLC.

@Chai Jonn

10 in 10 is a good goal.  Most of the advice telling you to go bigger is from real estate guys, not guys who have a regular job.  

My advice is to start working with an expert to help you with your first purchase or two.   An investor that has been buying and renting homes for years that you know to be wealthy is a good place to start.  If you don't have one of those guys you can look to turn-key providers. 

@Rohan J.

Flip or retnal? You mentioned NOI so I am guessing rental?

Hello, All book 8 of the year! Well on my way to book 52 for the year.

Good book. Not great, but it really did make me think a lot about how I can better myself. Super Genes dives into new research on how people can alter their genome (DNA/RNA). The book reviews diet, physical, spiritual, and other changes we humans can make to literally change the mutation of our genes and thrive as individuals and pass along better genes to our children.

This is one of the harder book reports I have had to write so I will keep it short because there is just so much and so much science behind all of it.

The book was broken into 3 sections.

1) All the science behind the genome and genetics. I am going to leave you to read that if interested.

2) Advice for living a life that will help ensure you change your genes for the better and live a better life as a whole.

3) Reviews the fact that you as a conscious being can use your mind to change and adapt your genetic path.

- One thing I liked was how he split up lifestyle changes. Easy, Difficult, and Experimental.

- He recommends making only 1 change a week in your life but making it a permanent change.

- One change I made is around drinking orange juice which can negate the inflammation effects of eating say a McDonalds breakfast.

- Inflammation leads to a cluster of dysfunctions that tends to precede full-blown diabetes and that also increases the risk of heart disease, stroke, certain cancers, and even dementia—the top killers of the developed world.

- Another change I made is around prebiotics and probiotics. Probiotics are living microorganisms that are sometimes called “good bacteria”. Prebiotics are carbohydrates that are used as nourishment for good bacteria to thrive in your gut.

- Humans need 8 hours of sleep, so make sure you get it. Also, the book mentions evidence that discredits prior thoughts. You actually can catch up on sleep so make the weekends 10 hours!

- They discredit quite a bit of the work from Darwin which was really interesting. One point they made was that evolution was part of Mindful Design not random mutation. Darwin basically says that 1 giraffe was born with a longer neck so he got better leaves and because he was able to eat more his mutated random gene was passed along over and over and over until only long necked giraffes were around. They believe that adaption based on epigenetic markets resulted in more useful DNA that allowed our offspring to adapt and evolve faster than would ever be possible using Darwins theories.

- One thing that tripped me out was that cows who have never seen a grate (used to keep them from crossing a road) will not cross them even if they are fake or painted grates. Normally a cattle grate a cow will try to cross once or twice in their life and realize they hate it and will never try again. The crazy thing is that now many generations of cows have realized they hate grates calfs that have never tried to cross a real great will even avoid painted grates completely. So the theory is that survival mechanism was passed down genetically very rapidly.

- “Gene activity responds to your lifestyle — your thoughts, your feelings, your actions, your stress levels, your diet,” Tanzi, a neuroscientist at Harvard’s Massachusetts General Hospital Nope, you can’t modify the DNA sequence that’s passed on from your family. But Tanzi notes that “most of what you inherit is written in clay rather than in stone. That means you have a chance to be the sculptor.”

- “Human beings could be the first creatures in the history of life on Earth to self-direct where their evolution is going.”

- Finally google FMT (Fecal Microbiota Transplant) putting the people of someone with a cleaner, less modified (by antibiotics) poop in your butt can cure Crohn’s disease and something else. Crazy ****!

Sorry I feel like this is my worst report on a book but this one was really difficult for me.

My next book “Pitch Anything” is going to crush!

@Johnathan Mathews

Why those two markets?

Manny - Most "turn-key" deals don't have a lot of equity.  Typically you are paying market value for a property.  The turn key provider bought the property, rehabbed it, and rented it.  So for them taking all that time, energy, and risk you get a property that is ready to go.  

Buying a property in excellent shape off the MLS still requires you to do some minor rehab and then lease the property out. Good turnkey providers are doing things like updating plumbing, electrical, etc that a house even an excellent shape could need repaired soon down the line.

Good luck! 

Gustavo - 

What is the purchase price of the new property?  I can make an intro to a lender that can probably do the loan at a better rate.  I don't make any money on this.