Mike Verret

Fix Your Pitch

No matter how good your solution is, if you can’t get your audience to perceive it the right way, it doesn’t matter.

100% of what you do is important to you as a business. But only 5% of that matters to your audience. How do you find that 5%?

You need an outside perspective. A way to see what your audience sees.

Here’s a hint…the only thing that an audience remembers is what is First, Best or DIFFERENT.

You need to be different. And I can help.

Schedule a free Clarity Call to find out what your audience sees.

That is what I provide. In three weeks and three meetings, we give you ONE WAY to talk about YOU to your Audience.

Hasbro

It seems Fate had a plan for me. Because after 10 years of having them a client, HASBRO HIRED ME.

I entered a world of Product Manufacturing, multi-million dollar marketing campaigns and a true Fortune 500 lifestyle.

And I was NOT comfortable. I was surrounded by Masters degrees and Type-A personalities driven by one thing: Getting to the top.

I was interested in playing with toys and “Making Childrens’ Dreams A Reality.” (Plus playing with vehicles that turn into robots 😊)

My first brand was a dream come true. 

TRANSFORMERS! My favorite childhood brand became my marketing purview.

For 2 years

Face of Hasbro Games

UPROAR!

Customer Insight is essential to Success.

You need to connect YOUR head with your customer’s heart.

At UPROAR!, this was ALL I did.

When you know what your audience wants, the language they speak, and the order to present your solution... they buy.

Once again, I was working with Hasbro. (I am pretty sure they were stalking me at this point…)

They had an AMAZING opportunity to turn Transformers into a Movie Franchise. Hollywood, here we come!

BUT, their vision of what the audience would like was off.

❌ They wanted DARK and DRAMATIC.

✅ The audience knows vehicles that turn into robots.

❌ They wanted huge story lines and multiple worlds.

✅ The audience just wants vehicles that turn into robots.

❌ They wanted huge names to voice the characters.

✅ The audience still wants vehicles that turn into robots. (Look at Bumblebee, doesn’t even HAVE a voice)

I knew what they wanted to because I WAS their audience. I grew up with Optimus Prime and the Autobots as my heroes.

And now I was in a position to tell HASBRO exactly what that audience craves.

👉 Vehicles that turn into robots, and battle in massive epic scenes.

👉 Quick changes from one mode to the other.

👉 Genuine characters from the franchise.

I had the solution immediately.

👍 Use Optimus Prime as the leader of the Autobots as the voice to the Audience (they even used the original voice actor from the 80s)

👍 Connect the audience to a MISSION.

👍 Bring them into the world of Transformers as part of the story.

We made the audience care about the vehicles that turn into robots. 
We forced them to see the importance of the film story by bringing them INTO IT.

And we made a lot of money selling vehicles that turn into robots.

I will take credit for the Audience insights that got us there.

But I will NOT take blame for Shia LeBeouf.

On-Site Account Director

Alloy Marketing & Promotions

Imagine this…you are an account executive managing events and promotions for your clients, and Hasbro lands in your lap.

What do you do?

Giant companies come with huge budgets and even higher expectations. 

They want BIG ideas, BIG events and BIG results.

So how do you deliver the results they want?

Step 1: Understand the expectations. You need to see what they see.

Step 2: Know the Audience. If you know what they desire, you can deliver the right message.

Step 3: Demonstrate your process for reaching the results. If they understand the full experience, they trust your services more.

Picture this…

Your client has a vision. They have images of Social Media Celebrities dancing in their heads. 

They hear snappy quips from a popular YouTube Star and want to be a part of that.

They feel that “Famous” means “BIG.”  

But “Famous” also means “BIG BUDGET,” which they lack.

Here’s what you do:

👉 Understand what is fueling their vision.

👉 Hone in on their audience. Their Language. Their Desires.

👉 Determine a REALISTIC path to SUCCESS.

This happened to me. 

The client wanted the “Hollywood Celebrity.” It wasn’t possible.

So we developed a plan.

✅ Leverage low-to-mid level influencers

✅ Cast a broader net.

✅ Promote through partnership marketing.

Guess what?

IT WORKED.

The results spoke for themselves. 

💰 Sales increased by over 20%

💰 Awareness grew exponentially.

💰 Demand increased.

The lesson…

I learned the value of understanding Your Audience. And that the right language, right image, and right connection means you can go further on a smaller budget.

Client Services and Strategy

Are you struggling with getting your customers to understand you?

Imagine this…You are making a Hollywood blockbuster, and you accidently name a major character after a well-known member of the Church of Satan.

Everyone searching for that character sees an image of someone with horn implants and wearing a menacing cape, every time they enter the name into a Google search.

How would a scenario like this affect YOUR brand? Think about it. It is hard enough to stand out from the crowd, never mind deal with a PR disaster.

Even though your product is superior, you just can’t get that across to your audience.

You lack the Power to Connect.

❗ That causes you Big Problems.

Talking about your business is hard. It’s not just about what you make, create or sell. 

It’s about your audience. For them, the only thing that matters is being First, Best or Different.

❌ If you weren't FIRST…you've got an uphill battle.

❌ If they can’t see why you are BEST for them…you are just a “lesser-than” option.

❌ If you aren’t DIFFERENT, you will lose business because you leave no impact on them at all.

The worst thing that can happen to your business is that you become just like everyone else. You aren’t memorable.

If you’re nodding along and thinking none of these three apply to you, it's a red flag that something is wrong with your message.

You are leaving a lot on the table.

Could you communicate with your audience any SMARTER? 💡

Most definitely. Get this.

❌ Messaging isn’t about you or your company. Its about your audience.

🔊 I show businesses how to talk about themselves to their audience. The right way.

🔊 I craft a message to connect to the person who is ready to BUY from you.

Closing the sale itself becomes far EASIER, because your audience know who you are, and you have what they're looking for - Before the conversation even starts.

“But Mike…that sounds too good to be true!”

I know. I hear this all the time.

And you’re right. You should NEVER trust the word of a complete stranger. Not without having a good reason, or PROOF, to do so. Especially not in business.

👉 Let's Clarify Your Message on a complementary 30-minute “Clarity Call” today.

I saved a Hollywood blockbuster from a PR Nightmare.

Just think what I will do for you.

No matter how good your solution is, if you can’t get your audience to perceive it the right way, it doesn’t matter.

100% of what you do is important to you as a business. But only 5% of that matters to your audience. How do you find that 5%?

You need an outside perspective. A way to see what your audience sees.

Here’s a hint…the only thing that an audience remembers is what is First, Best or DIFFERENT.

You need to be different. And I can help.

Schedule a free Clarity Call to find out what your audience sees.

That is what I provide. In three weeks and three meetings, we give you ONE WAY to talk about YOU to your Audience. 

That time I realized the CEO is just another human being....


My first time presenting a quarterly plan to the CEO, the rest of the C-Suite and about 50 other members of leadership from around the world.

I was convinced I would be judged by them for what I said and how I said it. Maybe even how I was dressed.

In my mind, it felt like it was me against them.

I was so nervous that the first thing that I blurted out was the truth.

"Does anyone else get terrified when they have to speak to THIS audience?" and pointed to the C-suite up front.

Every single hand went up.
Including the CEO.

It was amazing. All of the sudden I saw the audience as empathetic, not judgy.

They were just a bunch of human beings, relating to another human being.

Every audience is human. You have conversations with them every single day. If you can CONNECT to your audience of human beings. It turns the presentation into a conversation. 

It will reduce stress, 
improve performance, 
and make you memorable.


DM me if you need help with this.
While daunting, the challenge is easy enough to overcome.

#presentationskills
#marketing
#business
#storytelling
#publicspeaking

I polish presentations and perfect pitches so you can communicate with confidence, clarity, and impact. AND...I named a dinosaur.

Yesterday I broke my own NUMBER ONE rule. 
And I am pissed about it.

I was networking with someone for the first time on a quick 15-min 1:1, and 10 of the 15 I deferred to her.

For my 5 minutes, here's what I did:

Told her about ME (background and why I do what I do now)
Told her about the 3 SERVICES I offer
Told her the PROBLEM my clients have that requires my solution
Gave her my email/calendly info.

I am guessing she tuned out somewhere around my story...

No idea what came over me. Perhaps I felt rushed or got a bad night's sleep? 

The real reason she zoned out is because my pitch "Out of Order."

I should have ordered the information as SHE needs to hear it. 
Not based on what I THINK she should know. 

I should have started with my simple connection tagline:
"I teach businesses how talk about themselves."
Which usually illicits a "Tell me more" type of response.

THEN the insight of the problem my audience experiences..
THEN my solution and how it works.
THEN I speak to my specific paid services.
THEN I can talk about me and my background.
THEN I share info/calendar.

ORDER IS EVERYTHING.

If your pitch is "out of order"....your audience may as well be too.

👉  DM me to learn more. You will be back to working order in just ONE HOUR.

#storytelling
#presentations
#networking
#marketing
#business

I have severe social anxiety.
Not that you'd notice if you've ever met me.

It hits hardest in noisy restaurants, cocktail parties...and certainly when I know I have to present to an audience.

I tried every “presenting hack” I could find to lower the anxiety level. 

Breathe like this. 
Anchor your feet. 
Make eye contact.
Have a script or notecards.
Project your voice.

That's 5 MORE things to remember when I present. 

Trying to remember all of them made me more anxious. 
It was too much thinking about ME, and zero thinking about the audience.

So I flipped that script.
I started focusing ONLY on the audience.

I watched them instead of my script or slides.
I looked for cues—nods, confusion, smiles, boredom.
I let their reactions guide my pacing, my tone, my next move.

That same skill is what I rely on in those loud rooms and parties, when my brain wants to run away and Uber home.

THE LESSON: Focus on your audience.
Because that focus will put YOU in control of your anxiety.

Want more tips? 
👉  DM me right away and let's have a conversation. 
👉  And selfishIy, I just love meeting new people.

Despite my anxiety about it!

#bestadvice
#marketing
#presentationskills
#business
#communication

Men gain an average of 15lbs of "Sympathy Weight" for their pregnant partners.
That is like carrying around 3 bags of flour!


We have sold 10 million board games.
If you laid them all end to end, they would circle the earth. TWICE!

The brontosaurus weighed 35 tons.
That's the equivalent of 8 adult elephants!


In each of these examples, the first line is basic. Its data. It's a fact.
The second line makes that data or fact tangible to the audience.

Like the first one:
15lbs. 
"Meh that's not that impressive"
3 bags of flour. 
"I just baked cookies last week and that bag of flour was HEAAVY."

Basic data and facts are boring and easy to forget.
Making it tangible means they remember and hold onto the concept.

Tangibility stands out to an audience. Because you are putting things in a human perspective.

Don't just share data/facts.
HUMANIZE THEM.


CLICK BELOW if you need help adding tangibility to your next pitch or presentation.
We will see if yours is human....or not.

https://lnkd.in/emtQavgf

#marketing
#storytelling
#Salestips
#presentationskills
#brandstrategy

calendly.com

1:1 Conversation - Mike Verret

Can you pitch your business to me in just 15 words? 

Then I have a challenge for you:

Write your 15-word pitch in the comments. See if it gets me to say, “Tell Me More.”

Trust me…it’s easier said than done. 

HOT TIP:
Some level of INTRIGUE will increase your chance of success of getting the “Tell Me More” response.  

Give me a reason to want to know more. 

Let’s see what you got.

#marketing
#elevatorpitch
#storytelling
#salestips
#bestadvice

Free Gift:  
The first three slides of your next pitch or presentation.


Slide 1: The Point of arrival. Why we are here/how we got here. Set the basis for the conversation.

Slide 2: The Insight. What is the audience going through that you wish to change/solve? You are only allowed to use ONE insight..

Slide 3: The Solution. In one sentence.

Those three are on the house. 

But there are 5 more slides you need...

If you want to learn what's on those 5 slides... 
Book a "Presentation Power Hour." 

We will ensure your next pitch or presentation is polished, potent and built specifically for your audience.

👉  DM for Details

#presentationskills
#storytelling
#marketing
#business

How to present 300 products in 6 minutes.

Every year I traveled to Germany Toy Fair. All the European toy buyers came to see what's planned for the next year. 

I represented the Hasbro Games business segment as its presenter. 

And we had over 300 GAMES.

But I knew some things about buyers:

They already know all the games and features. 
They know the pricing. 
They know how many copies of a game they can fit on the retail shelves. 

They are NOT there for the games.
They are there to SEE and FEEL how we will drive Game sales for them.

Example: If "THE Joy of Connection" is our key message:

30 seconds: Plant "The Joy of Connection" idea in the buyer's mind.

5 minutes: Clearly demonstrate how that idea is manifested within each Games segment (Family, Kids, Preschool, etc.)

30 seconds: Highlight the benefits of the idea for his business.

6 minutes.    
And game sales went up. 

Simply because I communicated the buyer's terms. 
Not on ours.

CHALLENGE: Try to answer these 3 questions about your audience: 
What do they know? 
What do they need to know? 
How will you deliver that information?

Responding correctly will improve the impact and effect of your presenting and pitch. And the audience will remember it.

👉   DM me for free 30-minute meeting to see how well you know your audience.

#marketing
#storytelling
#presentationskills
#bestadvice
#hasbro

I hate talking about myself. 
Despise it. 

Not in general. I talk about myself all the time.  

But I never do it on the first slide of a pitch or presentation. 
Because I know the audience doesn’t care.

I talk about myself AFTER I deliver the content. Because it validates what I presented.

EXAMPLE:
An employee at a shoe store is helping a customer. Which of these two scenarios sounds better to you?

THIS?
“Can you help me find the perfect running shoe?”
“Sure but first let me tell you a little about me. I am a runner. I won the state championship 4 years ago and I’ve been running ever since.Now…let’s go find your perfect shoe.”

OR THIS?
“Can you help me find the perfect sneaker?”
“Absolutely. I highly recommend this one.”

“Why?” (Now she needs to know more.)

“I first wore them when we won the state championship 4 years ago, and they are the only shoe I’ve trusted since. Light, durable and great arch support.”


The first, he tries to qualify himself BEFORE the content is delivered.  
The second, he validates the content AFTER it is delivered.

Your bio is not important to your audience….Until it is.


👉  If you need some “Self-Validation,” DM me!!

The 30-minutes is free. The value of the conversation is priceless.

I used to be a Voiceover Artist. 
Not as a profession. More as a utility. 

At Hasbro, brand teams constantly asked me to read the VoiceOver for their commercial rough cuts. Even for broadcast-ready ads. 

(That’s ME in the video below!)

They asked me because they knew that I can deliver the right tone, voice, and attitude that aligns with the audience consuming the content.

I was quite good at it. 
Even voiced Optimus Prime once.

This is no different than how you should deliver your pitch or presentation. 
First, figure out the story THEY need to hear.
Then, tell that story in a tone, voice, and attitude appropriate for the moment.

Attitude is everything. 
Is yours hurting or helping you?


👉 If you need an “Attitude Adjustment,” send me a DM.

The 30-minutes is free. 
The value of the conversation is priceless. 

#storytelling
#Voiceover
#marketing
#bestadvice
#presentationskills

https://lnkd.in/exAzbJvC

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