Ep 14. How to Pitch Big and Win Top Clients with Ian Elliot

Ian really is one of the leading voices in the world when it comes to branding, new business acquisition, pitching and influence. Using the power of pitching, Ian worked his way up from the mailboy at George Patterson, Australia's biggest advertising agency, to becoming the CEO and Chairman. During his illustrious career he was awarded the Gold Lion at the prestigious Cannes Advertising Festival and saw George Patterson named advertising agency of the century! Since retiring, Ian is still an active business leader and sits on the board of numerous ASX 200 businesses. And if all that wasn't enough, he's also co-written a best-selling book, Stop Bitching, Start Pitching.

By leveraging his own personable skills and affability, and dedicating himself to self-improvement, Ian rose to the top and throughout his career what he's touched has turned to gold. By understanding how to effectively communicate with clients, and best utilise influence, Ian has always found new ways to achieve.

His story is such an inspiring one, and I'm so glad to have had the chance to chat with him and let him share his incredible wisdom. There's so much content and so many valuable lessons in this episode that are guaranteed to motivate and generate ideas when it comes to best approaching your relationship with clients.

Here are some highlights from this episode:

• Why it's important to take the trouble to fully understand a client's business

• Ian's top insights into how pitching works

• Understanding the emotional and corporate imperatives in the context of power negotiation

• Understanding the client on at least three levels

• The business value in being affable

And also…

• The differences between presentation and pitching

• How to use fear as a motivator

• How to pitch big accounts

• Ian's role as a mentor for KPI

• How Ian hustled his way into the advertising industry

• Why the best idea rarely wins

• The inner-mechanisms of satisfying client needs

• The importance of affability in business

• How Ian uses tenacity to get the top accounts

• Direct pitching and not dancing around the issue

• The trust equation and how Ian uses it in business

• Ian's thoughts on the importance of doing a five year plan

Resources

• How to Win Friends and Influence People: https://www.amazon.com/How-Win-Friends-Influence-People/dp/0671027034

• Seven Habits of Highly Effective People: https://www.stephencovey.com/7habits/7habits.php

• Sustainable Competitive Advantage: https://www.quickmba.com/strategy/competitive-advantage/

• Gary Hamel: https://www.garyhamel.com/

• The six emotional needs: https://training.tonyrobbins.com/the-6-human-needs-why-we-do-what-we-do/

• 'If': https://www.poemhunter.com/poem/if/

• Stop Bitching, Start Pitching: https://www.amazon.com/Stop-Bitching-Start-Pitching-Business/dp/1921208880

• Ian Elliot website: https://www.ianelliot.com.au

• Hire Ian as a speaker: https://www.successfulspeakers.com.au