#350 How To Sell Like Steve Jobs

2000 snips

May 27, 2024

This discussion delves into the art of selling, emphasizing the customer experience over mere product features. It highlights Steve Jobs' masterful presentations, particularly his effective storytelling techniques. The importance of clear communication in fundraising, especially within the real estate sector, is explored. Additionally, the podcast emphasizes understanding the true value of products and using memorable messaging to engage customers. Tips on presentation skills and building connections through communication are also shared, drawing inspiration from historical figures.

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ADVICE

Customer-Centric Approach

Focus on the customer experience and work backward to the technology.
Sell the improvement your product makes, not just the product itself.

ANECDOTE

1998 iMac Presentation

In his 1998 iMac presentation, Jobs highlighted the problem of slow and complex internet access.
He presented the iMac as the solution, emphasizing its speed and beautiful display.

ANECDOTE

Ivar Kreuger's Pitch

Ivar Kreuger successfully raised capital by clearly explaining his match monopoly investment strategy.
He used simple language, saying "government loans for match monopolies," which resonated with investors.

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The Invisible Billionaire

Daniel Ludwig

Jerry Shields

The book delves into the life of Daniel Ludwig, a high-school dropout who became one of the wealthiest men in the world through his ventures in shipping, oil, banking, and real estate. Ludwig's story is marked by his relentless ambition, innovative business tactics, and a penchant for maintaining privacy despite his immense wealth. The biography also explores his philanthropic efforts, including the establishment of the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research.

An American saga

Carl Christian Jensen

No description available.

The fish that ate the whale

The Life and Times of America's Banana King

Rich Cohen

This book tells the fascinating story of Samuel Zemurray, who started as a roadside banana peddler and eventually built a sprawling empire involving banana cowboys, mercenary soldiers, Honduran peasants, CIA agents, and American statesmen. Rich Cohen's narrative explores Zemurray's rise to power, his involvement in overthrowing Central American governments, and his complex role in American history. The book delves into Zemurray's personal life, his business exploits, and the moral implications of his actions, painting a nuanced portrait of a man driven by an indomitable will to succeed.

The presentation secrets of Steve Jobs

how to be insanely great in front of any audience

Carmine Gallo

This book reveals the operating system behind Steve Jobs's legendary presentations, providing a framework to help readers plan, deliver, and refine their own presentations. It analyzes Jobs's performances, offering point-by-point examples, tried-and-true techniques, and proven presentation secrets. The book covers topics such as developing a messianic sense of purpose, using visual aids effectively, and rehearsing to make presentations look effortless. It is designed to help anyone, from novice presenters to professional speakers, to engage, persuade, and captivate their audience.

Poor Charlie's Almanack

The Essential Wit and Wisdom of Charles T. Munger

Charles T. Munger

Peter D. Kaufman

Originally published in 2005, Poor Charlie's Almanack is a collection of eleven talks delivered by Charles T. Munger between 1986 and 2007. Edited by Peter D. Kaufman, this book draws on Munger's extensive knowledge across various fields to provide a framework for rational and rigorous approaches to life, learning, and decision-making. It is renowned for its sharp wit and rhetorical flair, making it an essential read for investors, entrepreneurs, and anyone seeking to enhance their wisdom and critical thinking skills.

Ogilvy on Advertising

David Ogilvy

This book provides comprehensive insights into the world of advertising, covering topics such as how to get a job in advertising, how to choose an agency for your product, the secrets behind effective advertising, how to write successful copy, and the role of research in advertising. Written with brutal candor and generosity, Ogilvy shares his extensive knowledge and experience in the industry, making it a valuable resource for both professionals and those interested in advertising.

Zero to One

Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future

Peter Thiel

In 'Zero to One,' Peter Thiel argues that true innovation comes from creating something entirely new, going from 'zero to one,' rather than incrementally improving existing ideas. He emphasizes the importance of vertical progress through technology and the benefits of monopoly in driving innovation. Thiel also discusses the need for long-term planning, the importance of finding the right co-founders, and the power law in startup success. The book challenges conventional wisdom and encourages readers to think critically and aim big to build the future[2][3][5].

Shoe Dog

Phil Knight

Shoe Dog is a memoir that chronicles the journey of Phil Knight as he builds Nike from its humble beginnings as Blue Ribbon Sports. The book is a personal and detailed account of Knight's experiences, from his early days selling Japanese running shoes out of the trunk of his car to the global brand Nike is today. It highlights his relentless work ethic, the challenges he faced, and the key relationships with his partners and employees that were crucial to the company's success. The memoir also touches on Knight's personal life, including his family and the emotional struggles he encountered along the way[1][3][4].

The Match King

Ivar Kreuger, The Financial Genius Behind a Century of Wall Street Scandals

Frank Partnoy

The book tells the story of Ivar Kreuger, a Swedish financier who rose to prominence in the 1920s by creating a matchstick monopoly and innovating financial products. However, his success was marred by fraudulent practices, including shell companies, fudged accounting, and forgery. When his empire collapsed in 1932, millions went bankrupt, leading to significant regulatory changes in the securities markets. Frank Partnoy's narrative forces a re-evaluation of the wisdom of crowds, the invisible hand, and the free market, drawing parallels with modern financial crises.

What I learned from reading The Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs: How to Be Insanely Great in Front of Any Audience by Carmine Gallo

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(1:00) You've got to start with the customer experience and work back toward the technology—not the other way around. —Steve Jobs in 1997

(6:00) Why should I care = What does this do for me?

(6:00) The Match King: Ivar Kreuger, The Financial Genius Behind a Century of Wall Street Scandals by Frank Partnoy. (Founders #348)

(7:00) Easy to understand, easy to spread.

(8:00) An American Saga: Juan Trippe and His Pan Am Empire by Robert Daley

(8:00) The Fish That Ate the Whale: The Life and Times of America's Banana King by Rich Cohen. (Founders #255)

(9:00) love how crystal clear this value proposition is. Instead of 3 days driving on dangerous road, it’s 1.5 hours by air. That’s a 48x improvement in time savings. This allows the company to work so much faster. The best B2B companies save businesses time.

(10:00) Great Advertising Founders Episodes:

Albert Lasker (Founders #206)

Claude Hopkins (Founders #170 and #207)

David Ogilvy (Founders #82, 89, 169, 189, 306, 343)

(12:00) Advertising which promises no benefit to the consumer does not sell, yet the majority of campaigns contain no promise whatever. (That is the most important sentence in this book. Read it again.) — Ogilvy on Advertising

(13:00) Repeat, repeat, repeat. Human nature has a flaw. We forget that we forget.

(19:00) Start with the problem. Do not start talking about your product before you describe the problem your product solves.

(23:00) The Invisible Billionaire: Daniel Ludwig by Jerry Shields. (Founders #292)

(27:00) Being so well known has advantages of scale—what you might call an informational advantage.

Psychologists use the term social proof. We are all influenced-subconsciously and, to some extent, consciously-by what we see others do and approve.

Therefore, if everybody's buying something, we think it's better.

We don't like to be the one guy who's out of step.

The social proof phenomenon, which comes right out of psychology, gives huge advantages to scale.

— the NEW Poor Charlie's Almanack: The Wit and Wisdom of Charlie Munger (Founders #329)

(29:00) Marketing is theatre.

(32:00) Belief is irresistible. — Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike by Phil Knight. (Founders #186)

(35:00) I think one of the things that really separates us from the high primates is that we’re tool builders. I read a study that measured the efficiency of locomotion for various species on the planet. The condor used the least energy to move a kilometer. And, humans came in with a rather unimpressive showing, about a third of the way down the list. It was not too proud a showing for the crown of creation. So, that didn’t look so good. But, then somebody at Scientific American had the insight to test the efficiency of locomotion for a man on a bicycle. And, a man on a bicycle, a human on a bicycle, blew the condor away, completely off the top of the charts.

And that’s what a computer is to me. What a computer is to me is it’s the most remarkable tool that we’ve ever come up with, it’s the equivalent of a bicycle for our minds.

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