In this week’s QFF episode, Michael interviews Hamish McKenzie, co-founder of McKenzie Pitch Partners. He’s based in Toronto, Canada, however, Hamish’s a proud Aussie from Tasmania. He studied accounting at a university, then went into corporate banking. Gathering experience and wisdom, paving the way to what he is now, a sought-after pitch consultant. As Hamish defines it, pitching is the effort to win a piece of business. It is the final nail in the coffin to entice investors. This is why it’s critical to understand and to be efficient with what you’re pitching; Hamish McKenzie specializes in this field. He helps small-medium business owners develop and refine their pitching and presentation skills. As Hamish quotes what famous American William Edwards Deming says, “If you can’t describe what you do, as a process, you don’t know what you’re doing.” Very well said. This Cast Covers: The concept of pitching. Who is Hamish McKenzie? How Michael and Hamish knew each other. Hamish’s career before becoming a renowned pitch consultant. How the term pitch should be defined. The real reason behind people buying things. Involvement of psychology in pitching. The importance of initiating a relationship before pitching. Criticalness of small-medium business owners' understanding of what they’re pitching. Listening attentively to clients. Links:  Hamish’s Linkedin Hamish’s Website Hamish’s Twitter Additional Resources: Pitch: What you’re not doing makes all the difference by Hamish McKenzie Why People Don’t Listen? by Hugh Mackay     Quotes: “We define pitch as the effort that goes into winning a piece of business.” — Hamish McKenzie. “People buy things for two reasons, the right reason and the real reason … But the real reason is emotional.” — Hamish McKenzie. “Discipline is more important than talent.” — Hamish McKenzie. “As famous American William Edwards Deming says, ‘If you can't describe what you do, as a process, you don't know what you're doing.’” — Hamish McKenzie. “The more you listen, the more you get to understand the client, and the more you're going to be able to develop a solution.” — Hamish McKenzie.     Music from https://filmmusic.io “Cold Funk” by Kevin MacLeod https://incompetech.com. License: CC by http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0