How to Create a Sales Pitch Like Steve Jobs

In partnership with

Good Morning. This is the last newsletter of 2024, and we want to thank you for an incredible year! A lot has happened this year… Google Mail changes, viral layoffs, and all new sales hacks. We’re super grateful to have you along for the ride. We’ll see you next year! Or if you can’t wait until then, just hit reply to this email and we’ll be there. 😁 

• Sell like Steve Jobs 🗣️ 

• An email subject line for ghost leads✍️ 

• Gifts for salespeople 👀 

• Sales jobs & a meme 😂

Sponsor The Follow Up | Subscribe

Sell Like Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs will go down as one of the best business presenters of this generation.

And the secret behind a lot of his success was his ability to sell.

Steve isn’t always thought of as a traditional salesman. But he was. And he was a very, very good one.

The book: The Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs, breaks down the tactics and techniques that Steve Jobs used to inspire crowds of people and sell new products to the masses.

So today, we’re diving into those strategies, so you can start using them yourself.

Let’s dive in.

The Presentation Structure

Steve had a structure behind his presentation that looked something like this:

1. Headline

2. Outline

He started with a headline to get his audience excited and laid out an outline of what was to come.

In 2008, Steve Jobs opened up the Mac World presentation by saying he was excited to be there and “There’s something in the air today.” - talk about an electric opening.

He was foreshadowing a big announcement (the launch of the MacBook air) and kept the crowd locked in. 

Then he followed it up with an outline of what they could expect: “I’ve got four things I’d like to talk about today…”, which let the audience know what was coming next. 

And after each point, he’d close off the section, allowing the audience to follow the story and lean in for what was coming next. 

Selling the Improvement, Not the Product

Steve understood that he wasn’t selling a product. He was selling the improvement that product would bring to someone’s life.

Example from the iPod: "1000 songs in your pocket".

Nobody cared about how cool the iPod looked, or how many gigabytes it had. Customers want to know what the product can do for them.

In this case, it meant being able to have 1,000 songs in your pocket. That’s what was really being sold.

So when you think about pitching your product, start with the improvement it brings to a customer, not just the specs.

Simple & Powerful Language

Steve was intentional with his words.

He didn't use complex jargon. He used memorable phrases.

And he also knew how to use it against the competition.

When pitching the new iMac, he referenced the competition by saying "Pretty much universally, they are all using last year's processor”.

"The new iMac is fast. It screams."

The word ‘screams’ is the magic here. It’s simple, vivid, and memorable.

Think about this when you’re crafting a pitch or writing an email. Use words that stand out. Ex: zip, zoom, trample, pounce, glowing, etc.

Stories and Context

At the root of all great sales and marketing is storytelling and context.

Steve believed that numbers alone are boring, but context can bring them to life.

When talking about iPhone sales in a presentation, Steve said: "4 million divided by 200 days means that we sold 20,000 iPhones a day." Suddenly, a big number becomes digestible and memorable.

In another example, he said: “Our market share is greater than BMW or Mercedes in the car industry." He could have just said we have X% of the market share. But by comparing the market share to the car industry, he built a story behind the number and gave context to what that market share size actually means.

Bonus: Belief & Passion

Most importantly, Steve Jobs's sales pitches were powerful because he 110%  believed in what he was pitching. 

You can feel the passion when you watch a Steve Jobs keynote. 

And you can’t fake that passion. 

Send the perfect holiday sales gifts. No address needed.

Goody makes sending curated holiday gifts to clients simple. No need to track shipping details, addresses, or t-shirt sizes!

Clients and sales prospects provide their address when they accept your gift.

They can even swap for alternatives!

Goody offers trendy, high-quality products from popular brands, like JBL, Mejuri, Oura, MALIN+GOETZ, Therabody, and more. Or design premium merch with your company logo for a personalized touch.

Try Goody for free. Get a $20 signup credit to send your first gift.

Sign up – no subscription needed