Everyone knows that the best pitch paints a picture.
Five years ago I had the opportunity to meet Francoise Gilot in her charming New York apartment that had her paintings as well as those of Picasso all around in every room. Picture being in an art gallery that just happened to be a place where she lived.
Francoise Gilot is the mother of Paloma Picasso and lived with Picasso during the 1940s and is a painter in her own right. She speaks with a charming French accent and has a light that sparkles in her eyes even though when I met her she was in her late 80s.
She said to me that “During the 1940s there was a shortage of canvas because of the war. ”
What she and other artists did was paint over their masterpieces. She said it very matter of fact with no remorse or sadness. She looked at one painting and said to me :
“This is the 5th painting I painted on this canvas. I think the 3rd one under it is my favorite.”
I asked her “What does it feel like to paint over your masterpieces?”
She said to me “When you have to express yourself, you can’t stop yourself. I still hold the memory of what I created in my mind and that is really where art lives after all.”
To me it was sad that the world would never get to see her favorite painting that was long ago painted over and lost forever. However, the story has stayed with me all these years and I get to share it with people who then are inspired to “paint over their masterpieces” or pivot as startups call it today.
Even when you have a shortage of materials in your startup, you still have the urge to create something that is your unique expression. Some creations become world famous and change the world and some are secrets only known to the person who created it.
Are you willing to paint over your Picasso?
Are you willing to become the Picasso of Pitches?
Are you showing as much passion and drive to investors as an artist like Francoise Gilot did so that your pitch makes an emotional connection like a piece of art?
John Livesay is known as “The Pitch Whisperer,” who is a keynote sales speaker to brands like Coca-Cola, Anthem insurance and Coldwell Banker. He shares lessons learned from his award winning career at Conde Nast. His keynote talk gives sales teams the tools they need to become revenue rockstars. When that happens they win new clients and even learn how to win back ones that have left.
