Tech Coast Angels 6th Annual LA Fast Pitch Competition

 6th Annual Fast Pitch LA 2011

The Tech Coast Angels 6th Annual LA Fast Pitch Competition is February 24th at UCLA Anderson School of Business. CEOs of 8-10 start ups, selected from more than 100 applicants, will have 90 seconds to pitch their companies to a panel of judges. The winner will be invited to present their company and business plan at a Tech Coast Angels deal-screening session.

CEOs of Southern California-based companies who want to apply to be a Fast Pitch competitor should submit an application now at www.pitchtheangels.com. The deadline for applications is February 5th. Applications are already being screened by members of Tech Coast Angels, so apply today. More than 20 CEOs will be invited to participate in pre-event coaching sessions in February where TCA members and other coaches will provide them with tips and guidance on their pitches. The coaches will select the best companies to appear onstage at Fast Pitch on February 24th.

The 6th annual event will include presentations from CEOs and venture capitalists on funding and starting a company, and the Fast Pitch competition. A light dinner and refreshments will be served after the program at a networking event that will be attended by investors, entrepreneurs and other industry experts.

In the meantime, startup CEOs, please submit your application now. The sooner you get your application in the better.


I have been a coach to the start ups for the last 5 years and I encourage all my entrepreneur friends to apply.  If anything, it gives you visibility and ACCESS to investors.  Go for it!!!

What is your best sales coaching story?

Coaching to success

Every sales team has a wide variety of performers, from excellent to laggards.  But the challenge is how to keep your bottom line humming the tune of profitability with non-performers on board. 

I was delighted to hear this story of success from a Director of Sales at Microsoft. She had a non-performer on board that she could no longer 'carry.'

She brought him in to have frank conversation on his performance. It sucked, she shared.  He was at risk of being let go within the month. Was this really what he wanted for himself?

He stated he had no intention of being let go from Microsoft. He was ready to accept her help.

She agreed to coach him weekly, help him with the challenges he faced and get his numbers up above the 'yellow line.'  He agreed.   They met weekly for an hour.  He had accountability, he had goals and most importantly he had the investment of management in his success.  He took her up on her suggestions and started to thrive. His numbers improved greatly and he ENDED UP AS NUMBER ONE on the team.

Finding and hiring the right salesperson is tricky, but once hired, companies need to invest TIME and SUPPORT their sales personnel with the right mix of coaching and accountability.

What type of support do you give your sales personnel to help them bring in the sales and the profits?

Screaming Mimis and Chatty Cathys

Do you give nicknames to your most difficult clients?   I have a client who does.  She assigns names to her clients as it tends to relieve her stress. Monikers such Tweedledee and Tweedledum, Clueless, Obi (obnoxious) and Nobi (knows nothing) and the list goes on.

With the Good, the Bad and the Ugly clients, it's all about relieving the stress.

I use Screaming Mimi to describe the client who always likes to complain at the top of their lungs.  They tend to be a bit elusive, irrational and it usually has nothing do to with you or your company.

I use Chatty Cathy to describe clients who have nothing better to do but take up your time with meaningless chatter.  All designed to torture you slowly, word by word, with a monologue that has nothing to do with the service or product you have provided to them.

So how do you get them off the phone and minimize the flotsam of feelings they leave behind?  Aside from just plain hanging up, gently interrupting them with a request to 'continue the conversation' at another time usually works. They are going to feel privileged to now have an appointment to complain versus just an impulse call.

What do you do to get them off the phone?  Comments most welcome.