Unlock the Pitching Powerhouse Within: Masterclass with Precious L. Williams

In this episode, Amy Boyle has the privilege of speaking with Precious L. Williams, the esteemed founder and CEO of The Perfect Pitch Group. Ms. Williams narrates her compelling ascent from a challenging childhood to achieving prominence as a celebrated entrepreneur and authority on pitching. With fervor, she delineates her dedication to empowering others to outshine competitors through impeccable pitching skills, underscoring the significance of fostering one’s individuality and authenticity. Ms. Williams elucidates the critical role of active listening, prognosticates on the evolution of pitch dynamics, and advocates for the imperative of distinguishing oneself as the unparalleled choice in any selection process.

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Transcript

Welcome to the Speaking of Phenomenal podcast. I'm your host, Amy Boyle. Today's episode is game changing. We're talking about turning your pitches from overlooked to outstanding with the pitch queen herself, precious Ella Williams. Discover the art of persuasive pitching, storytelling and sales and crafting a winning communication mindset. Are you ready to stand out and dominate in your field? Then it's time to make an unforgettable impact. This is The Speaking of Phenomenal podcaWelcome to the Speaking of Phenomenal podcast, Precious. I am so glad you're here. Me too. It's gonna be exciting. I just can't wait. And you know, as I do, another shout out to the fabulous Joyce Martyr. 

She is the woman with the connections and I love it when she says, Amy, you know, you really need to meet Precious. She's like, she's the bomb. Joyce, such a wonderful woman. And for her to say my name, this is what I talk about. When people say your name, in such a positive way, I put you on. Pitching for profit. Excellent. So would you mind giving our audience an introduction to the Phenomenal You? Yes. So good day, everyone. I'm Precious Williams. I'm the proud founder and CEO of the Perfect Pitch Group. I'm a full -figure diva, plus -size fashionista, bold, in control.

And when I tell you, I teach my clients and my customers how to slay all competition with a killer pitch. You may have seen me on Shark Tank, seen in Wall Street Journal, Forbes Magazine, Billboards in Times Square, little girl from the hood of St. Louis who made it big in New York City and now speaks in trains, companies, corporations, foundations, nonprofits, associations, and talented individuals all over the world. five time number one bestselling author. And I feel like I'm just getting started. I am 45 and you know when you're a full -figured diva, you have to embrace everything that life gives you. The good, the bad, and the ugly. And as the great Beyonce said, we turn lemons into lemonade. So I am Precious Williams, your fun gal about town who has an extraordinary talent in communicating in written and oral form.

Excellent. So where did that passion come from? How did you go from St. Louis, you said, to New York City? And where did that drive, where did that spark and fire really just take off for you? I think that my spark really came from being an unwanted child. I really think it came from, since I was such low expectations, I would never have anything, no one would ever want me. I think something in me festered that, I'm going to make them all see that the one that they're paying no attention to is going to be the one who is going to do it big. And when I was five years old, I knew I was going to have a billboard in Times Square, which sounds crazy if I've never been to New York until I was 22. Rittle me that, y 'all, riddle me that. That gift that I had inside of me, I wanted to write the great American novel. I wanted to do all the things that no one expects a little girl from the hood to be able to do. And I was gifted and talented. I could read, could write, could spell, could do all those sorts of things. Couldn't do science when I want to address that issue. I gotta address that issue. But how I even got from St. Louis to becoming an attorney in New York, it's a crazy story, but listen, I went to Spelman College when I was 18 years old, graduated from high school as a valedictorian, full scholarship, went to Spelman, graduated in both, yes! Went off to Georgetown University Law Center on a full scholarship.

I kicked out in 2002. Yep. Yep. It really did happen. I studied over at Rutgers School of Law in Newark and I finished in 2007, passing the New York State Bar and became an attorney in the great state of New York in 2008. So that's the abbreviated story. But the truth is you can hear the killer pitchmaster in me all the way through it. Somebody has to put great things on that application, the personal statement, be able to convey and convince it.

I should be one of the students in the class. Not only that, I deserve a full scholarship. And to be able to do that, to not have all the uppercriss education, to be able to articulate and to put it down on paper. And so when people met me, they already felt like they knew me. So I've been doing this so long. It's just a part of who I am. And I dream big. I don't know about the rest of y 'all, I dream big. I love that. I ask bigger. And you should. And we all should, right? I mean,

What happens when you do? And it's like, the sky's the limit. Yeah, because I mean, you all the time dream big and it's like, yes, you can. But it's like without action, without, I mean, truly going against the grain. The fact that I could sit up here with you right now at 45 and feel like I'm just getting started to show other women, especially of a certain age, that it ain't over. I don't care that this world may celebrate youth.

That's what we come to the table with. We actually understand the gift of time now. And I'm not going, I'm fighting to the bitter end to make sure that other women know what's still possible. It gets greater later as the other Queens say it. And when it comes to going from law to pitching, obviously you're in the courtroom, you're constantly pitching, defending, researching, doing all these things, but to switch it to maybe a more corporate side of things or a personal brand, where did that kind of change for you? Well, it really changed for me because I was a disgruntled attorney and I knew that I wanted to do something else. I just didn't know. Like, I didn't know I'd become an entrepreneur. It was just the thought of going into court for 40 years didn't have the same luster as it once did, especially if I wasn't doing what I wanted to do.

And it took me leaving my ex -fiancee, meeting an incredible man, realizing I'm probably 327 pounds. And putting a little ad on a dating site, meeting three amazing brothers, but one stood out above all. And when we met, from the time we met for the first time to even today, and he's been deceased for years, he inspired something in me I'd never felt, never felt beautiful, I never felt sexy, I never felt any of those things. I'm still 327 pounds, but he liked me. He liked that I was different.

And while I was hoping the world would finally see, he saw. And that inspiration inspired me to start a lingerie company called Curvy Girls Lingerie. Because we couldn't find things in my size. And it wasn't because I couldn't afford it. It's because no one created it. So to have that thought and to not know how to start a business, run a business, grow a business, any of those sort of things, imagine that our love story had me looking at the world totally different and just saying that I wasn't alone. So starting that company, no real training, I have all the training in the world now. And realizing that the reason why people couldn't really understand like family and friends is because they weren't my ideal clients or customers. They're just family. But when I went to an event that I couldn't afford and I pitched to the producers of a major network, and I was on national television of February 9, 2012. We're 54 seconds. I walked through half a million dollars from one pitch. Then I won 13 national pitch competitions. And then I started Perfect Pitches by Precious. So there's a group called Phoenix and they have a song called, If I Ever Feel Better. I think they're like a French rock band, Phoenix. And they said, Sometimes an end can be a start. So the end of that relationship was the start of a new chapter for me where I eventually had to stop being an attorney and embrace being the killer pitch master, embrace that I am a champion at speaking 13 times and that I can train the next generation of women. That's how I started off. And it just went on from there. I'm glad that I kept moving forward.

I am glad that no matter how dark it got, that I kept moving forward and I dreamed bigger. And even as people told me I was too fat, too black, no Ivy League degree, I kept going. I think I was too all the way going. I was all in. And I also wasn't going to let women who look like me down just because some people couldn't understand that the person you think the least of is going to be the one who shocks and awes the world. And that's why I'm here today. And that's the It's really the trajectory. It doesn't even make it doesn't sound like it makes sense, but it's like one decision unlocks a brand new life. Absolutely. I mean, more people, if we would allow these transitions, trajectory changes, all these different things to be a new opportunity to be like, look up or out or in and say, what am I to learn from this?

Where can I go with this? And I'm here because I have this, right? You had this all. And it sounds like the former boyfriend really saw that in you, also proved to be a mentor, but turned on that light bulb in your own you to see it for yourself. And that, so now you do this for other people. Wow, that's amazing. I love it.

Yeah, I mean, how many years did I spend wanting to be someone else instead of me?

How do you help people? Where's the first place you begin to help them see their true value? Because, you know, I think so many things get in the way. And obviously they come to you because they believe in what you're saying and what you're selling and how and who you are. But it's really hard. Like, where do we first begin that self discovery to peel back that part of the onion to allow change?

The number one reason people say that they come to me initially is because they've never seen a woman totally be herself, no matter who she's around. You could be have the most money in the world. You can be a politician, dignitary. You can be homeless. And I'm going to give you that attention. I'm also going to speak to you to hear, not hear. We have too many people that are, you know, just logical, but they're boring.

So I'm going to hit you here. Number one, because I've been through hard times and I'm not afraid to talk about it. I'm not, I'm not going to allow shame to be thrown at me anymore. Guilt. I lived a real life in 45 years. I pray that y 'all did too. I really do. Number two,

When you step into yours, I'm a genius. Another person could step into theirs. They have to see it done. And too many of us have been fitting into all these boxes and just now realizing we were never supposed to be in the box and we're watching people live their dreams. Can we do it? Yes. And number three, you know, I was talking about, you know, my energy. They talk about my energy and the fact that I am actually doing the things they thought were impossible because of my age, race, class, sex, differently abled, disabled, how am I doing all of this? And it's just not my success, it's other success. It's these companies, it's the sales teams, it's the sales people, it is financial advisors. It's like you can see that it's happening. And it's because I'm not trying to give you, I do this to help. We really sit down and I started asking real questions. Questions that unlock things that you think are important, but are very important to you being able to attract and close with ease. In fact, I'm a pitch trainer for Founders First Capital. And after I do a training session with them, then I individually meet with each one of the cohort members and they're showing me their pitch and their pitch deck. And I just talk to them.

And I'll say things that I'm hearing and I'm like, Oh, I never thought about it like that. Cause you're in your business. I'm outside. So I'm going to see it from a perspective, someone who needs to buy from you. What do they need to hear? And it's often the things you're afraid to say. Second thing is truly understanding where you are in the market. If you're a speaker, if you're an entrepreneur or you're in corporate America, how are you seen by those in power? How are you seeing, are you seeing it all?

Are you barely seen? Are you known for something that's just not quite good? Or have you been hiding your brilliance? A lot of times we've been hiding our brilliance. So you're packaging. How you're standing out in the world, the clothes you wear, how you present yourself. Positioning, going from, mm, chai, to the only choice that matters. And then pitching showing you how to make your superiors, potential clients and customers, get them to say yes the first time and then keep bringing them back for more. There's a whole formula to what it is that I do, which is why I tell people I learned how to be a speaker on the job. I didn't go through anybody's training program. When it came to pitching, I learned how to pitch because I was negative $400 in the hole. I had no money to eat.

And I flipped that into an appearance on television that changed it to half a million dollars, just like that. So you're actually dealing with someone who has a system, but not only that, it's customized because none of my clients are the same. Even if they're in the same industry, they're not the same. We all have different stories. We have different approaches and how we've even gotten into the sales teams is a lot of companies create amazing products, but they don't know how to break it down. So the sales team understands it. Who can do that? Me. I am an English major, art history minor from Spelman. Have my law degree. I practice in medical malpractice, product liability, toxic torts, business law, landlord tenant, mortgage foreclosure defense. Everything matters in what I do. So in my 45 years, I've been in several places to help unlock the gift of speaking and pitching in others.

And again, I think what I'm hearing is there's so much active listening going on with the people that you're with and all the knowledge that you have. So you can help them uncover their authentic self because everyone's told right now, right? That's such the buzzword. Be authentic, be authentic. We've been in a box all these years. You don't normally, you might not necessarily know who you are. Queen, I was homeless from 2017 to 2018.

I lost the love of my life. That actor, he's dead. He's been dead for a long time and I didn't know how to keep running curvy girls because I couldn't even think. I couldn't breathe. I became a severe alcoholic. I lost everything. And it's funny in those two years that I was homeless, that I was going through this trauma drama and stress.

We didn't have cell phones or electronics. So you had to be present. And I started listening differently. I was, you said active listening. And as people were talking to me, I would hear what's said and what's not said. Like it was so clear, cause there's nothing around you to block anything. And I knew what people's struggles were, even if they never said it how they presented I knew what the issue might have been. The words coming out of their mouth were incongruent with what they really wanted to do. Or they were chasing somebody else's dream because they were too afraid.

I told you I want a billboard in Times Square. I've had three. I'm sorry, I've had four now. And after 40.

Yes, for my business, for my books, you know, rang the bell in NASDAQ in my 40s. And I pray that when people are listening, this is not some brag session. This is literally, baby, I know what it's like to be unwanted, kick to the curb, slice and dice and toss to the wolves, homeless, alcoholic, all those sort of things. Everything that should have kept me down, didn't because there's something in me that needed to come out and to be able to speak to people in a way that hits the heart, but also says I didn't get here because of the color of my skin. I didn't hear about being a woman. I got here by being the best in the world of what I do. And too many of us are the best in the world at what we do. We are afraid to talk about it. We're afraid to be in different circles. We're afraid to quit what's not working. We're creatures of comfort. I don't need to be comfortable. In fact, that's why I love life, love my life because things change on a dime. Do I get distracted? Amy, do I get distracted? Yeah, I get distracted. Mm -hmm, I get distracted. Sometimes noise gets in the way. Sometimes people need you and you need to get things done. I'm not above any of that, y 'all. But when I'm focused. And my clients and customers are my focus.

And as that goes straight to the core of what the whole idea of the Phenomenal Women Project was about, is about, and speaking of phenomenal, because it's drawing that attention to that one thing right now that so often is our complete through line that gets ignored by ourselves mainly, not by the other people around us. That's our attractor. That's what brings people to us, right?

But we will turn it off. Myself included will be like, nope, deflect, can't handle a compliment, go on. So when the chips are down and the days are hard, where are you personally finding your get up and go? If nothing else, I'm going to put one foot in front of the other and try harder today.

Where's your passion coming from to change these things? Because when people see people doing it, they can believe it. And I love the fact that you're out there on all the different social medias and LinkedIn in particular, and your personal website, and obviously talking in person to a company. So you're making that impact in person. And I just want to know that drive, we need that reminder. So where's yours come from?

One, you can't see her behind me, but my grandmother's pictures to the left of mine. This is me, girl. I was looking good that day. My grandmother, she's been deceased since 2000. She believed in me beyond what you would ever expect a mom or grandmother to do. My grandfather did too. Number two, I moved last year into my dream space. And that's when I learned that elevation requires separation. Yes, I love to speak and to train. Yes, I love to be around people, but I also like peace. In my 20s, I needed noise all the time. At 45, I love the noise, but I also love the peace of coming into a space that's mine. And I can think here. There's sunlight everywhere. I can look back at the past and it's not painful. It's just part of my journey.

And finally, I have a great support network. So as someone who has two disabilities, having a great support network for when I feel like I'm about to jump off the D .P. in which I'm not. But I have a therapist and a psychiatrist. Not only that, I have loved ones. So when I have these moments of…I pray and I let my creator tell me who to reach out to and they're there for me.

I'm seven plus years clean and so profile back. Seven. Oh, yes. I feel like I look better now than I did. So it wasn't definitely the seven year though. And I'm proud of who I'm becoming. I'm proud of my evolution. I'm also proud that I'm a part of other people's journeys. I'm proud of the woman who was about to give up and just.

You know, just, hey, I'm just gonna do what everybody wants me to do and just the size, you know what? No more. I wanna do what it is I've wanted to do to build a legacy. I'm not gonna die with my story in me. I'm not gonna die with these skills and abilities and assets. I'm gonna put them out for the world. I'm gonna attract the women and men that need me, whether they're coaches, consultants, speakers.

Or they start tech companies or whatever. And they choose me. Because you don't get no fluff and no BS. But you are going to get a cheerleader. You're going to get someone who's going to put on your big girl panties with you like, who's going to put Vaseline on your face and be like, we're going into battle, okay? Put your Vaseline on. Business is not for play play. Please believe it's not. And maybe because I'm a former lawyer, they eat what you kill. To be a rainmaker, I'm a rainmaker and I teach my clients how to become ringmakers in their respective professions, in their respective industries, gaining those clients and customers and lucrative opportunities. And that's why I'm here, because everything that should have broke me down and tossed me to end mate me, think I couldn't, is the very reason that I do that for others too.

And I hear you on that taking time for the quiet and oh my gosh, I mean, sometimes I think it's pulling back a little too far. And that's when I am the most creative. That's when I have the most, you know, looking at the past with clearer eyes, with also gratitude, even for the pain, for the pain.

Right? Yeah. Because I'm still here today and I can change hopefully a component, whatever path I'm on for tomorrow. But I love hearing that because we're such a distracted society. Yes. And I feel like it's on purpose. You would never be present. It's like, I gotta be present. Right? And we're, we're limiting our own abilities. So the coming back to like pitching and

Making the quiet, you know, we have all the technology out there. We have ways to be more concise, say the right thing, use the right words, blah, blah, blah, make the right videos all done for you, you know, turn key, plug and play, whatever thing might be. But when it comes to pitching on your with clients and for companies, how can you tell them to turn on their personal power more than all of the all the business jargon of the day? Well, first of all, don't question, number one, I'm not only the client, I'm the pitching president. You know what I mean? I am the messenger because this is my message. I am, and no waste in the technology has an enhanced certain things. But when you're on stage, I mean, can AI speak for you? And will people pay to hear an AI -generated version of you that's supposed to be live.

A lot of sales, whether it's on the phone, Zoom or whatever, they still want to hear a voice. They still, like if I'm sitting next to somebody on a flight, AI can't tell me what to say to that person. And just because some things can be done with AI, hell, use it as a tool. But in these in real life moments, you got to have other things in your arsenal. That's why it's important to have your own personal VIPs who know you beyond the surface so that they hear about opportunities. They're going to say your name and know how to pitch you. That's not an AI thing. That is a sitting down and having a conversation with someone that you love and trust. Someone who's a shero who looks at you as a young shero coming up. Another thing that's very important is what are you posting on social media? Is it something to attract your target market to you?

Some things can be for play play. Let's be very clear. Listen, I like to eat at nice restaurants.

We post that too because it shows that I have a community but also post what I'm about to speak. I do behind the scenes lives. Teach my clients to do that because you make people fascinated that you're doing something. You're not just talking about it. You're not just posting about it. You're there. It's also great to be known for something. I'm the killer pitch master, slaying all competition with a killer pitch. Now, are there speakers who are more well -known and more popular?

Yeah. But can they pitch though? That's why you choose me. I'm not the motivational speaker. I'm the killer pitch master who can now show because there's a no like and trust factor, sales, client acquisition systems, business development, rock star confidence, pitching you. If you sound like everybody else, you get treated like everybody else.

So my question for everybody is, do you want to be treated like a D? Are you average, random, and ordinary? Because if that's what you are, you can never be my client.

If you want to lean into your extraordinary factor, I'm going to bait tracks and clothes with ease. You want to get them to say yes once and then repeatedly, you should check out the Perfect Pitch Group because clearly that's what we do.

Thinking about pitches you've either made or have had pitched to you. What sticks out? What's the, what's like the story of one in particular that's just like jaw on the floor. Like that's it. We found, we nailed it.

I think about this man, I think his name is Paulo and he's an insurance, financial advisor. And he started his pitch because we go to a lot of networking events and you know a lot of them you'd be doing a pitch. His was so mind blowing. I don't want to talk about myself. He talked about being a firefighter. Did he look like a firefighter? No. Was he built like a firefighter? No. But as he was going through his pitch, he puts out family fires.

And he just went, mic drop. I literally stood there like this.

Pitch please. Pitch please. Pilo, if you ever watch this, you are one of the best I've ever seen do it in such a short period of time. And as a killer pitch master, it's important for me to give credit where credit is due. Because you got some bad people out there who are good at what they do. He made me a believer. In addition to my clients who've appeared on Shark Tank, it just nailed.

Like that always makes me feel like. That's great. I know the firefighter analogy. And then you're like, uh huh. I mean, I want to see her like, words. Oh, he went, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he

It's kind of cute, I kind of like that. I'm like, we can do this for days, weeks, months, and years. Well, you know, I hate that our time is going fast. And what I'm thinking about though is right now, the future of pitching for yourself, your business, and for others around, you know, what are the trends that you're seeing? What's your advice to that space?

So for me, what I think is the future of pitching is not so much just for each competitions or pitch competitions or just seeking investor funds. I think that what you're going to see is people getting better and better at pitching themselves to the media. Like media is always, they want something unique factor. And so.

Whereas the big thing now has, you know, just taken us off from popular culture and repurposing it around your industry and becoming like that, the standard bearer. I think that where we're going to go is people who can say beyond today and into tomorrow with their pitch, right? I remember when I pitched Curvy Girls' lingerie and I was on Shark Tank and I said, over 40 million women, that's fortunate or larger. And it's like, just me and we all want pretty underwear. People's thought is, wait a minute, they care about big women or fat women. And I had to change the language to full -figured divas and plus -sized fashionistas. And that blew the sharks away. They couldn't even get it. So you can take something very simple that has a not so pleasant connotation and change it. So plus -sized women, where was it gonna be here? But full -figured divas and plus -sized fashionistas?

Another thing that I think is going to happen in the world of pitching and speaking is those who've been saying the same thing for all these years, nobody wants to hear that anymore. Nobody just wants just a pure motivational session from someone who's making millions and billions. Give us something more. It doesn't have to be a sob story, it's tragedy story, but this whole just celebrating people who have money just to be having money in a time when people are struggling financially and the grocery store thing is high and all this other kind of stuff and rent. No, come on. Be as some people be effing for real. Like everything isn't perfect. And that's why people resonate with me or my clients is everything isn't perfect, but you know what? I'm not going to give up.

And I'm not going to give up not because I just need to be rah rah. I'm not going to give up because there are probably more millionaires, billionaires and people who make it into the six figures and times like this than any other time. When things are flush, people are comfortable. When they're not flush, you get real creative. Which goes back to how I started this conversation at negative $400 on my bank account.

And I wound up doing my first pitch to the producers of a television show I had never pitched before in my life. And the second time I did it, it was about half a million dollars. That's creativity when chaos was all around me in lack. So now's your time, y 'all. Even if you use some AI tools for things you put on your website and things like that, in real life, who are you? Without those tools, what are you going to do? And the biggest question of all, if you can't answer this question,

You need to see us. Why should they choose you? And to see if everybody else is doing what you do, why? And don't give me, I'm diligent, I'm hardworking, nobody cares about that. They care about something more. And better yet, why are you the only choice that matters?

I can't wait for listeners to hear this and to realize for 30 minutes that they have all this in them all the time and show, like I said, show up when it's tough. Show up, be you. I can't thank you enough for spending this time with us to share a glimmer of your sparkle. There's so much more that I hope it's just, bouncing off everyone's AirPods and EarPods and headphones. It's just gonna be like, what? You know, and then they go back to it because we need this every darn day. I am so pleased with your story. I can't wait to see where your trajectory takes you next. And where can everybody find you?

Yes, so everyone you can find me my website is perfect pitch group so www .perfectpitchgroup .com. Please do check out our website, especially under our rain making 101 tab or check out our free gifts. So we give up is www .perfectpitchgroup .com backslash free gifts. You'll get the first chapter of my

Fifth and number one bestseller, Rain Making 101 from day one, Packaging, Positioning and Pitching, the first chapter you'll get for free. And you'll also download, Make It Rain Like Snow in My Business. Yes, I'm going to give you some real actionable bite -size techniques to make it rain like snow, even if it's been looking real sketchy because of the pandemic, economic downturn, social unrest, inflation, recession. It's time to turn things back. You can do this. Abundance is your birthright.

Everything will be linked in the show notes. And again, my thanks to you for being on the show today. It was wonderful.

Thank you, Queen.