Articles by Andy Raskin
The Greatest Sales Deck I’ve Ever SeenAndy uses Zuora's sales deck as an example to show how winning sales decks cover this narrative flow: 1. Name a Big, Relevant Change in the World 2. Show There’ll Be Winners and Losers 3. Tease the Promised Land 4. Introduce Features as “Magic Gifts” for Overcoming Obstacles to the Promised Land 5. Present Evidence that You Can Make the Story Come True
To Create a New Category, Name the New GameAndy describes how a celebrity running coach disrupted conventional wisdom at a pre-marathon carbo-loading party. He argued that loading up on carbs the night before was not optimal for long-distance runners, presenting new science showing the body could be trained to burn fat instead. This ran counter to the accepted practice of carbo-loading but made logical sense. Many runners were skeptical at first but open to the alternative perspective. The coach's message was effective at both changing minds about effective pre-race nutrition as well as attracting new clients to his coaching services. His example demonstrates that challenging existing paradigms can be an impactful strategy for promoting new approaches or categories.