“Neuroscience and storytelling for business” class (for small groups)
What it is:
A one-month (8 one-hour sessions per person) class where your people learn the neuroscience behind better communication with your clients, and practice putting it to use themselves.
Who it’s for:
1-4 people in your company who head up the client-facing communications (pitches) and/or develop the sales materials (presentations, case studies, proposals, etc).
Price:
$2,450 per group
The result:
Your salesforce becomes more effective and closes more deals, especially when operating abroad.
Details:
- Each person in your group gets one 1-to-1 class per week, plus one internal group class per week.
- We upgrade your existing customer-facing materials (typically your proposals, case studies, website, etc) in the course of the class, showing the class how to apply the principles to the materials they already use.
- Our focus is on the the Four Things (storytelling for business, filler word reduction, mirror neurons / speech practice, and vocabulary upgrade — in other words, public speaking), the Taxi Test, and ways to use neuroscience to build trust and boost sales.
Pro tip: Put 4 people in your group, so you spread the cost out across as many people as possible.
See the FAQ for more.
Panel prep (for individuals)
What it is:
Three months where you practice speaking about your business in English and refine your POV (point of view).
Who it’s for:
The public face of your business. That’s usually the Founder/CEO.
Price:
US$3,490
(monthly payment plans are available)
The result:
You are more confident in your ability to represent your business in international forums.
Details:
- You and Matt do one-hour sessions where you practice, and Matt coaches you on, how to speak better in international forums. We increase your fluency and build the vocabulary you will need to describe your company’s products and discuss them confidently. We also go through a 3-month process (puke, clean, coach) that has you developing, and articulating, your unique POV.
- You may be functionally-fluent, but there are probably important things you are missing. So we focus on the outsized benefits you can get from putting to work the Four Things (storytelling for business, filler word reduction, mirror neurons / speech practice, and vocabulary upgrade — in other words, public speaking), and, for your presentations, the Taxi Test.
- The sessions are unlimited for the designated student. The price is the same whether the student does 1 session per month or 100 sessions per month, but typical seems to be about 8 sessions per month (2 sessions per week).
See the FAQ for more.
Language + POV propagation (for small groups)
What it is:
For three months, your team practices speaking about your business in English, they practice articulating your company’s POV, and they get some ghost-written materials that will help them attract clients in the new markets.
Who it’s for:
1-4 people from the team taking over sales from the founder.
Duration / Price:
US$6,950
(monthly payment plans are available)
The result:
Your company moves beyond founder-led sales, so you can do other things while your salesforce grows the company’s revenue.
Details:
- Each person in your group gets one 1-to-1 class per week, plus one internal group class per week.
- Your team may already be functionally fluent, but there are probably important things they are missing. So our focus is on articulating your POV, but we also prep for the outsized benefits they can get from putting to work the Four Things (storytelling for business, filler word reduction, mirror neurons / speech practice, and vocabulary upgrade — in other words, public speaking), and, for your presentations, the Taxi Test.
- The sessions are unlimited for the designated students. The price is the same whether a student does 1 session per month or 100 sessions per month, but the typical per student seems to be about 8 sessions per month (2 sessions per week: the 1-to-1, and the internal group).
Pro tip: Put 4 people in your group, so you spread the cost out across as many people as possible.
See the FAQ for more.
Retainer
What it is:
After the initial work, keep Matt around for additional work, training, advice, etc.
Who it’s for:
People who liked the initial work, and want to go deeper on the principles, continue implementing them in future proposals, or train new waves of salespeople in those skills.
Duration / Price:
you decide / we talk
The result:
Your company is better able to represent itself to international clients/investors.
Details:
Custom, designed according to the customer’s needs. But often includes:
- A deeper dig, going beyond the initial three documents we did in the early classes (new prospect proposals, new case studies, additional iterations of your website, etc).
- Ongoing training for new hires in your sales department.
- Updates to keep previous students abreast of recent neuroscience developments that affect your ability to sell.
- Invitations to the monthly subscriber-only events.
Note that the retainer is typically limited to one contact point in your organization, who basically serves as a traffic cop.
See the FAQ for more.
Interested? Some FAQs and good things to know:
Why are you focused on the "Why are we here" so much?
There are a lot of cheaper options out there, so it’s very important for us to stay focused on what problem you’re trying to solve, how to solve it, and how solving it will make your life better.
Since a large part of our initial conversations will be to figure out what it is that you’re trying to do and how we can help with that, it’s important in the early days for you to keep in mind why you’re here and why you’re talking to us.
In other words, we’ll often be asking you what problem are you here to solve, and why are you trying to do it with us, and not someone else?
For the classes, does the supervisor need to be involved?
Yes. Whoever is paying the bills, whoever has in mind the business benefit they want to get out of the engagement, needs to be indirectly involved. This does not mean the supervisor needs to attend classes. It means that about once a month, the supervisor and Matt will need to talk for about 30 minutes to review how things are going and which problem we need to focus on solving in the coming month. This “directional tweaking” involvement, indirect as it may be, approximately doubles the business benefit to the client.
Can I do floating class times?
No.
If you need to reschedule an appointment, that’s no problem. I do that for people all the time. Some of the busier ones reschedule their classes two or three times a month, and that’s no problem. In fact, I keep my schedule flexible for that very reason.
However, if you do not have enough control over your calendar to make a standing appointment that you keep most of the time (for example, “we typically have classes on Tuesdays at 3pm”), your chances of success with this program are pretty close to zero.
I do not say this because I am inflexible with time. Far from it, actually. I say it because I have been doing this for over 10 years, and I know from experience that people who do not have enough control over their time to make standing appointments generally have a success rate that is close to zero. If you currently find yourself in this category, some free videos at YouTube may be more suitable for you.
How long do these take?
As you can see, they take between 1 month (the class) and 3 months (the POV work).
If you want to enter the higher-level communication ranks, I recommend continuing on with the retainer, so you get the deeper progress that comes in later months like 4, 5, and 6.
Fortunately, the retainer is quarterly, and there is no contract, so if you want to leave after one quarter, there is nothing stopping you. Some clients stay for a quater, others for 10 years. Most are somewhere inbetween.
Can I negotiate the payment terms?
No.
Alternative payment arrangements like 50/50 (50% deposit, 50% upon completion) typically lead to lower-quality work, slower deliveries, and unnecessary meetings because the project is polluted on both sides by cash flow concerns and scope definitions.
Plus, an unwillingness to prepay 100% of an engagement that doesn’t last very long anyway suggests a lack of the trust we will need to work together fruitfully in the first place.
Besides, the last time I told the airline that I would finish paying them when they got me to my destination, they laughed at me, and the last time I walked into a grocery store and tried to drink the milk before paying for it, I got arrested.
What makes a successful client?
- A history of serial problem solving.
- A frustration coming from one of life’s slaps in the face.
- The fear of god (an external force that makes them want to solve the problem that #2 brought to the forefront).
Look inside yourself and get in touch with these three traits in you. You’ll get a lot more out of it if you keep them close at hand!
If you want to hear more on that subject, listen to this podcast episode:
What's this I hear about extra sessions being free?
It’s true. If you are preparing for a particular project (a particular investor pitch, or a meeting with a client), remember, our job is to prepare you for that meeting, not to count sessions.
That means that if you need some extra practice, you just say so. We’re here for you. We get the job done, we don’t count sessions.
Does the price change if I want more or fewer sessions?
No. Remember, we are selling a solution to a problem, not time. If you want fewer sessions, the price won’t change. If you want more sessions, the price won’t change.
If you’re currently at 2 sessions per week and you want to do three, just say so. We’ll do three, and there will be no extra charge. Likewise, if you are currently at 2 sessions per week and you want to do one, just say so. We’ll do one, and your price will stay the same. If you are currently at 2 sessions per week and you want to do one hundred sessions per week, just say so, and we’ll do a hundred. That has never happened, but we’ll figure it out. 😉
Think of it like an all-you-can-eat buffet. You pay to enter the buffet. From there, you can eat 1 steak or you can eat 100 steaks. It’s up to you.
Is it true I need to do 100% prepayment?
Yes.
The last time I told the airline I would pay them when I arrived at my destination, they laughed at me. The last time I told the grocery store I would pay for the milk when I got home and was done drinking it, they laughed at me, too.
It seems prepayment business models are all around us.
Keep in mind that if coughing up one quarter’s fees is a problem for you cash flow-wise, we have no problem with that. Paying for a three-month service in three monthly installments is fine. Just let us know and we’ll quote you accordingly.
If another set of payment terms is important to you, someone else might be a better fit for you, and we wish you nothing but the best of luck as you continue your search.
Is there a cancellation fee or refund?
No. If you want to cancel a session, just don’t show up. There’s no fee. There’s also no refund. If you want to reschedule, let’s reschedule. If not, don’t.
Can we do sessions in the evenings or weekends?
Technically, yes. But keep in mind that everyone seems to like evenings and weekends, so those tend to be full. There is a waiting list for evenings and weekends, but the waiting list is usually about 3 months. We’ll have a better chance of working together if you can find an hour or two of weekday times.
When will you bill me?
We will bill you at the beginning of our work. So basically, you are pre-paying for the work.
Don’t forget, there is no long-term commitment and no contract, so if you want to stop, just don’t renew for the next period.
Are you available outside scheduled times, too?
Are the call recordings confidential?
Yes. The recordings are just for you and me. I listen to them later, so I can be present in the call, go back later and remind myself what we talked about, etc. If you want me to turn off the recording at any point so we can talk confidentially, let me know and I’ll be happy to turn it off.