I’ve seen Pete present to many investors, boards of directors, customers, suppliers, employers and events. Watching him pitch to all of these audiences was a master class in communication and persuasion. Pete excels at understanding what his target audience needs to hear in order to understand a topic or to make a decision, and then presenting the information in a way that is immediately understandable, interesting and compelling. He knows how to pitch at exactly the right level for the person he’s talking to, and exactly how much information to convey given the time he will have to talk with them. His pitches look almost effortless by the time he gives them, even though I know there has been a lot of thought and effort put into gathering the right information and then organizing it in a way that feels natural and interesting, while hammering home the key points. Investors love him because his pitches are both entertaining and informative.

Pete has perfected the art of combining high energy and real empathy for customer pain. Co-pitching with Pete, I admired his ability to get the customer interested AND excited about our services. With Pitch Prophet, Pete has bottled the lightning with which he has successfully closed sales and raised capital.

I been fortunate to observe Pete’s interactions with customers, employees and investors.  He owns the room when he is presenting.  He is captivating but more importantly, he is credible.  Pete has a way of making the information come to life through his genuine and likable style while keeping his audience fully engaged with the importance and value of the material.  Finally, Pete cares about people.  I have observed him over the years encouraging and coaching others who aren’t where he is with their careers and he puts sincere effort into helping them reach the next level.

I am so impressed with Pete’s ability to create an engaging, interesting sales presentations for complex products and services. He builds trust with clients quickly by connecting capabilities to their needs, leading to accelerated sales. The energy and enthusiasm he brings to a sales call is infectious and people want to continue working with him! Pete is a naturally talented writer and uses these skills to develop a successful content marketing strategies for collateral, websites and outbound email campaigns. His innovative approach to simplify messaging helps to effectively convey a value proposition and develop the company’s brand. Pete is an excellent communicator with the vision to deliver dynamic, relevant content, and any organization would benefit from his approach.

As a professional speaker, Pete is the best in the business. He’s more than an information provider, he’s a story teller. In his approach to presentations he has a methodical way of understanding his audience, and creating an environment where it’s more of a conversation versus a pitch. He has the unique ability to provide a dynamic, engaging presentation which appears to be effortless. No matter what level of leadership Pete’s audience, he makes each person feel important and engaged. Pete also has the ability to apply real-life scenarios and personal experiences to his presentations that make content easy to understand and personal to the attendee.

I’ve seen Pete speak or present in many different settings. No matter the subject matter he is always able to craft a message for the audience that combines his expertise with their immediate needs. His delivery is always exemplary… By combining humor, examples, and an informal but highly focused style, he demonstrates his command of the stage and gave his audience immediately useful takeaways. I count it a privilege to have had the opportunity to be apart of many of his presentations. Each and every time I was able to walk away with a better understanding of what it takes to speak in front of an audience and hold their attention for as long as it took to deliver his message.

I believe Pete to be one of the best public speakers I have ever seen. He prepares well, is extremely articulate, and his presentation materials are up to date, crisp, and concise. His delivery is always very compelling, and the pace of his talks never allows for a moment of boredom. At one seminar Pete was a scheduled speaker and the speakers before him covered much of the same material. Rather than be redundant, Pete, in about 8 minutes, changed his content and delivered a different presentation that still precisely fit the genre of the seminar. He engaged the audience, established dialogue and outstanding Q&A, and interjected the right amount of humor to captivate people. He can improvise and has an outstanding ability to think on his feet. I am here to tell you Pete Durand is absolutely fearless.

I can confidently say Pete is an engaging, motivating, entertaining, accurate, concise and overall expert communicator. He is in his element in both personal and professional settings. His ability to understand his audience/environment and deliver the perfect message/pitch is uncanny. I have witnessed Pete in a Board of Directors setting, group presentations, and at social events (with audiences from a dozen to over a thousand), and the common denominator is Pete’s ability to creatively communicate to his audience so that they fully understand his message/pitch. The litmus test for Pete’s pitches/communication is that his audiences seek his counsel and guidance after his presentation because they are so impactful. If you need help with communicating your message, look no further, Pete can guide you in creating the perfect pitch for your specific situation.

I had been formally trained by corporate sales organizations and Pete complemented this training by introducing me to a newer, more cutting edge style of sales presentation. Pete modeled for me and our entire sales team his unique style of pitching to a prospect. He had the ability to build rapport and earn the client’s trust in the very early stages of the sales meeting in such a natural and conversational way. When it came time to make the presentation personal and deliver a tailored value proposition, Pete was again able to articulate our service in such a way that the client did not even realize they were being pitched to – the entire interaction felt so compelling and conversational. Pete is also always animated and lively in his interactions with both his staff and customers. He brings a unique energy level to his every day sales game that is magnetic and causes individuals to want to work for him, work with him, and buy from him.

Pete Durand creates diamonds. He takes the vast complexities of your business and compacts it all down into a jewel of pitch, something that draws people’s attention and succinctly conveys your worth.

I’ve sat in several board rooms with Pete Durand, and I can confidently say that he is a presentation guru. He gets it, and helps customize value propositions extremely effectively to resonate with multiple executive stakeholders.

I’ve had the good fortune of working on multiple projects with Pete. In each, his thoughtful preparation and keen instincts instilled great confidence in our team. Pete’s ability to consistently develop and deliver effective, unique, and memorable pitches, presentations, and speeches is unparalleled. I maintain great trust in Pete’s process and expertise and am sure to work with him again.

VentureSouth is one of the largest early stage investment firms in the US with over $50M invested in nearly 80 companies. We’ve literally seen thousands of entrepreneurs pitch over the years and only a few handfuls stand out. Pete is most definitely one of those entrepreneurs. His unique ability to convey the opportunity and communicate the business model effectively in a clear and concise manner puts him in a select group of presenters. I wholeheartedly vouch for his ability to train others on this critical skill and look forward to the opportunity to consider the companies he’s involved in for investment.