(BONUS) The psychology of the pitch: what TV producers know that salespeople don't, with Maz Farrelly

We put someone on the moon in 1969. We didn't put wheels on suitcases until 1972. The problem was: Nobody had stopped to notice the problem existed in the first place.

That gap - between the problems people will tell you about, the ones they'll only admit after a drink, and the ones they don't even know they have - is exactly where Maz Farrelly operates. In this bonus conversation with the executive producer behind Big Brother, The X Factor, and Celebrity Apprentice, we get into the practical mechanics of walking into a meeting and already having the room on your side before you've said a single word.

If you have a pitch coming up - for an idea, a budget, or yourself - this episode has something useful in it for you.

Maz and I discuss:

• The "warming up the room" technique Maz uses at the start of every pitch meeting, and why it works

• How she used reverse psychology to make network executives desperate for the idea she told them she wasn't going to pitch

• Why the smartest operators don't sell - they make themselves buyable

• The three layers of problems your clients have, and why cracking the third layer is where the real opportunity lives

• The suitcase story: why solving problems people don't know they have is the most valuable thing you can do in any industry

• Why Maz brought too much cake to a Microsoft meeting, and how it made her go viral inside the building without spending a cent on advertising
• What "sticky information" is, and why it determines whether anything you said in a meeting actually matters

Key quotes

"The smart money doesn't sell. The smart money is bought."

"Hope is not a strategy."

And if you haven't listened to the main episode with Maz yet, start there. It's all about how to make yourself impossible to ignore. Listen to the main episode here.

Connect with Maz Farrelly on Instagram, LinkedIn, and her website.

My latest book The Energy Game is out on July 7, 2026. You can order a copy here: https://amzn.to/48ID29M

Connect with me on the socials: Linkedin (https://www.linkedin.com/in/amanthaimber)

Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/amanthai)

If you are looking for more tips to improve the way you work and live, I write a weekly newsletter where I share practical and simple to apply tips to improve your life. You can sign up for that at https://amantha.substack.com/

Visit https://www.amantha.com/podcast for full show notes from all episodes.

Get in touch at [email protected]

Credits:

Host: Amantha Imber

Sound Engineer: The Podcast Butler

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