Mastering the Art of the Three-Minute Pitch

Michael Sexton interviews Ricardo Bellino, author of the new book, You Have Three Minutes!

Imagine yourself walking into Donald J. Trump's office, where you will have only three minutes to sell him your most cherished business idea. He's hurried. He seems uninterested. But your presentation is so compelling that he starts to listen. Then he smiles and offers to partner with you in your new enterprise.

Sounds like a fairy tale? It isn't. It is exactly what happened to a Brazilian entrepreneur named Ricardo Bellino. In just three minutes, he convinced Mr. Trump to partner with him to build Villa Trump, the largest golf condominium complex in Latin America.

How did Bellino do it? Let's find out in this recent conversation between Trump University's President, Michael Sexton, and Ricardo Bellino:

Michael Sexton: Is it really possible to sell an idea in three minutes?

Ricardo Bellino: It's not only possible, it's actually the only effective way. It is during those initial moments, when you first make contact with the person who will invest in your idea, that the truly essential things are decided. Does he or she like you, for example? Are you interesting enough to be listened to?

That first impression is so powerful that it will determine the entire course of events to follow. Of course, it will take more than three minutes for you to close your deal. But that is a later stage, and you can only reach it if the other party has a favorable first impression of you.

MS: What is the secret of creating that powerful first impression?

RB: It's a combination of your image, what you say, and how much you know about your potential partner and what you are tying to sell. Those are tangible things. But a strong first impression is also created

MS: In your opinion, why did Donald Trump buy into your idea so quickly?

RB: Mr. Trump himself has answered this question. In the testimonial he wrote for my book, he says, "My first impression when I met Bellino was that he was a determined and well-informed person. He knows what I do; he knows the Brazilian market; he knows what's necessary to achieve the objectives in his business; in other words, he knows what he's doing." The fact that he reached those conclusions so fast proves how powerful a first impression can be.

MS: Many people around the world dream of approaching someone like Donald Trump and selling him their ideas. What would you say to help them?

RB: That I'm the proof that this dream can become reality. If I was able to overcome obstacles that seemed insurmountable (Mr. Trump had never heard of me before, I wasn't known in the American market and I had no contacts there), others can do the same. I believe my book is a powerful instrument to help them in this task.

Michael Sexton is President of Trump University. Ricardo Bellino is an international entrepreneur who brought Elite Models and The Look of the Year modeling contest to Brazil. Now Bellino is the founder and dealmaker behind Trump Realty Brazil, an enterprise born from the creation of the largest golf complex in Latin America, Villa Trump. Bellino is the first commercial partner of the Trump Organization outside the United States. His new book is You Have Three Minutes!, published today by McGraw-Hill.