Pitch Masters

The Pitch Masters Podcast is dedicated to helping you win more business. No matter how good your products or services are, without the right story, branding, and marketing, you might not get noticed. Danny Fontaine, AKA ’Pitch Guy’ interviews a master of pitching from industry in each episode and covers how behavioural science, psychology, storytelling, creative, and theatre all play huge roles in the success of your business.

Pitch Masters is a business podcast hosted by Danny Fontaine, with 53 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

Danny Fontaine hosts Pitch Masters, a business show with 53 episodes published.

Our AI reads these to draft pitches. Use them as grounding for a pitch that cites a real guest and a specific topic.

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  Episode #10

  S2E10: Bob Knakal & the NYC Map Room that Won 92 of 94 Pitches (Audio only)

  Jun 30, 20261h 6mS2

  Bob Knakal joins Danny Fontaine inside the Knakal Map Room in Manhattan to reveal how one room helped win 92 of 94 real estate pitches. This is a masterclass in high-stakes selling, NYC commercial real estate, reputation, market presence, physical experience, AI, hard mail, storytelling and what it really takes to win trust when the stakes are enormous. Bob Knakal is the Chairman and CEO of BKREA and one of the most prolific commercial real estate brokers in American history. Across more than 42 years in New York City real estate, he has sold thousands of buildings and built a reputation as one of the great dealmakers of his generation. In this episode of Pitch Masters, I flew to Manhattan to meet Bob in the world-famous Knakal Map Room, a 24 foot by 10 foot physical map of Manhattan covered in data, post-it notes, colour codes and market intelligence. Bob explains how the Map Room began during the pandemic, why he walked every block of Manhattan south of 96th Street, why he still believes physical experience beats a screen, and how the room creates an immediate impression on clients. We also talk about: Why Bob says real estate is really the information and relationship business * How he accidentally got into commercial real estate What he learned from pitching around 10,000 times Why his career pitch win rate is around 26%, but the Map Room has won 92 of 94 pitches The billion-dollar pitch involving a brown paper bag, a mason jar and a pile of nuts and bolts Why hard mail still works when email does not Why market presence is not about ego, but helping clients How getting fired helped him see everything more clearly How Bob uses AI alongside old-school discipline and analogue research Why being different matters more than being cheaper What any salesperson, founder, broker, leader or communicator can learn from elite real estate dealmaking CHAPTERS: GUEST: Bob Knakal, Chairman and CEO, BKREA Official website: bkrea.com Bob Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/bobknakal Email: bk@bkrea.com Bob's cell: +1 917-509-9501 HOST Danny Fontaine, Author of PITCH: How to Captivate and Convince Any Audience on the Planet / Host of Pitch Masters Podcast. Find out more: Website: pitchguy.co.uk LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/dannyfontaine/ Instagram: instagram.com/dannyfontaine TikTok: tiktok.com/@pitchguy LISTEN TO PITCH MASTERS Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/pitch-masters/id1650175804 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4T2HQsKwfx67CDzeUL4wTD?si=90d39222891b4931 YouTube playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLYs5idRWzXZKPJYYR26MPuskp2YAaTS5o&si=bXx0OKO1jHLNZ5QO MORE PITCH MASTERS EPISODES ON YOUTUBE Daniel H. Pink: https://youtu.be/ZhwAmlg8OPA?si=9QOy5Uc2JNc4dwpU Rory Sutherland: https://youtu.be/p2Hc2gQPaSk?si=RvyAj9Ewqjbm9vdY Nancy Duarte: https://youtu.be/8_Zhmu8gxLc?si=-NF7SMz6vRjViZz0 Simon Sinek: https://youtu.be/2bLR_PbB94A?si=TqpIl1wN3yHd2rya Jeb Blount: https://youtu.be/B_S1ChPBLlM?si=qDKxah9tVK5EZtJo Oren Klaff: https://youtu.be/lAXlPyYSpZs?si=6ySPsHteD4b0CSaC ABOUT PITCH MASTERS Pitch Masters is the podcast where Danny Fontaine speaks to world-class experts in pitching, persuasion, storytelling, sales, creativity, behavioural science and business influence. The aim is simple: to understand how the best in the world win attention, build trust and convince people to act. Subscribe for more conversations with the masters of pitching. #BobKnakal #CommercialRealEstate #PitchMasters

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  Episode #10

  S2E10: Bob Knakal & the NYC Map Room that Won 92 of 94 Pitches (Full Video)

  Jun 30, 20261h 6mS2

  Bob Knakal joins Danny Fontaine inside the Knakal Map Room in Manhattan to reveal how one room helped win 92 of 94 real estate pitches. This is a masterclass in high-stakes selling, NYC commercial real estate, reputation, market presence, physical experience, AI, hard mail, storytelling and what it really takes to win trust when the stakes are enormous. Bob Knakal is the Chairman and CEO of BKREA and one of the most prolific commercial real estate brokers in American history. Across more than 42 years in New York City real estate, he has sold thousands of buildings and built a reputation as one of the great dealmakers of his generation. In this episode of Pitch Masters, I flew to Manhattan to meet Bob in the world-famous Knakal Map Room, a 24 foot by 10 foot physical map of Manhattan covered in data, post-it notes, colour codes and market intelligence. Bob explains how the Map Room began during the pandemic, why he walked every block of Manhattan south of 96th Street, why he still believes physical experience beats a screen, and how the room creates an immediate impression on clients. We also talk about: Why Bob says real estate is really the information and relationship business * How he accidentally got into commercial real estate What he learned from pitching around 10,000 times Why his career pitch win rate is around 26%, but the Map Room has won 92 of 94 pitches The billion-dollar pitch involving a brown paper bag, a mason jar and a pile of nuts and bolts Why hard mail still works when email does not Why market presence is not about ego, but helping clients How getting fired helped him see everything more clearly How Bob uses AI alongside old-school discipline and analogue research Why being different matters more than being cheaper What any salesperson, founder, broker, leader or communicator can learn from elite real estate dealmaking CHAPTERS: GUEST: Bob Knakal, Chairman and CEO, BKREA Official website: bkrea.com Bob Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/bobknakal Email: bk@bkrea.com Bob's cell: +1 917-509-9501 HOST Danny Fontaine, Author of PITCH: How to Captivate and Convince Any Audience on the Planet / Host of Pitch Masters Podcast. Find out more: Website: pitchguy.co.uk LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/dannyfontaine/ Instagram: instagram.com/dannyfontaine TikTok: tiktok.com/@pitchguy LISTEN TO PITCH MASTERS Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/pitch-masters/id1650175804 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4T2HQsKwfx67CDzeUL4wTD?si=90d39222891b4931 YouTube playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLYs5idRWzXZKPJYYR26MPuskp2YAaTS5o&si=bXx0OKO1jHLNZ5QO MORE PITCH MASTERS EPISODES ON YOUTUBE Daniel H. Pink: https://youtu.be/ZhwAmlg8OPA?si=9QOy5Uc2JNc4dwpU Rory Sutherland: https://youtu.be/p2Hc2gQPaSk?si=RvyAj9Ewqjbm9vdY Nancy Duarte: https://youtu.be/8_Zhmu8gxLc?si=-NF7SMz6vRjViZz0 Simon Sinek: https://youtu.be/2bLR_PbB94A?si=TqpIl1wN3yHd2rya Jeb Blount: https://youtu.be/B_S1ChPBLlM?si=qDKxah9tVK5EZtJo Oren Klaff: https://youtu.be/lAXlPyYSpZs?si=6ySPsHteD4b0CSaC ABOUT PITCH MASTERS Pitch Masters is the podcast where Danny Fontaine speaks to world-class experts in pitching, persuasion, storytelling, sales, creativity, behavioural science and business influence. The aim is simple: to understand how the best in the world win attention, build trust and convince people to act. Subscribe for more conversations with the masters of pitching. #BobKnakal #CommercialRealEstate #PitchMasters

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  Episode #9

  S2 E09: Gina Balarin, Author, Advisor and TEDx Speaker

  May 3, 20261h 7mS2

  <p>Most pitches don’t fail because of weak ideas. They fail because the message isn’t received the way it was intended.<br> <br> In this episode of Pitch Masters, Danny Fontaine speaks with author, TEDx speaker and advisor Gina Balarin about the gap between what we say and what our audience actually hears—and why that gap determines whether a pitch lands or falls flat.<br> <br> Gina shares how storytelling, language and emotion shape influence, why mastering communication can change outcomes, and how to turn disbelievers into believers in high-stakes situations.<br> <br> One of the most powerf...

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  Episode #9

  S2 E09 VIDEO VERSION: Gina Balarin, Author, Advisor and TEDx Speaker

  May 2, 20261h 7mS2

  <p>Most pitches don’t fail because the idea is weak. They fail because the message isn’t received the way it was intended.</p> <p> </p> <p>In this episode of Pitch Masters, Danny Fontaine is joined by author, TEDx speaker and advisor Gina Balarin to explore the gap between what we say and what our audience hears. And why that gap is where pitches succeed or fail.</p> <p> </p> <p>They discuss:</p> <p> </p> Why communication is defined by what the audience hears, not what you say How audience priorities shape the meaning of your message Why mos...

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  Episode #8

  S2 E08 VIDEO VERSION: Atif Rafiq, Former McDonald’s, Amazon, and MGM exec, author of Decision Sprint

  Apr 12, 20261h 20mS2

  <p>If you think great pitches are about storytelling alone, you may be missing the deeper truth. Persuasion is built on judgment, preparation and the ability to move people. Not just impress them.</p> <p>In this episode, Danny Fontaine sits down with former McDonald’s, Amazon, Volvo and MGM executive Atif Rafiq to unpack what it really takes to influence high-stakes decisions. From negotiating multimillion-dollar deals in his twenties to securing a billion-dollar transformation investment, Atif shares how deep preparation, listening and conviction separate persuasive leaders from everyone else.</p> <p>This is a conversation about pitching when the st...

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Recent guests on Pitch Masters. Study who booked and why before you pitch.

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