When Precious Williams started her first company, Curvy Girlz Lingerie, back in 2012, she had no business cards, no web presence and was totally broke – with a -$400 balance in her bank account.

But thanks to some quick thinking, creativity and a healthy dose of chutzpah, Williams talked her way onto the MSNBC show, Your Business With JJ Ramberg, where she asked for $500,000 and received it. Her unparalleled pitching skills led her to win 13 national elevator pitch competitions in less than two years. In 2016, she appeared on Shark Tank where she wowed the sharks with her bold personality and data-backed vision to sell lingerie to “full-figured divas and plus-sized fashionistas.”

Precious Williams shared tips on how to craft a dynamic pitch during her keynote at ASI Chicago.

Now, the Killer Pitch Master, as she’s known, teaches others how to “captivate, excite and delight” by crafting the perfect pitch. On Thursday morning, Williams burst onto the stage at ASI Chicago, dressed in a one-shouldered hot pink jumpsuit and clutching a custom “Pitch, please” pillow (a phrase she exhorted listeners to shout out whenever something she said resonated). She shared tips on how audience members can use their own unique story to “create a dynamic sales pitch that pays and slays.”

During the energetic keynote – and a pitch clinic power session she led afterward – Williams encouraged promo pros to believe in themselves, be authentic and take chances to stand out from the competition. She shared anecdotes from her life growing up in a poor neighborhood in St. Louis, making it to law school and working as an attorney for several years, but feeling unwelcome and boxed in at her staid and stuffy “black and navy blue suit” law firm. So, she struck out on her own to launch her lingerie business, despite people’s warnings that she was leaving a stable career for the unknown.

“When I started, they told me I was too fat, too Black and didn’t have an Ivy League degree,” Williams said. “I became the Killer Pitch Master when I refused to let other people define me.”

A good pitch is like the first bite of your favorite holiday dinner. “A lot of us are giving the full meal deal,” she said. However, “a pitch is a delicious morsel, a taste of what’s to come – the secret sauce about you that nobody else can say.”

You have to include the usual elements – your name, your company, how you can be reached and a call to action. But most importantly you must figure out who your target market is, what they need that only you can provide and then convey that in a way that’s memorable and compelling.

“Why are you the only choice that matters?” Williams asked.

Rather than starting out simply by introducing yourself, she encouraged the audience to “set the scene” and get creative during a pitch. Do something unexpected and go against the grain, so that you stand out from the competition.

“Your name and company aren’t important until you give me a reason to care,” Williams said.

She also noted that pitching comes in many different forms – not just a traditional sales pitch in front of prospective clients or potential investors. A pitch could be a well-crafted social media post that speaks to your target audience, as long as it’s not simply a product photo, description and hard sell. You could have a conversational pitch sitting next to someone on an airplane, where you offer your seatmate a solution to a problem they didn’t know they had because you’re paying attention and actively listening, she said.

“I want you all to be human and not the one they run away from,” Williams said. “Sell without selling.”

Williams also implored the audience not to give up after failure, reflecting on her own life to drive the point home.

“A failure, we all know, is not fatal, but it feels that way,” she said.

Shortly after appearing on Shark Tank, Williams’ romantic partner died, leaving her so grief-stricken that she turned to alcohol and ended up living on the streets for two years. But she was able to bounce back. “They said it was over for me, but a higher power said it was just beginning,” she added.

Within months of recovery, she had built her Perfect Pitches by Precious business and was speaking at major universities, corporations and other venues.

“No matter what’s happening, you can do it,” Williams said.