She Sold $2.5B on TV — How She Built a Million-Dollar Business

Dr. Forbes Riley built her career in front of the camera, turning products into must-haves and generating more than $2.5 billion in cumulative sales. Over the course of three decades, she became a fixture on home shopping networks like QVC and HSN and the driving force behind 197 infomercials, mastering the psychology of what makes people say yes and pull out their credit cards to buy a product. 

In 2020, at the height of her success, Riley made an unexpected pivot. She stepped away from selling products to teach the one skill that powered every deal she had ever closed: how to pitch. 

What began as a bet on herself quickly gained traction. Riley launched the Ultimate Pitch Academy and scaled it to $1 million in revenue within nine months. Today, the business generates millions of dollars a month. She trains a wide range of clients, from entrepreneurs and executives to stay-at-home moms, on how to communicate. In total, more than 100,000 people have gone through her programs, all learning a skill Riley says is at the core of every success story: the ability to sell an idea.

The following interview has been lightly edited for clarity and concision. 

A 30-year career and the birth of infomercials

How did you generate $2.5 billion in sales?

It’s cumulative over about 30 years, through a combination of home shopping and infomercials. I helped pioneer the infomercial industry after starting out as a TV actress on shows like 24 and The Practice. That evolved into projects like the George Foreman Grill, which sold hundreds of millions of dollars.

How did you actually get into pitching on TV?

I walked into an audition as an actress and saw a pen on the desk with a note that said, “Sell me this pen.” I thought it was stupid because I hadn’t grown up with money and selling made me uncomfortable. So I told a story about my mother writing me longhand letters when I went to college at 15 and how a pen could touch someone’s heart. Jake Steinfeld, who created Fitness Plus, one of the first 24-hour cable networks where the last 15 minutes of every hour were dedicated to selling health and wellness products, came out from behind the camera, grabbed my face and basically said, “You’re going to be a star.”

Why do people call you the “godmother of TikTok Shop”?

On Fitness Plus, I hosted one product after another—ab machines, tooth whiteners, bread makers, roller skates, you name it—and over five years, I pitched about 1,500 different products. That network sold for $500 million in 1993, and a lot of what people now call influencer marketing is built on that format we created back then.

The ultimate pitch formula

What is your “Ultimate Pitch Formula”?

It’s an eight‑step formula I’ve developed over decades, which I now teach in a four‑week training I run every month. It includes concepts like the “hub,” “assumptions,” “relatability,” the “springboard story,” and especially a tool I call the “question flip.”

What exactly is the “question flip?”

It means you start by identifying someone else’s pain or desire, then ask a question you already know they’re likely to answer “yes” to. For a weight‑loss doctor, instead of pitching the product, you might say, “If you’ve been hearing about fast Ozempic‑style weight loss, are you willing to trade bone density and long‑term health for speed?” Most people say no; then you offer an all‑natural, side‑effect‑free 30‑day solution and ask if that’s interesting. Once they say yes, you have permission to talk about your solution.

Where does someone actually start when crafting a pitch?

You don’t start by writing the pitch — that’s the end. First, you go through the “hub”: why you’re in business, what the business actually is, what it sells, whether it’s a product or a service, who the competition is, and what value the listener gets. Only after that do you decide who you’re pitching—consumer, investor, media, etc.—because each of those requires a different pitch.

You talk a lot about “assumptions.” Aren’t we told not to assume?

We’re told not to voice assumptions, but you must make them internally. When I pitch you, I notice your hair, glasses, background, clothes, and I make educated assumptions that may or may not be true. If I don’t, I sound like a cardboard billboard — generic and forgettable.

Can you give an example of using assumptions and relatability in a pitch?

If I’m pitching SpinGym, a handheld fitness product I created, to a woman on Zoom, I might say, “As a woman, when winter’s over and we take our sweaters off, pick your arm up and feel the back — nice and tight or a little wiggly‑jiggly?” Then I paint a picture: imagine playing with SpinGym at your desk five minutes a day, a few times a week, for three weeks — your arms get tighter. Then I ask, “Is that something you might want?” I’m aiming for an easy “yes,” because once you say yes to wanting toned arms, you’re far more likely to ask, “How can I get one?”

Building a million-dollar business with her daughter

How did the pandemic change your business?

COVID was a perfect storm. My husband, a competitive bodybuilder, was in a serious motorcycle accident on January 2 and spent six months in a wheelchair. As everything shut down, my then‑17‑year‑old daughter came downstairs and said, “Mom, let’s start a business. You won’t be able to rely on China to manufacture SpinGym; you should teach pitching online.”

What did your daughter bring to the table?

She had quietly been building websites and had $100,000 in her bank account at 17.

How did your first webinar perform?

We hosted a webinar with 25 people and offered a four‑week, $1,000 Ultimate Pitch program. The next morning, I checked the dashboard, saw “25K,” and asked my daughter what the “K” meant. She laughed and said, “You made $25,000 last night.” We repeated that small, 25‑person webinar four times and created a six‑figure business—$100,000—in our first month.

If you had to boil it down, what’s the core of great pitching?

Stop telling people what they need; get them to want what you have. That starts by understanding their problem better than they do, then offering a solution that feels like a win‑win. When you do that, people say yes, they say thank you, and your whole life—from parenting to travel upgrades to fundraising—gets easier.

Pitching vs. selling and the biggest mistakes founders make

You draw a distinction between pitching and selling. What’s the difference?

When you pitch someone well, they usually say “thank you.” It feels like a gift — like your editor thanking you for a powerful story. Selling, as most people experience it, ends with a credit card transaction and often stops there, with no relationship. That’s why I think retailers like Macy’s and JCPenney collapsed: they were late to loyalty programs and focused on cash‑for‑product instead of nurturing ongoing relationships.

What’s the most common pattern you see among founders who have great products but can’t sell them?

They don’t understand the art of pitching because no one ever taught them. They rush to tell you all about their product or, worse, spend the first 60 seconds on why they started the company, which I call the “springboard story.” That story can be powerful, but not until the listener is interested; you start with their problem and your solution, and only when they say, “Tell me more,” have you earned the right to share your origin story.

What’s the single biggest mistake you see in the first 60 seconds of a product pitch?

They talk too much and treat everyone the same. They don’t know who they’re talking to and don’t seem to care.

Reading the room — even through a camera

How did you “read the audience” when you were pitching on QVC and HSN?

Before I opened my mouth, I’d ask: “Who is home on a Tuesday at 9 a.m.?” It might be stay‑at‑home moms, remote workers, people caring for aging parents, or someone home sick with an autoimmune disease. I’d then speak directly to those possibilities—like showing how SpinGym can work your upper body even if you’re lying in bed—so a huge slice of the audience felt seen.

Could you actually see how your pitch was performing in real time?

Yes. All we see is a sales counter: if the numbers stall, we know something’s off; if they spike, we double down on whatever we just did. I’m listening to a producer in my earpiece, talking to a host, and constantly adjusting. Once the counter showed zero sales after a segment, and I was horrified — until the producer cut in to say the counter had glitched and we’d actually sold 1,200 units in about five minutes.

How do you help people introduce themselves more powerfully — say, at a networking event?

When I asked how you answer “What do you do?” you said, “I’m a business news reporter for Entrepreneur.” That’s true, but it doesn’t drive your goals forward. I suggest something like: “As someone who loves business and entrepreneurs, I write for Entrepreneur. If you or someone you know has a great story, I’d love to hear from you.” In one sentence, you’ve framed your passion, your platform, and a clear call to action.

Pitching in everyday life

You say you use pitching at home, even with your kids. How?

I grew up with parents who yelled, “Clean your room or you don’t get dinner.” It worked, but we resented it. With my own kids, I decided to “pitch” instead. I’d ask, “Do you smell the cookies in the oven?” and “How about I play cards with you after dinner, no phones?” Once I had two yeses, I’d say, “Great. Now go make the floor spotless in 15 minutes, and then it’s cookies and cards.” They cleaned happily because they were pursuing something they wanted. That’s pitching.

Do you really believe pitching should be taught in schools?

Absolutely. We’re taught math, geography, science, maybe a language — but not money, relationships or pitching. Yet pitching is the skill that helps you get jobs, raise money, sell products, negotiate and even parent more effectively.