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It's impossible to overestimate the importance of the sales pitch. It’s what separates an average salesperson from a good salesperson.
A sales pitch is more art than science. You're dealing with people and getting a potential customer or client fired up about your product or service is about more than just showing them some numbers.
But how do you master this skill? Let’s go step by step through the process of creating a winning sales pitch.
A sales pitch or sales presentation is simply a technique that aims to educate a potential buyer about a product or service, and then attempts to convince that individual that the product will solve a need that the buyer has.
A good sales presentation quickly identifies the problem, succinctly lays out a solution, and convinces that buyer that now is the time to act. Sales pitches may be formal or informal, depending on the type of client or customer and the setting.
A product pitch that is all in your head is not good enough, particularly when you’re talking about B2B sales. You need to put it down on paper and create a presentation that can communicate the most important aspects of your pitch clearly and succinctly. Here are the most important elements of your pitch and some sales pitch examples.
You can't just wing it when you're pitching. You need authority in order to close your sale during the sales process, and a thin presentation will give you the opposite of that, potentially even driving away a buyer who initially was interested.
A big part of research is not just knowing your product, but your buyer. In fact, it's probably more important, because you can't sell anyone anything unless they feel like you understand their needs. You want to make the buyer think, “This company cares about helping us and is willing to do the legwork.”
Your customers will come into sales pitches thinking about their company’s problem, and they are going to walk out thinking about the problem. So you need to address those problems right out of the gate.
First, demonstrate to the client that you understand the problem. State it briefly and directly, and describe what this problem is doing to their business. Don’t be afraid to ask them if you have it right, and if they would like to add anything to your analysis.
Once you’ve demonstrated that you get where they’re coming from and you understand what this problem is doing to their business, you can move on to how you’re going to solve it.
Whether you call it a solution or a value proposition, the goal should be the same: to quickly identify exactly how your company is going to solve your customer’s problem.
You should be able to succinctly describe the benefits your product or service will give the client immediately upon making a purchasing decision. Perhaps your client is struggling in the sales department, and you’re going to provide a custom report and training that can increase their sales close rate and boost their effectiveness on the phones.
Or maybe a client says they need to increase network speed to increase the company’s efficiency, and your equipment can boost their speed by 20 percent as soon as it’s installed.
An asteroid that will wipe out all life on earth is a heck of a problem, and a laser that would destroy it is a fantastic solution, but if experts think such a situation is a few million years away, no one will buy that product.
One thing you don’t want a potential customer to do is walk out of the room saying, “great presentation, we’ll think about it.”
Those words suggest that you really haven’t convinced the client that they need to act now, so you need to emphasize that before you wrap up your presentation. For example, you might drive the point home by creating a slide that lays out exactly how much money the company is losing each month that they don’t buy your product.
Your clients know that talk is cheap, and they’ll be expecting you to prove your product is service is worth the investment. Testimonials from happy customers or independent data on your product’s performance will both offer convincing proof.
Another option is to go beyond the standard testimonial and find a client who really loves your product to interview.
Then create a case study that describes in detail the problem your client faced, how you solved it, and what benefits they enjoyed. This is a very powerful element to include in your presentation.
In sales, you need to lead potential clients by the hand through every step of the process. Don't assume they will take the initiative to buy from you even if you've convinced them up to this point. Relax at this point and your sales pipeline will suffer.
You need to provide a clear next step, depending on what you want your customer to do. It could mean simply asking for the sale there, or it could mean signing them up for a trial subscription. Whatever it is, finish your pitch with it and then wait for them to answer.
Now that you know how to create a sales pitch, it’s time to learn how to deliver it. Let’s try out a few types of pitches that you can adapt to any situation.
The one-word pitch is simple: it's that one, powerful word that describes your company in a nutshell. This is a word you want to use at the start of your presentation to immediately hook your client into a simple idea. After that, you’ll build your presentation around this one-word concept and flesh it out.
The elevator pitch is that quick description of what value your company offers that is so short, you could deliver it in a few seconds while taking the elevator with a client.
The question pitch is where you reframe your elevator pitch so that it reads like a question, challenging the client to actually think about what it is you offer.
A good initial email or follow-up email pitch has a compelling subject line and a succinct message. The body of the email should, in a sentence or two, describe the problem, the value proposition, and the urgency. It should always conclude with a compelling call to action.
This pitch is named after the animation company Pixar, which is behind hit movies such as Toy Story, Finding Nemo, and Up. Former Pixar story artist Emma Coats came up with a template that helps lay out the story of each Pixar film, and it can be applied to business. The template goes like this:
Once upon a time _____.
Every day, _____.
One day, _____.
Because of that, _____.
Because of that, _____.
Until finally, _____.
You can see how filling out this template helps you define your customer's story in a way that makes it easier to pitch your product.
Example of the Pixar pitch: "Once upon a time, there was a busy construction manager. Every day, she toiled over filling out paperwork. One day, she discovered ACME construction software that did much of this work automatically. Because of that, she spent less time filling out paperwork. Because of that, she spent more time growing her business. Until finally, her company's profits soared 20% year-over-year."
As you can see from the examples we provided, a great sales pitch is all about connecting with the problem that is on the client's mind at that moment, and then quickly and succinctly answering how you're going to solve that problem.
In order to be a good salesperson through the entire sales process, you need to do more than be good at the fundamentals of sales forecasting or have great CRM software: most importantly, you need to be constantly learning and growing in your B2B sales skills.
That’s why it is imperative that you practice these pitches in front of a mirror or with a colleague who can act as a stand-in. Put in the time and effort into mastering a range of pitches, and you’ll find that your sales success rate will grow exponentially.
Our Small Business Expert
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