The quality of a sales pitch can make or break a deal. It’s the first thing your customer will hear when you call or meet with them, and it can be the deciding factor in a successful deal. A sales pitch is a presentation given by sales representatives to try to convince prospective clients to do business with your company – it’s like an opening line or verbal business card. Without a solid pitch, your company may miss out on opportunities that would benefit the company. That’s why having a strong sales pitch is key to any company’s outward-facing activities. It’s the foundation of a company’s interactions with customers and should be given top priority.
Salespeople need to be able to give their sales pitch in a concise, compelling way in order to capture the attention of the client. This pitch should be brief, like an elevator pitch, so that it can be understood in the same amount of time it may take to get from the lobby to the client’s floor. If a salesperson can do this successfully, they will have more time to discuss their product or service in more detail further down the line.
How to Start a Pitch
It can be a difficult task starting a pitch. To be successful, you must grab your prospect’s attention and give them a reason to want to hear more. To do this, you’ll want to include these essential elements.
- Begin with the issue at hand. Unless potential customers are aware of the problem you can solve, they will not be receptive to understanding how your product can be a solution.
- Customize your pitch to the client’s needs. Doing your research and tailoring your pitch to their specific needs will be much more effective than a generalized pitch that could be applied to any business.
- Offer stakes. If they don’t accept your solution, what risks do they face? By bringing up these potential losses early on in your pitch, you can more easily secure their buy-in.
For a product pitch, keep it short and sweet–try to say it all in thirty seconds or less, or one to two sentences if you’re sending it via email. Here are a few methods to get you started.
Start off with a personal anecdote.
When making a pitch, consider starting off with a personal anecdote to help you speak with authenticity and build empathy with your audience. Instead of focusing on the product’s merits, the anecdote should focus on a problem that the product can solve. This should be done in a genuine way, connecting the anecdote to the business of the people you are pitching to.
Pose a question relating to the problem you solve.
Asking a question is a great way to start a pitch, as it focuses on the problem that your product or service is designed to solve. The question should be tailored to the business you are pitching to and should be a yes or no question. This helps to get the conversation going in the right direction and allows you to explain how your product or service can help.
Start with a statistic that resonates and offers stakes.
Begin your pitch with a statistic that is relevant and meaningful. This can be an effective way to engage your audience and demonstrate the gravity of the situation. Make sure the statistic is closely connected to the problem at hand and conveys the severity of what could happen if the problem is not addressed. Once you’ve introduced the statistic, you can move on to the rest of your pitch.