Whether you think it or not most of us are selling just about every day. Not necessarily selling a product or service, and not necessarily selling something for cash. But most of us are selling an idea or pitching a thought to the people we interact with every day – it’s the act of persuasion and it is the very essence of selling.
If you ask most people though, they will tell you they hate selling. They hate the prospect of selling things to others and they are usually very averse to being sold to. Selling can be a wearisome progression of rejections and refusals.
So how do you up the odds in your favour? How do you create a sales pitch that gets you fewer rejections and more results?
It’s not that hard but it does take some thought and planning. Here are my top tips on how to create a great sales pitch:
Know Who you are Pitching to
Do your research on both the individual and the organisation you are pitching to. There’s nothing worse than being on the receiving end of a pitch from a business who clearly doesn’t understand who you are and how you operate. And don’t get caught out trying to pitch your services to a business that does the same thing you do. I read a story recently about a sales person at Drupal who did a cold email sales pitch to a guy called Matt Mullenweg. Drupal is a content management platform that powers around 2% of the world’s websites. Unfortunately for the Drupal sales person, Matt Mullenweg developed Word Press, a content management platform that powers roughly 16% of the world’s websites.
Grab Attention Early
Your pitch starts with the first sentence, make it count! Be creative and write a statement that readers will not be able to ignore. Put yourself in their place and think about what they are likely to be interested in. You want your audience or reader to sit up and pay attention right from the start. Look at this example of an opening line for a Dietician / Nutritionist. Which do you think will grab the most attention?
We are a boutique nutrition consultancy who offer tailored weight loss and weight control nutritional programs.
Or
Drop 5kgs in the next 4 weeks just by changing your breakfast choice!
If you want me to read on or stay listening to your pitch then your opening needs to grab my interest, and I am far more likely to keep reading if your opening tells me I can drop weight with a simple change rather than an opening line that tells we who you are.
Solve their Problem
Don’t focus on your company and products. When you talk primarily about your company and products you are changing your pitch to being “all about me” instead of “all about you”.
Focus on what your product will do for the prospect, and how it can solve their problem. Don’t focus simply on benefits – people aren’t interested in how you describe the benefit of your product. What they are interested in though is how that benefit can improve their life, business or work.
Remember that your audience really only care about what you have to say to the extent that your story can enhance their story.
Use Facts to Back Up what you Say
When you are demonstrating to your prospect how you can solve their problem, make sure you back it up with facts. To use our Dietician example above, a pitch might include a reference to say 80% of clients with less than 10kgs to lose reached their goal weight in under 3 months.
Know when to Finish
You’ve grabbed attention, you’ve demonstrated how you can solve your prospects problem, and you’ve backed it up with facts. This is the right time to draw to a close. A long pitch with too many details will probably bore your readers, and they may not get to the end of it. Keep your pitch short and to the point and don’t try to impress your audience with your knowledge rather than just telling your story.
Ask for a Response
Make sure your close has a call to action. What is it that you want them to do? Whether it’s to book a consultation, to buy now or to request more information, give them a reason to act now.
Finally, if you are delivering your pitch in person then practice, practice, practice what you are going to say and how you are going to say it but also keep your ears open for response signals from your audience. When you are talking face to face it’s time to stop thinking about your pitch and start thinking about a conversation around your story that will connect with hearts, minds and wallets.
Act Now
If you need help fine tuning a great sales pitch, I'm here to help. Let's chat - you can contact me on 0400 514579 or email pauline@worddynamics.com.au.