How to Make a Good Sales Pitch in Seven Steps

How to Make a Good Sales Pitch in Seven Steps Creating a perfect and effective sales pitch might prove to be a difficult task. This is due to the fact that while creating a sales pitch, you dont just hurl information at your customer the way a baseball player pitches a baseball at a batter.If you want to create an effective sales pitch, you have to walk a two-way street â€" a conversation where you ask real questions after listening to the buyer, and then offer them a solution to the problems they are faced with.A good sales pitch is key to making sales.It is no secret that if you have a bad sales pitch, it will be very difficult to make good sales. Your sales pitch should not only be appealing, but it should also make your product or service distinct from the others.An excellent sales pitch creates a great first impression.Therefore, sales professionals spend much time working hard to create a perfect pitch that is memorable and delivers positive initial impact.If you want a presentation that incites interest rather than yawns, one that holds captive the attention of your audience for a very long time and finally wins them over, you have to be adequately prepared with relevant buyer information, and a captivating pitch that makes the buyer become actively in the discussion.Although creating a sales pitch sounds simple, you have to consciously put some effort into creating an effective one while working hard not to stray from the script.The art of creating captivating sales pitches is one that is perfected over time. With constant practice, you will be able to create many captivating and mesmerizing sales pitch.Here are seven tips to get you on your way to a more effective sales pitch.1. DO YOUR RESEARCHYou are not likely to make many sales if you prepare your sales pitch using general knowledge.As already mentioned, a sales pitch is not just about tossing information at the buyer anymore. The importance of crafting a pitch that specifically addresses the situations of your client cannot be overemphasized. Before you can make a perfect pitch, you must adequately understand your customer.This all boils down to the fact that you have to carry out extensive research on your customer so that you can increase your chances of closing deals.Research has shown that about 80% of salespeople are not usually aligned with the needs of their buyer. The focus is not on you during a sales conversation it has to be on the buyer.It is not about why you like a product, but how the product can help the buyer.After you have carried out your research, you are able to sell the value of your product and not the price.Hammer home the value of your product because value always beat price.Before presenting your pitch to the buyer, you should conduct a thorough research on their industry, their company and also competitors and find out if youre speaking with the decision maker of their company.When you first make contact with them, ensure you ask the right questions that can help you tailor your message to addr ess the specific needs of your buyer and ease the deal to the next step.If you are able to research well into your buyer, you will be able to easily eliminate unnecessary noise and distractions, and keep your buyer engaged. Let them know you understand their business by delivering a specific message that highlights the features of your product which matters to them the most.With adequate research, youll be able to deliver a different sales pitch every time you meet a new company.This can’t be emphasized enough. If you always come in with a story from only your angle, will it be any wonder why it doesn’t resonate with your audience?Also, try to back up your claims with facts and statistics. In a survey conducted by Dimension Research, 90% of respondents claimed that their buying decisions were influenced by reading positive online reviews.Armed with this knowledge, your pitch should contain compelling facts and statistics that back up your claims.Be sure to include case studies a nd testimonials which contain figures and statistics to prove that your product or service has shown to be successful over the years. If you claim you can solve your buyer’s main problems, prove it with facts.According to Jane Porter in Entrepreneur, there are some bases you have to cover prior to pitching.Your amazing concept will not get the attention of investors without your ability to demonstrate that you possess the level of business acumen necessary to structure and propel an idea to success.2. KEEP YOUR INTRODUCTION CLEAR AND CONCISEThe length of your pitch is as important as the content of the entire pitch. A pitch that is too long will cause your buyer to lose interest and fail to read on.People are not ready to read or listen to long recitations about yourself, your achievements, history about your company and so on.Therefore, it is wise not to begin your sales pitch this way.Information about you and your company is readily available online and your prospect will most probably have gone through it already.However, writing your pitch to the perfect length will spark and maintain the buyers interest right through to the end. It is okay to keep your introduction brief then move on quickly to the more engaging juicy stuff in your pitch.In order to keep your sales pitch short, you should follow the rules of thumb by creating half of what you think will be needed for a 15-minute presentation.If your audience finds it interesting and captivating enough, they will ask for more. It is better to arouse the curiosity of your clients and have them beg for more than to over-deliver, bore them out, and put them to sleep.Be strict with your word count so that you can avoid information overload. You have to find the perfect hook, something that will make them find the pitch interesting, something that appeals to them and will make them keep on reading or listening.If you plan to send your sales pitch via email, you need to be able to craft the perfect subject li ne.Your opening sentence or subject line should be able to capture your buyers attention.Your introduction makes a lot of difference and will determine if your client will keep on reading, or simply dismiss your pitch altogether.Many people communicate, but very few connect.Your hook needs to communicate the story of your business while also establishing a connection with the buyers needs. Getting these two aspects right will help you successfully engage your customer and convince them to continue reading your pitch.You need to be as clear as day and employ the use of simple, easy to understand language. It is super easy to be blind to your own jargon because they make perfect sense to you.However, since youll be dealing with both expert and non-expert customers, you may have to use simple language that your non-expert customers will find very easy to translate.If you want to be sure about how easy your sales pitch is to understand, you can test your sales pitch on someone at home o r on your friends who are not experts.They can help you pinpoint the jargon you need to replace with plain English.Short and sweet does the trick. What is worse than your pitch getting ignored by your prospect because it is simply too long and complex? 3. DO THE LISTENINGLet the buyer do most of the talking.Although this might sound pretty strange after all the long hours youve put into the preparation of your sales pitch, it is as important as the sales pitch itself.Let the buyer talk.That you feel you have covered every base does not mean that you know everything.Dont be so overzealous or overconfident that you just keep on rattling on from your script. If your sales pitch will be good and effective, it is high time you put your script down, open-mindedly go into the pitch, focus on the buyer, and let the buyer do most of the talking.When you deliver your pitch, take the time to listen your buyer, give insightful responses to their questions or objections, and follow-up with thoug htful questions.This step is important because it helps you to have a perfect understanding of your clients business needs and therefore ultimately help you to close the deal. Active listening backed up with asking the right questions, can go a long way in helping you adjust your sales message, and shape it to one that sounds really attractive to the buyer.Try to understand the goals they have and the hurdles they have to overcome and build your conversation around this, focusing on how your products can meet their needs. It is very important to give a listening ear to your prospective clients.Dont think about another deal when in a conversation with a prospective client. Practice active listening.Active listening proves that youre putting the buyer’s needs first. Your sales pitch should be more of a healthy conversation than a mere business presentation. This will make both parties feel good at the end of the talk. Remember, this can only happen if you keep your ears open. 4. SOL VE REAL PROBLEMSOnce your buyer has become convinced to continue listening to you or reading your pitch, you need to then show how you can help them.A prior conversation with the buyer makes it easier for you to be aware of the issues which your buyer faces, and will be help you highlight which of their problems your product or service can solve.When you write your pitch, make sure you directly address the issues that your buyer faces. Focus on whats new or different in your product or service and explain how your product or service can help them fix these problems. If you tackle their problems head-on, your customers will feel that you have genuinely listened to them by taking their needs into account and providing a solution.This is the best way to prove the brilliance and uniqueness of what you have to offer. Once you have enchanted your buyer, it becomes easier to sell to them. A enchanted sale is different from a simple sale because with enchantment, you showed to have the othe r persons best interest at heart.It’s no news that a customer will give attention and respond to products or services that solve a current problem. A successful sales pitch must, therefore, acknowledge that problem and provide a solution.Let each sales pitch speak directly to the unique challenges of the business you’re pitching.Hone your messages on the features of the product that your customer will most benefit from.You need to go all out to ensure that your potential customers see how your product provides essential solutions to their major problem.5. TELL A STORY TO CREATE A CONNECTIONSuccess in sales is almost always all about connecting with the prospective buyer. And to establish a connection, you could tell a story.Have you ever told a story in your sales pitch?Everyone likes to hear some sort of story that they can connect to. In your next sales pitch, try telling the story of your brand.Remember, short and sweet does the trick.Telling the story of your brand and produ ct can make your sales pitch successfully enchant the customer.However, to create a stronger connection between you and your customers, storytelling has to be effectively done. Buyers will only be able to connect if they can relate to your brand on a personal level.The more connection they feel, the more reason they feel they have to buy from you. Storytelling is not just some off-the-head idea and has actually been scientifically proven to boost sales.Neuro-linguistic programming has shown that all humans run 99% subconsciously and 1% consciously. Stories can create such strong connecting because they allow the subconscious mind (99%) of the prospect to see the valuable application of the solutions your product or service claim to solve.This is made possible because when you pair the stories of your brand and product with facts and figures, you can ignite the desire in people to want to know more.6. RESPECTFULLY ADDRESS OBJECTIONSLearn to get ahead of potential problems. Since ever y product has some shortfalls, you should anticipate reservations that your prospective buyer may have and address them proactively.While reviewing your sales pitch, be sure that the pitch addresses potential sales objections that may come up during the presentation.Objections and questions from the buyer will reveal new grounds to cover in your next sales pitch because even after your thorough research and your answers to a customers problem, there might be some grounds that you have failed to cover. A salesperson will most likely encounter sales objections within these four buckets: Budget, Authority, Need, and Time (popularly known as BANT).Be absolutely prepared to discuss and answer objections from each of these areas. Although you may not have a detailed response to all four, be prepared to discuss each. The key here is that you offer a valuable reply to your buyer.You have to discover if your target audience already has a product that is similar to yours. If you have knowledg e of your competition, you will have to highlight the distinctive features that differentiate your product from the competition.For example, if from your research you discover that your buyer has a low budget, you can talk about how much money your product can save them.After several face-to-face meetings, you’ll be able to fully hone your objection-response based on the feedback you receive during those meetings.However, before amassing such knowledge and experiences, you can handle objections by leveraging customer and product research.7. ASK FOR THE SALEYoure a salesperson and your major goal is to close deals and make sales.Although it is crucial to listen to your buyer, you should not just pack up after delivering your pitch, shrug your shoulders and wait expectantly for the customer to make the next move.It is astounding to know that 85% of the time, a salesperson ends an interaction with a prospect without ever asking for the sale! Yes, you read that correctly, 85%! Before any sales pitch can be complete, there has to be a call to action that will help your buyer make a decision.If the customer is not ready to make a decision on the sale yet, keep the prospect on the journey by adequately following-up the prospect with a meeting or a trial period.The customer shouldnt call the shots. It is not wise to wait for the customer to make the call to action. If you fail to be proactive, it could result in losing the contract. It is your duty to give your buyer clear instructions on what they need to do next. What do they have to do next?Of course, they have to order for your product or service! Tell them if they have to click on a link to your website, or place a call to your company Immediately.Don’t be shy to ask for the sale, you are a salesperson! You’ve come this far, why stop now?Whatever action you expect your client to take, ensure it is clear with a well-written call to action.CONCLUSIONCongratulations! If you have read this through, you will hav e discovered how to make an excellent sales pitch, so never give an under-prepared presentation.Keep your pitch clear youll have your buyers attention. Repeatedly review and trim excesses until your pitch is as concise as possible without losing the intent.Okay, now youre fully ready to close your next deal. Dont get too nervous. Be confident because youve put a lot of effort and mental energy into your sales pitch; you know your product, you know your buyer, you know how your product will help the buyer, youre ready to listen, you have a story to tell, youre solving a real problem, youre ready for any objection, and of course, youre ready to ask for the sale.Remember, you attract what you think! I really do hope these tips helped. See you at the top!