A Good Sales pitch starts with a good first impression.
A short, witty, catchy, and easy-to-remember phrase to open the presentation is often used by marketers to create initial impact and grab attention. However, it is also important that that same tone lasts after the opening.
The longer you can hold the shopper’s attention, the more likely you are to convert them into a customer. But to captivate them, you will need to be prepared, have relevant information about them, and develop a pitch that actively includes them in the presentation.
Although it seems simple, an effective sales pitch requires some preparation work and a good script, although it is not advisable to focus too much on the script. Let yourself be carried away by your audience and adapt the speech to what that same audience transmits to you.
Lastly, please keep it simple and short: your pitch should not be too long because you risk boring the client or the investor. Five to ten minutes should be enough to communicate the main idea.
Now that we’ve covered the basics of a good sales pitch let’s look at how to craft the perfect pitch.
How to Create a Sales Pitch?
Understand the customer
When you make a sales pitch, you need to know the audience well, that is, your potential customers.
- Who are they?
- What do they do?
- What is the area of action of these clients?
- What are your plans?
- What possible problems do they face?
All these questions must be answered because your presentation must be personalized and directed exclusively to that client. Remember that “get the customer’s attention” thing?
Focus on what matters to the customer
And for that, you must prioritize the needs of your customers. It sounds obvious, but it’s often overlooked in sales presentations.
Marketers forget a very important factor: to make consumers feel that their product or project is designed for them. This is one of the features that is not missing any success story.
Convey Your Goal
Get to the point and present your objective from the beginning. Make sure your potential buyer understands your project’s scope and its purpose, whether saving or making money, reducing time or risk, dealing with a human problem, etc.
Show the value of your project and to what extent it meets the needs and expectations of the client.
The Rule of three
Although there are no strict rules when preparing a presentation, a good sales pitch follows a rule of thumb. Your pitch should not convey more than three central ideas; each slide cannot contain more than three blocks of information.
This way, the information will be much easier to retain and remember.
Use Examples and Relevant Data.
For your sales pitch to be convincing and effective, you must include examples, facts, and statistics. For example, provide specific examples of how the public is benefiting or can benefit instead of just describing what your product does.
Use data and statistics to support the information you present whenever possible.
Dialogue and open debate
Many sales presentations focus solely on providing information to the buyer. However, the most effective presentations are a two-way communication between the seller and the audience.
Make sure your sales pitch leaves room for the customer to ask questions, give you feedback, and even some information about the purchase process and what stage they are in.
Avoid this Mistake at Any Cost When You Create a Sales Pitch
Talk more than listen
Without a doubt one of the most common mistakes in sales. Selling is not a monologue. 66.6% of your job in a meeting is listening to the customer. You will only speak 33.3%, so think carefully about what you have to tell and whom you will tell. You can rely on a script.
Get into a battle of arguments
Do not seek confrontation with your client, or you will build a problematic wall to tear down. Listen to his objections and try to empathize. Transfer your point of view without imposing it because it is not about finding out who wins the battle or making an enemy instead of a client.
Not knowing the wishes of the client
It is related to the two previous points. It’s easier to sell to someone when we know their wants and concerns, which you’ll find out by listening and empathizing. Also, remember that you only have 1 of 3 parties to talk about, so focus on becoming a challenge “solver”.
Be cold in the sale, do not excite.
Emotions move people, so mix stories so that your interlocutors can feel identified and “reach” them.
Make price the only sales tool.
Indeed your product or service has more weighty arguments. Keep that in mind before you jump into an endless price war.
Believe that my client will always be faithful
Do not trust. Thinking that your client will always buy from you because you have been working together for many years, etc., ‘s a mistake. The client is always open to new options that better meet his expectations.
Talk only about features and ignore the advantages
Avoid focusing only on features. Highlight the benefit, what your product or service solves
Forgetting Critical Business Success Factors
In addition to the price and the “technical sheet,” there are other values and benefits that complement and, depending on the type of person in front of us, can be decisive for sale: service, speed of response, quality, support, variety, guarantee…
Press too much or too little
Another typical error in sales appears in all the lists. Abusing your role as a seller can generate rejection. Exaggerating the benefits of your product, not listening, or pressuring excessively, can be the perfect cocktail so that your client only thinks about escaping from the meeting.
On the contrary, passivity breeds boredom.
Look for balance and naturally transmit enthusiasm so as not to be linear in the conversation or tone and capture customers’ attention. Don’t listen because you have to. Practice active listening and ask appropriate questions.
Not knowing how to handle objections effectively.
If you know what objections your prospects often raise, why not identify them? List possible objections and responses. If your sales force learns them, they won’t hesitate for a second about how to answer when the time comes, which conveys security. You can also clarify certain conditions or ways of working with your client before raising an objection, which is a sign of transparency, sincerity, and professionalism.
Underestimating after-sales service
Include it in your sales process; what’s more, thinking that the sale ends with the client’s signature will hinder the relationship, making future sales more difficult, not to mention satisfaction and loyalty.
Underestimate the commercial task
Selling is not easy. A good salesperson must have innate qualities and training to develop them and complement them with new skills and techniques.
You have to be an expert in the art of negotiation and verbal and non-verbal communication… But above all, your sales network must be an expert in the product or service you sell.