It is common knowledge that you won't get a second chance to make a first impression. Every sales related person knows that this applies to approaching customers as well. If you fail to grab a listener's attention during the first interaction, it will be challenging to score the second one, let alone turn it into a success.
Surely, contemporary technologies offer plenty of CRM and sales tools to help you attract and retain clients. However, words are still the biggest helpers when it comes to persuading people to choose your company. That's why a well-structured, clear, and exciting sales pitch is the perfect instrument to charm your way into your audience's hearts and minds.
The Essential Elements of Every Proper Sales Pitch
Of course, if you're reading this article, the odds are that you're familiar with what a sales pitch is. Still, it might be helpful to write down its definition so as to not leave room for discussions or possible misinterpretations. A sales pitch (presentation) is a selling technique accomplished through a written or verbal message about the advantages your product or service will bring to the potential clients. It is your business card or a display window. After hearing it, your prospects should be left with this pleasant feeling that persuades them to call you or visit your store. So, the question is: "What should a sales pitch have to truly inspire a customer?". Let's dig into it.
What Makes a Good Sales Pitch?
Globalization, in parallel with economic and technological development, transformed our society enormously. Therefore, if you want to reach out to people in 2021, your sales pitch has to comply with several requirements, such as:
● Be short and explicit
The modern world moves fast, and so do people. The pace of life is so intense that we often don't have time to listen to the ones we love and cherish, let alone some salesperson we've met for the first time. Thus, it is important to stay focused and stick to the point. Your sales pitch should be present in the form of a short statement with a clear structure and thoughts that your target audience can easily comprehend.
Commonly, when it comes to a message's length or duration, the standards are pretty high: no more than 2 minutes for a speech and approximately 300 words for an e-mail. Plus, you need to remember that the first 30 seconds are crucial to grab the prospect's attention. If your presentation is long, vague, and hard to follow, the chances that it will spark an interest in your potential client are close to zero. That's why some experts use the term "elevator pitch". This means that with the sales pitch, you should be able to deliver your message loud and clear within the period of a single elevator ride. It might seem tough, but, honestly speaking, excellent salespersons should know the company they represent well enough to name its advantages in a heartbeat.
● Contain a particular issue or problem your client can fix using your products and services
You are addressing your target audience, so you know that they need you, but the tricky part is that they don't realize it yet. Hence, your task is to explain to them how you can improve their lives and solve their problems. In case you fail to achieve it, your potential clients will drift away because they won't see any point in further communication. Most likely, they have plenty of other matters to attend to. Therefore, you need to answer their unspoken question: "Why would I need your company's product/service?" with clearly expressed and effortlessly understandable arguments. Once again, being concise and neat is crucial, no more than 30 seconds or a couple of sentences of your sales pitch should be dedicated to this subject. If you exceed these limits, potential customers are likely to decide that you're wasting their time and don't have anything valuable to offer them.
● Provide listeners with the full picture of what your company is doing and for whom
To decide whether they actually need your services, clients should know who you are and what company you represent. Plus, it always seems more appealing to do business with a reputable, trustworthy professional. Hence, this is your chance to prove that your proposition is an investment they won't regret making. Your major purpose is to create a comprehensive portrait of your company and its typical customer. However, you should avoid going into too many details or providing a prospect with some generic facts. Indeed, basic information, numbers, success stories, or awards are great, but don't forget to ensure that the listener can relate to it. An inspiring sales pitch requires a personal touch to help the prospects understand that they fit your firm's profile and see the necessity to become your clients.
● Present the list of your products'/services' advantages that would make your prospects' life better by accommodating their specific needs.
So, your listeners know that they can use your product to take care of their problems, but how exactly can they do it? Come up with a list of reasons why your product is more efficient, or advanced, than any other solution on the market. Remember that you have to focus primarily on the features and benefits that are actually useful to this particular customer. Can this tool can boost performance, save time or reduce the amount of paperwork? Mention it, but make sure that you don't waste precious time on presenting customer support related instruments to HR. If you play your cards right, your sales pitch can help the prospect to form a clear vision of how they can successfully apply your products and services to improving their lives.
What Should a Sales Pitch be comprised of?
When you are under the pressure of strict time limits, thoughtful structure is essential. If you think your message or speech through beforehand, you can be sure that you won't forget anything important. In addition, if your sales pitch has a well-defined framework, that follows a certain algorithm, listeners can better understand the logic behind your thoughts. So, what are the necessary elements of a well-crafted sales pitch?
● Problem
A good salesperson always starts a sales pitch with explaining that spending time on listening to this presentation is in the prospect's best interest. Refer to statistics, tell a relatable life story, pose a question to draw the audience's attention and point out a problem that they can solve using your product or service. This is the stage where you make the prospects realize that they might use some help with addressing some major issues.
● Solution (what you do and how you do it)
Introduce your company and describe a product or service that you provide. Make this part of the sales pitch personal and relatable by emphasizing that everything you do is designed specifically to satisfy their needs. Do your best to present your company and products from the most favorable angles, so your potential customers could see that you actually have the means to change the game for them.
● Advantages
Highlighting the benefits of using your product is the easiest and fastest way to make your offer look lucrative and worth further consideration. If the listeners see that you can give them something that all the other major market players fail to provide, they will certainly be more inclined to continue cooperation with you rather than with your competitors. The key to this element of sales pitch is to be smart and study your prospect in advance, so you could concentrate on the particular features that your potential customers might be interested in.
● Success stories and achievements
Of course, even for inexperienced salespersons, it is obvious that sharing your triumphs is a great way to convince the potential buyer or business partner of your stellar performance and impeccable reputation. People tend to feel emotional connection with the real customers' stories. Name-dropping can also be an efficient tactic. Critical acclaim and recognition from the major field players can become a strong argument in favor of using your services. However, it is crucial to keep in mind that you shouldn't turn your sales pitch into bragging or self-praising. Your audience should feel enthusiastic and flattered, not intimidated.
● Closing statement
A trivial ending is never a suitable option for a captivating sales pitch. Your goal is to finish the message with something that provokes the listeners to engage in further conversation. The best way to achieve it is to pose a question. For instance, you can use something like:
If you're writing down an appointment with us right now, we can promise you that it would be the last meeting you're setting up manually. Having a synchronized digital calendar and a planner accessible on any device anytime anywhere definitely sounds like a convenient and time-saving perspective, doesn't it?
In case this sales pitch framework doesn't work for you, you can always stick to the TOE method. Its algorithm is easier to understand, remember, and follow:
● Telling a story, an anecdote, or an eye-opening data on the matters that disturb your audience. They might not even know that they have a problem they need to deal with, but, luckily, you are here to tell them about it.
● Offering your company's help with addressing the clients' situation. Now, that they are aware of the issue they have, they will be happy to learn that there are means to resolve it and your company is willing to offer all the necessary tools.
● Establishing trust between you and your customers by mentioning successful real-life cases, awards, and famous clients of yours. As soon as the listeners recognize that you are an expert in this field, they will feel much more eager to collaborate.
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Remember!
Your sales pitch is the path that should lead potential customers into your office. Make it short, clear, exciting, and they will walk down it with pleasure.
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How to Make Your Sales Pitch Catchy
The structure of your sales pitch might be flawless, yet, it can still be ordinary. If you want your presentation to be memorable, you should pay attention to the way you express your thoughts. Of course, experienced salespersons have some tricks up their sleeves, but it still might be helpful to expand your arsenal with a couple of new techniques. So, here is some advice you might use, while crafting your speech or message:
● Make your sales pitch personal and try to spark emotion, whether it is excitement, fear, or astonishment. They can laugh or raise eyebrows, it doesn't matter as long as they are not indifferent. However, don't forget to make sure that your data and examples are relevant to the subject.
● Research the contact's background, try to address him or her directly, using the name or the word "you". This approach would make the prospect feel special because you've spent time and efforts to add a personal touch to your message instead of simply copy-pasting some commonly used phrases. Unfortunately, many of the modern platforms use automation with no personalization. Yet, there are examples of advanced software, such as Bitrix24, that allow you to gather and store all the clients' data, so you could use it in both sales and marketing campaigns.
● Add value to your company and products through describing advantages of choosing your services. While the introduction and conclusion of your message should be dedicated to drawing the attention of your audience and engaging them into further communication, the main part should be focused on how unique and useful your product's features are. This is your chance to convince a potential partner or buyer that your alliance will be mutually beneficial.
● Find proof to support your statements and add it to your presentation. Mention facts, statistics, or other scientific information that proves your point. Presenting yourself as a knowledgeable, rational, and trustworthy professional can contribute enormously to demonstrating your credibility and legitimacy.
● Avoid using metaphors or jargon. Naturally, delivering a sales pitch is an art. Yet, artistic expressions often turn out to be vague and complicated. In addition, you might presume that casually dropping some professional jargon will result in gaining respect among your audience. It might be true in some cases, but it can also be confusing and hard to perceive. Your major priority is to make your sales pitch short, explicit, and understandable, so it is a better tactic to refrain from anyything that might mislead the listeners.
Remember that practice makes perfect. The ability to improvise is a very useful skill when it comes to delivering a sales pitch, especially if it is a face-to-face conversation. Still, to avoid any possibility of mistakes, awkward pauses, or inconsistencies it's necessary to rehearse your speech beforehand, so you can feel confident about performing it in front of the audience.
8 Tips and Examples To Improve Your Sales Pitch
Everyone starts with learning the basics, but theory is of use only when you can successfully put it into practice. To obtain a thorough understanding of how the tactics and techniques are applied, it is always helpful to illustrate the rules in action. Therefore, let's review some of the best sales pitch examples that are relevant in 2021 and are likely to remain this way in the near future.
Witty Examples of Sales Pitch Openings
1. A real-life story
Simple and plain lines, such as: "With this product, I've become 40% more efficient in a week", might have worked in the past, but today the most common reaction you'll probably get is: "Good for you, but what's in it for us?". Thus, your task is to find something that will resonate with your audience, such as a problem that they struggle with every day. For instance:
Some time ago, I was putting another report on a huge pile of documents when I noticed that it was dangerously leaning towards the floor. It seemed like my cabinet was made of paper: there were documents, notes, business cards, a planner, a calendar, etc. That's when I realized that we live in the 21st centur — it's time to go digital and paperless. Since then, everything I need is in my phone on the synchronized mobile version of my CRM platform.
2. Eye-opening statistics
Traditionally, numbers are easier to perceive than words. Plus, usually they are more believable. Yet, simply mentioning them may not be efficient enough. Hence, strive to connect the data with the issues that matter to this particular client.
More than 75% of all bookings are made via mobile devices. The research indicates that those who add special offers for the smartphone and tablet users, have the number of bookings they receive increased by 28%.
3. The WOW-effect
It is always a good strategy to aim at impressing the audience. With this approach, you will separate yourself from the boring and generic speeches of your competitors and make the listeners remember you long after the presentation is over.
Did you know that solar panels can generate energy regardless of the weather? Sunlight reaches the ground even through the clouds or during the rain. Plus, you can accumulate energy during the day and use it at night
4. Fear of missing out (FOMO)
Among sales pitch examples, this is a rare one, but it can be very efficient when it comes to motivating and persuading the potential customer not to delay calling you or writing you back. Underline the urgency of the matter, create an impression that there is no time to hesitate.
Have you noticed that electricity keeps getting more expensive? The government have just started dropping hints that the next increase is coming soon. Some experts think it's time to invest in solar energy. At least, the sun doesn't charge us for it.
Smart Examples of Self Presentation
5. The innovative approach
Vidyard isn't afraid of going bold, and, in their opinion, this is the best option. They need to conquer the market with a brand-new tool. Thus, their main task is to demonstrate that their product is actually innovative and worth trying. That's why they make a comparison between the old way (writing an e-mail) and the new way (sending a video). It's hard to argue: visual representation is indeed funnier and easier to personalize and perceive.
Email isn't dead, but it sure is boring. With Vidyard, you can record and send videos in just a few clicks – perfect for busy sales reps trying to break into inboxes or marketers trying to make a splash.
6. A personal approach
Edward Jones offers us one of the best sales pitch examples you can find. The company starts by breaking your expectations. Now you're curious and strive to find out what makes this firm so unique.
If you think Edward Jones is like every other large investment firm, think again.
When it comes to describing their mission, they focus primarily on the customer. The message is filled with care, leaving you with a desire to trust these people with your investments.
We're all about personal connections between you, your financial advisor and the people supporting your Edward Jones team. You'll also have tools to ensure you know where you stand in your journey to achieving your goals.
7. A comparative approach
Of course, there are plenty of businesses that are willing to offer the same product or service as you. This means that to attract the clients' attention, you need to prove that you have something that the others don't. Xactly, for instance, decided to emphasize its experience that distinguishes them from their competitors, confirming that they're worthy of their customers' trust.
The Xactly advantage is that we've been in the cloud since 2005. We have been able to anonymize all of our customer's data to allow you to leverage different data points when making your decision.
Examples of Persuasive Sales Pitch Endings
8. An engaging question
Obviously, the main purpose of finishing your speech or e-mail with a question is getting an answer. The trick here is to pose this question in such a way that the prospect will feel the urge to say "yes". Say something that's hard to disagree with. Plus, be confident that the audience actually needs your product. If you don't believe in your company, then why should other people?
Imagine that all your upcoming events are planned, automated reminders are set, tasks are distributed and easy to monitor. Now you can fully dedicate your time and efforts to making strategic decisions and boosting your company's development. Doesn't it seem like a perspective worth spending money on?
