Creating a sales pitch is an essential part of the selling process and significantly contributes to whether you make a sale or not. A good sales pitch focuses on providing value and insight to your audience and not just touting your products or services. However, creating a sales pitch that will impress your prospects isn’t something you can put together hurriedly.
It takes a lot of effort. The more work you put into it, the better the results will be. In this blog, you’ll gain an understanding of the top do’s and don’ts when creating a sales pitch to help you start well, keep the momentum, and close strong.
Do think like the customer
Before you start creating your sales pitch, think about your prospect. Who are they? What needs do they have that would make them buy into your product? What language resonates with them? When you have answers to these questions, create a sales pitch script that directly focuses on the particular customer needs.
You need your sales pitch to be specific to an audience because customer needs are different, even in the same industry. For instance, two customers may require packaging solutions but will be looking for different features. One might be looking at reliability and durability for their shipping, while another might be looking at a cheaper solution due to the packaging quantity they need.
Do:
- Lay out a few specific needs you can see.
- Share why you think is the root cause of the challenges they’re facing.
- Base your pitch on actual research on the customer.
- Tailor your sales pitch to the prospect’s challenges.
Don’t:
- Take a one-size-fits-all approach when creating a sales pitch.
- Use business jargon. (1)
Do open with quantified benefits
One of the biggest mistakes most sales agents make when crafting a sales pitch is talking about the features of their products first. The best way to begin is with a quantifiable benefit the product has for the customer. Illustrate how your product or service will improve a prospect’s situation.
Remember, what you say in your opening remarks determines if the prospect will dismiss you or get interested. You need to show how your offering will improve a prospect’s business, save costs, increase sales, or solve a particular problem.
After quantifying the benefits, make it impactful by using numbers and statistics to show proof of the benefits. You can consider using media tools when creating this section for more impact. (1)
Do say:
- ‘Long-distance shipping companies use our packaging solutions to keep their products from getting damaged on transit.’
- ‘We work with such and such a company to improve their saving on packaging by 10%.’
Don’t say:
- ‘Our packaging is not easily damaged.’
- ‘Our packaging solutions help businesses save costs.’ (This is too vague.)
Do use a specific example
As you may have learned in the previous item, having vague claims in your sales script waters down your efforts to impress customers. You don’t want to be repeating to your prospects what everyone else is telling them. Keep in mind that your time to impress is quite limited. You can make more impact out of the pitch by getting straight to the point.
With specific examples, you’re providing the prospect with hard facts on customer needs your offering has solved in the past. You want them to know that the same can happen to them, should they accept to buy into your idea, product, or service.
Do say:
- ‘A certain company [mention the company by name] used our packaging to ship glass antiques, and they’ve lowered the rate of damaged goods by 80%.’
- ‘This e-commerce website has been using our packaging for the last one year, and they’ve reduced their monthly packaging costs by 15%.’
Don’t say:
- ‘Our company offers quality packaging that’s considered most reliable in the market.’ (This is unfounded information.)
- ‘We can help you save more money than any other packaging company out there.’
Do include relevant questions
By this point, your sales pitch is supposed to have sparked quite some interest for the prospect to make them start wondering how your solutions can help them. Include only a few questions to help you explore their need further.
Do ask:
- ‘What is your current solution, and does it adequately satisfy your needs?’
- ‘Are there any challenges you’re facing with your current solution?’
- ‘What would you improve in the solution you’re using at present, if given a chance?’
Don’t ask:
- ‘Are you the decision-maker in the company, or what is your role?’ (You’ll be changing the subject to something irrelevant in the situation.)
- ‘Have you heard about our company before? (This is also irrelevant.)
Don’t forget the call to action
Another mistake that you can make when curating a perfect sales pitch is dwelling too much on the same thing, taking up a lot of your prospect’s time in the process. You need to go for the close quickly with a specific call to action. It can be anything like booking the next meeting’s appointment, signing up for services, or buying a product. (2)
This all depends on what solutions you’re providing. If it’s an appointment, ensure you get a specific date and a time. Otherwise, it may never happen.
Do:
- Ask for precisely what you want. Make it clear that you want to schedule a demo, make orders, book a consultation, etc.
Don’t:
- Assume that the prospect will figure out what you want them to do. This leaves out the whole purpose of creating the pitch.
Don’t neglect to include a follow-up plan
Most sales agents forget to create a plan for following up with the prospects. Even those prospects who seem uninterested may only be taking time to absorb the information you shared. Have a plan to keep the conversation going actively.
If you don’t create a follow-up plan within your sales pitch, many opportunities might fall through the cracks, and your competitor might complete what you started. (3)
Do:
- Plan for pitches that don’t go as planned
- Follow up with prospects who didn’t give you an appointment the first time
Don’t:
- Forget to check your emails regularly. A prospect might have thought it over and wants a second appointment.
Takeaway
Creating a good sales pitch is an art. You must consider what your prospect might be thinking and follow this up with the dos and don’ts when creating a sales pitch in this post. With this, you will resonate clearly with your prospects. The quality of your sales pitch is what will get your prospects to move up the sales process. You need to ensure that they do just that.
References
- “7 Tips for Crafting the PERFECT Sales Pitch”, Source: https://salesinsightslab.com/perfect-sales-pitch/
- “What Are Some Good Lines to Say When Closing a Sales Pitch?” Source: https://smallbusiness.chron.com/good-lines-say-closing-sales-pitch-81069.html
- “The Importance of Sale Follow Ups – Statistics and Trends”, Source: https://www.invespcro.com/blog/sale-follow-ups/
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