If you’re in sales and you want to be head and shoulders above your peers, you’re going to need to master the art of the sales pitch. The sales pitch is a unique area to master because it ultimately determines whether the person is going to buy into the product or service you’re offering, or tell you to hit the road. By far, out of all the sales stages, the sales pitch is the most important, and that’s the exact reason why I’m going to share how you can create one that will get people to take immediate action.
So now that I have your attention, let me slow down a bit, and educate you on all the sales stages while shining specific importance on how to create a sales pitch that gets people to take action. I’ll also include some sales pitch examples for you to use in your everyday business interactions.
Listen, there’s one thing you need to remember in regards to this content: if you just read this article once and move on with your life, it’s really not going to be of high value to you. It’s recommended that you bookmark the link to this content and use the sales pitch examples as a reference point for continuing to improve your sales close rates.
I’ll let you in on a little secret here:
The sales pitch starts with your first initial contact with the prospect or customer.
This means that every interaction, whether it be an inbound call by the prospect or client, or an outbound call by you to gather further information, needs to be handled with patience and care. The more important you make your clients and prospects feel, and the more you listen to them, and educate them, the better your sales results are going to be.
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The 3 typical stages of a sales cycle
In a typical sales cycle, we have three primary stages. The education stage, the sales pitch stage, and the support stage. Now, as I mentioned above, the sales pitch is the most important, because it’s the all-encompassing stage that ultimately determines whether you put money in your pocket to pay your bills, or whether you’re constantly struggling to make ends meet because your sales are lackluster.
I know one thing for sure:
Top sales representatives that have mastered the fine art of the sales pitch, will outsell their peers by nearly 10-1 in a standard business operation.
That’s a massive difference, and that’s why it’s of the utmost importance to pay attention to what I’m sharing here.
The education stage
This is the stage in a sales process where you’re bringing attention to a product or service that you offer because it’s going to help a person or business save time, save money, increase productivity, or increase exposure.
Maybe a law changed that affects how a business can submit documentation, or a new local government initiative was put into place and people and businesses need to become compliant, whatever the case and circumstance may be, your product solves the problem. So you reach out to them and let them know why you’re specifically reaching out to them, and how your product or service solves their immediate issue.
Check out this tutorial on how to show your expertise:
The sales pitch stage
This is the stage where you provide high value and take a no-nonsense approach. People don’t want to be messed around with, and they surely don’t want to feel like they’re being sold.
It’s always better to take a laser beam approach and solve one immediate issue at a time, rather than trying to grow a forest so that you can chop down the trees to make a house for the prospect or client twenty years down the road. There are immediate issues that need to be solved, and the faster you address them, and directly focus on them, the faster you’re going to get business done.
The support stage
This is the stage where the rubber hits the road. This is also the stage where most sales representatives fail. If you fail to support what you’ve sold, you’re never going to get any repeat business, it’s that simple.
Not getting any repeat business, makes life difficult, and that’s not something you want to do to yourself. Not supporting the sale, is like walking out your front door, and not shutting it all the way. It’s going to leave opportunity for other people i.e. your competition, to walk in and get any future business because you failed to satisfy the customer fully.
Support, support, and more support is key to building successful, vibrant and expanding business relationship. There are plenty of software tools available that can help you stay on track of each lead.
Check out this tutorial on why customer service is so important to your sales cycle:
Creating a compelling sales pitch
Ok, we’re at the bread and butter here, which is how to create a sales pitch that gets people to take action.
So let’s get into it and have some fun. Like I mentioned above, the sales pitch really encompasses all three of the sales stages and is the true difference maker in terms of putting money in the bank.
It’s easiest if I just lay out a few sales pitch best practice rules for you before we go any further.
Rule 1: Never directly sell.
I know it sounds strange and probably contradicts everything that everyone has told you before, but without a doubt, it’s 100% true.
What you need to do instead, is educate and walk the prospect down a path where they come to the natural conclusion that they need to invest in your product or service because they see high value in taking immediate action.
Rule 2: Never apply pressure.
If there’s one action that will turn off a prospect faster than anything else, it’s applying pressure.
Again, if you educate and provide enough compelling evidence, no pressure will be needed. There’s nothing wrong with setting expiration timelines for rebates and promotions, but using the old, “Buy now otherwise the pricing is going to be double,” is complete nonsense.
Rule 3: Always create a story.
From when we were young children, our teachers and parents shared great stories with us, and you need to do the same with the product or service you’re selling.
Share stories that are relatable on a personal level to the prospect you’re speaking with. The idea is to tie in your product or service to a compelling and memorable story that pulls the prospect in and lets them know that you’re both on the same page.
Check out this tutorial on how to tell a story in your sales pitch:
Rule 4: Always be genuine.
Being sincere and genuine is one of the fastest ways to build a relationship. Without a relationship, the sale is never going to go anywhere fast.
One thing to absolutely never say is “Honestly, I tell you,” or something along those lines, as that phrase, makes prospects immediately feel like you haven’t been being honest the rest of the time you’ve been speaking with them. It makes total sense when you think about it, so don’t do it.
Rule 5: Always create trust.
Top sales representatives know that everything comes down to trust. No one is going to do any business with you unless they trust you. The best way to create trust is to listen.
I know you may think if you talk more, it’s better, but in the sales pitch stage, it’s better if the prospect talks more. Now I’m not saying to just sit back and not control the conversation, what I’m saying is to ask excellent questions so that the prospect opens up, and leads themself into the sale, under their own guidance led via your questions.
Check out this tutorial on how to lead your customer down a path to your sale:
As you can see from reading the rules laid out above, creating a compelling sales pitch really isn’t about selling. It’s actually about creating a storyline that allows the prospect to pave their own road to their decision, with you being there to guide them. All along knowing exactly where they’re going to end up, which is, signing the contract for whatever product or service you’re selling.
Your head is probably spinning by now, as most sales managers are telling you to go out and bang on doors, and close deals today using methods that have been outdated for years. The best thing you can do is take the sales pitch information that I’ve shared with you and blend your own recipe for success up. You need to put your own spin on things, as it’s your own unique spin that will be the true difference maker and put you head and shoulders above your sales peers.
Let me go into some sales pitch examples so you get a better understanding of what I’m talking about, and how you can use them in your everyday business sales calls.
Example 1: A law changes - Soft sales pitch
The best way to handle this is to read market segment information and reach out to the client with the updated law change before they even know it went into effect. This is being way out in front of the sales process and is one of the most powerful types of sales pitches that have the highest yielding close rates.
The conversation will go something along these lines:
“I wanted to make you aware of the XYZ law change that’s going into effect at the beginning of next month. I’m well versed on this XYZ law change and I see that’s it’s going to affect the way you do business moving forward i.e. driving up costs, and lowering productivity by nearly 25% overall. I’ve had several other conversations with companies in similar market segments to yours, and they’re definitely concerned as well. What I’d like to do is come out and share some insider industry insight that I’ve gathered, as well as a solution that we’ve created that will actually end up lowering your costs, and improving productivity by 25% overall. If you do end up choosing to move forward with our solution, we have a special instant rebate that’s available through the end of the month, so that you can be fully compliant before the new law goes into effect.”
Now, this is a soft sales pitch but it’s lined up with all the magical parts needed. The reason “why” is explained, which is the law change, the “issue” is explained, which is the money and productivity, the “value” is explained, which is lower cost and increasing productivity, and the “timeline” is set up, by subtly mentioning the expiration of the rebate.
Example 2: Water filtration - Hard sales pitch
“I wanted to make you aware that the water in your area has been affected by a higher than average pollution level, which in turn has led to an undesirable level of bacteria in your household water. It’s recommended that you start using a household water filtration system immediately. I’m in your area today and can stop by to provide you a quote, along with a one-time discount offer valid through the end of the week.”
As you can see in this example, there’s a much more rushed tone with a no-nonsense hard sales pitch approach.
You really have to be careful with this approach as you run a fine line of really pushing the buyer too far, too fast, by not establishing any type of relationship, and by only providing minimal value.
Wrapping things up
By now, I’m sure you have a few ideas brewing in your head about how you can use the information that you’ve learned here, to create your very own unique sales pitch strategies, so I’m going to wrap things up.
Remember, every client is different, and using the same sales pitch with everyone is not recommended. Some prospects may need the soft sales pitch, while others may need the hard sales pitch, to get the deal done, it’s really up to you to make the call. I always recommend to test out and practice your sales pitch with your internal management and peers before rolling it out to your clients, as this will help you get your delivery and timing of everything setup properly.
If I have one last comment, it would be to do your sales pitch your way. Ultimately you know what will work best for you, so just do it the way you feel is right in your heart. Your management may not like it, but they don’t need to, because it’s your life, and after you become the master of your sales pitch, your management will most likely be working for you when you open your own business. That’s not a dig, that’s just the truth.
With sales being one of the top skills to learn in 2019, it is definitely worth mastering your sales pitch. To learn more about the full cycle of the sales process and how to achieve the best results, try taking this introduction to sales course and staying up to date with new developments in the field. To learn more about the crucial soft skills that will help you succeed in your work have a look at the GoSkills library of soft skills courses.
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