The do's and don'ts of Sales Pitch

What is a Sales Pitch?

In the literal sense, a sales pitch is a 'speech given to persuade someone to buy something.    At Salescamp, we take it beyond this. A sales pitch is a personalized story focusing on why the product exists in the first place and how it can change your customer’s life.    Example of a sales pitch: 

The classic “Sell me this pen question” from Wolf of the Wall Street is outlined here.

Source: Movie - The Wolf of Wall Street

It gets even better when this strategy is used: 

• Perfect World 

• Current World

• How your product can transport you from the current world to the perfect world 

Why is a good sales pitch important?

The sales representative has to engage with their audience and use their communication and persuasion skills to make them respond positively to the product to end up consuming the product. The representative has to come up with a way to maximize audience engagement without them getting bored over the speech and ensure that their engagement axes shift towards the attractiveness of the product. A sales pitch in the contemporary world and more jingoistic terms is a compact and well-established presentation. It is generally done to show the likeability of the business or the particular product in question; ensuring that the audience is attentive to whatever the representative is putting in front of them. This is mainly done by reassuring them of its benefits, and aligning with the company's business goals.  

There are some essential points to be kept in mind while attempting to advertise the product so that it appeals to the clients. Let us investigate this matter and look at some of the key points to be kept in mind while attempting to pitch a product to a client.  

Points to be kept in mind during the sales pitch: 

THE DO’S 

1. Recognition of the need:  

Unless and until the demand for a particular commodity is recognized, a sales representative will be unable to sell the product as there is no need for it to accrue for the client. To be able to sell the product, the first job for the sales representative is to establish the need for the product in the market by taking the help of personal narratives or using references from a wide variety of sources. 

2. Understanding the pain points:  

Understanding the customer's pain points goes a long way in the practicalities of an efficient sales pitch. For example, to increase the chances of his product getting approved by the client, a sales representative should first understand what their client wants and use their product in such a way so that the product is used to battle any obstacle. In addition, having statistics sourced by third parties goes a long way in increasing the argument for approval. 

3. Action-Oriented Planning: 

After describing the pain points of the particular business problem, the sales representative should immediately talk about the benefits of the product as the pain points were responsible for gaining their attention but not action. This step will provide an incentive to take the first step into acquiring the product so that it can solve the problem. 

4. Business Problem: 

This is the reason a commodity exists in a market. Washing powder exists as clothes become dirty gradually, and it is unhygienic to wear dirty clothes. To battle that, the hero called washing powder enters. There has to be a specific business goal the particular product is attributed towards.   

5. The portrayal of features as life-saving components for the clients: 

After getting to know the business goals and parts of the particular product, the language used should be so that the product's characteristics should look like they are successful in solving any problem that arises. The product's features are like the superpowers of a comic book hero and should be used to control any circumstances arising.   

6. Customer before the product:  

The customers should be championed in the process as they hold the most power in this hierarchy: they will consume the product. This step is mainly an evidence step in how the product helps people, and this can be further alluded to by citing examples from the real world in the customer base the particular product is consumed by. 

7. Use of Data: 

Numbers provide huge motivation to clients as finally there is a quantifiable metric for the product which can be referred to while discussing the product's features. Anchoring the whole pitch with data shows the confidence of the sales representative and increases the chances of persuasion the client approving the product. 

8. Short and Simple: 

You don’t have to talk a lot, though it might sound compelling. This is the step where many sales representatives face a problem as they do not get enough time to put forward the product's benefits. The pitch should be direct to the point and not say one thing in a thousand different ways. For example, an elevator pitch would require some 20-30 seconds for the sales representative to put forward the ideas of the product so that the client feels comfortable around it.   

9. Creative:  

This step is of paramount importance as it helps balance the tension in an office room where the sales representative has to pitch a product to their clients and he can use this opportunity to make his content more engaging. Taking the help of creative ideas goes a long way. For example, visualizations like graphs or maps help visually appeal and increase such a speech's efficiency.   

10. First Impressions: 

This might be something to keep in mind while pitching a product. This is inherent to human psychology, where people start to form opinions about the person before the presentation. Having a solid initial first impression that is professional and creative goes a long way in establishing trust in the product by the sales representatives. 

THE DONT’S 

The art of selling is tricky. Pitching to potential clients becomes complicated when the sales representatives themselves are not trustworthy and do not believe in the product they are selling. To ensure that the clients do not feel a sense of negligence on the part of the sales representatives, the following points are to be kept in mind is not attempting to show this in the personality while pitching: 

1. Over-Commitment: 

Overcommitting toward the features and benefits of the product and not understanding the room's ambiance is a negative way in which clients might feel overconfidence has spilled the milk of selling.   

2. Lack of confidence: 

It is normal for a sales representative to be nervous before their first significant sales pitch, but that should not be apparent to the client because then they might question the integrity of the sales representative's ability of the product. They might not engage with the product.  

3. Not having enough evidence: 

This step is just a recipe for disaster. Not having proof of the claims shows how big of a crook the sales representative is because they do not know the market the particular product is aligned with, the company's business goals, and the effects of the product on people. This is certainly a guaranteed way for the clients to distrust the representative as the representatives themselves cannot provide the evidence they claim to have

4. Not enough engagement:  

A sales pitch is not about selling a product; instead, it is how the product can impact customers once they consume it. Showing less confidence is also dangerous as the first thing the sales representative should show in front of the clients is credibility.   

5. Too Obvious: 

A sales representative should never enter the presentation room to sell a particular product to the clients. They should create the Tinder profile of the product, and it will be the clients' job to ask whether they can start matching with it or not. Making selling very obvious gives the idea that the sales representative is doing it only for the money and not for the benefit of the people the product would serve.   

6. Jumping to conclusions:  

One is never sure of what is happening in the human mind. Therefore, jumping to conclusions only adds to the negative sense of the pitch because then, the sales representatives make conclusions based on the facial expressions and the type of engagement and improvise according to it. 

7. A Know-It-All:  

In the great words of Rachel Zane from the TV series Suits, "No one likes a know it". In this context, answering a question where the sales representative does not have the required knowledge shows the absurdity of the situation and how little of an effort the representative has made. 

8. Inappropriate Stuff Matters: 

The environment is formal and professional, so it should be considered in that sense only. Discussing or revealing something deeply personal to enhance product appeal, is inappropriate because it shows that the representative does not understand the word 'boundaries.'  

9. Stupidity Matters: 

Asking stupid questions which defy logic and rationale makes the sales representative lose credibility. Any information readily available to the client and their organization should not be brought in front of them.  

10. Negative Etiquettes:  

A person should never forget about basic human etiquette, the most important red flags in a business. Greeting the clients when they enter the room inquiring whether they are comfortable or not goes a long way in bringing out the appeal towards the particular salesperson and increases the chance of the product getting approved. 

The sales industry is challenging to work in as it revolves around communication and persuasion skills. Therefore, the above steps have been formulated for the benefit of the sales representatives to get a better idea of how to present themselves in front of the clients so that they know how to sell their product and maintain credibility at the same time successfully.