The Perfect Pitch

When I work with clients on Sales Strategy and Training, one of the first things we do is to review their ‘elevator pitch’. A pitch should answer three questions: Who are you? What do you do? Why would I choose you? It sounds so simple – but in my experience, it is often a very challenging exercise.

Many sales people feel they have a lot to offer their customers – and their challenge is how to boil down all those amazing benefits into just a couple of sentences. It’s not easy – but remember, your customer likely does not care about all your benefits – they only want to know about those benefits that are most important to them. That’s why it's so important to present your pitch after you have qualified your customer. For example, if they told you that on-time delivery is paramount then your ability to meet deadlines should be your headline, even though you may have also wanted to tell them about your high quality, your customer service and your warranty that shows that you stand behind your product.

I have also heard a lot of pitches that don’t resonate with the customer. The rep does a good job of explaining who they are and what they do – but they don’t really nail the “Why should I choose you?” part of the pitch, which is arguably the most important part. The best pitch focuses not on you, but on the customer and how you can help them solve a problem. In your needs assessment, find out what keeps them up at night – maybe they are losing money because their current suppliers are missing deadlines and causing further schedule delays. Tying your ability to meet deadlines to their fear of losing money and schedule delays will help make your pitch more compelling.

Your pitch is always a work in progress. Your company, your products and your customers will all evolve over time – and you may find that what works today, may not work as well tomorrow. A few times a year, it’s a great idea for the whole team to compare pitches and pool the best elements from each version. It’s also a good idea to write your pitch down – while you may not repeat it verbatim to a customer, the more comfortable you are with the key points in your pitch, the easier it is to work them into your sales conversations.

Got more questions about your pitch? Check out my website (www.rikelyconsulting.com) and contact me to discuss the perfect pitch in more detail.

Happy Selling!