Seven tips for a successful sales pitch

If the sales pitch is on point, you are on the right path to making profitable sales – here is how to get on track for a successful sales pitch 

CREDIT: This is an edited version of an article that originally appeared on Sales Hacker

A good sales pitch needs to convey the intended message concisely and in a compelling manner. For the best shot at success, here are seven strategies for a successful sales pitch.

Reference past conversations 

If you’ve spoken with your prospect before, don’t start a pitch by talking about yourself, your product, or your business. You’ve already built some rapport, so use it. 

Refer back to the conversations you’ve had previously to show the prospect you remember them and remind them that you understand their problem. It helps if your last conversation included solid discovery questions like these: 

• What’s the problem you’re trying to solve?
• How are you addressing that problem today? 
• How are you measuring your goals?

Start your elevator pitch with a question

A successful sales pitch begins a dialogue. Rather than starting with an opening line that’s all about you, try posing a question. Here are a few questions that a qualified prospect might say ‘yes’ to:

• Have you ever noticed… 
• You know how… 
• I’ll never forget when… 
• Doesn’t it seem like… 

Keep it short 

You don’t need to tell your prospect everything you can do for them all in your first pitch – in fact, a perfect sales pitch should leave the prospect wanting more. 

If you’ve done a good job identifying your prospect’s pain points, and you really understand how your product or service helps alleviate it, you should be able to pitch with one short sentence.

Anchor your pitch in data 

Your prospects hear a lot of claims from your competitors, but after a while, and especially if your prospect has made purchases that didn’t pay off, those claims start to sound dubious. Use clear data from reputable sources as an anchor for your pitch.

When it comes to data, relevant specificity is king. Boiling down exposition and concentrating on driving home quantitative evidence is a great way to showcase the prevalence and significance of the problem your product addresses, perk up the ears of your prospect and set the scene for a memorable sales pitch.

Tell a story 

If you have a little more time for your pitch, or if you’re preparing for a product demo, create a story that illustrates how your product benefits your customers. According to Andy Raskin, a storytelling pro, here is what makes an effective sales presentation:

• It begins by stating a big change has taken place that affects the audience. 
• It names an enemy. 
• It teases the ‘promised land’ – what the world will look like for the people who deal with the new change the right way. 
• It highlights a few features as ingredients in a sort of magic potion that can bring people to the promised land. It brings the point home with some proof that the whole story is true.

Keep it conversational, not formal 

Your elevator pitch should be practised, but it shouldn’t be a monologue. Just because somebody has asked what you do doesn’t mean they want to hear every little detail. 

So, start by giving them just a quick snippet of what you do that will pique their interest. If they verbally (or non-verbally) indicate that they’re interested, that’s your cue to continue. This is the WOW, HOW, NOW framework, and it goes like this: 

• WOW: offer up some short, interesting statement that will make the other person think to themselves, “wow!”. This statement might even be slightly confusing, as long as it’s not just industry lingo. 
• HOW: if you’ve done the first part right, you got an eyebrow raise, a tilt of the head, or a “huh?” in response. Now’s your chance to clarify and expand just a little bit. 
• NOW: end by giving a specific example of how you do what you do.

We hope this helps you feel a little more confident in delivering your next sales pitch. Remember that you don’t need to action all these tips at once. Simply start with one and create the perfect pitch one step at a time.