Improving Your Sales Pitch

Your sales pitch can either make or break your sales presentation. Prospective clients respond to authentic enthusiasm and passion about the product you’re selling, not a rehearsed boring scripts. Here are some steps to restructure your sales pitch to make it more effective:

1. Your prospective clients couldn't care less about the history of the company or long graphic details about the product you’re selling. What it comes down to is how can you help them. Focus on them right from the beginning. What do they need? How can you solve an unsolvable problem? Consult with your prospects about past experiences with products or services and what they did or didn’t like about them. Ask many questions.
    
2. Don’t confuse your prospective client with techno-babble. You can’t persuade anyone about anything if they have no idea what you’re talking about. It will only bore your prospective clients or make them angry. If you need to use a term or concept that you think your prospect may not be familiar with, include an explanation or you can ask if the prospect is familiar with the term. Simplify your language without talking down to your prospects. Slow down your pitch and give pause long enough for your clients to ask questions. When done this way, it makes a consultative dialogue which makes a more effective way to make the sale.
    
3. Let your personality shine through so they feel as if they’re dealing with an actual person. People are willing to do business with someone they can have a conversation with. You don’t want to talk at them; you want to talk with them. If you are comfortable and natural in your approach, then they will be comfortable with you in return.
    
4. Don’t scare them with problems you think they could be facing. If you do see a potential for a problem, make sure it’s one that you have experience in solving. You want potential customers to feel grateful for bringing it to their attention and also to have confidence in you that you can handle any problems. If the problem sounds too big or worrisome, then they will quit listening to you and start to worry how they can deal with it.
    
5. The features of your product are what make it different from your competitors. But your prospect is less concerned about the differences and more on what it will do for them. Turn your presentation around to the end results such as time savings and practicality. If you have listened to your prospects when they were talking then you’ll know their needs and how your product will best serve them.
    
6. Make a follow up appointment by setting the next meeting time, by making an appointment or just to touch base. This will help your prospects with the course of action they will need to take.

These guidelines will help to improve the effectiveness of your sales pitch while not being over scripted. If you make your pitch about your prospective clients, then you will be heard.

Photo courtesy of Stuart Miles / freedigitalphotos.net.