Perfecting Your Sales Pitch 

Making a sales pitch can be a balancing act that not many people can do with ease. You don’t want to come off as aggressive and you surely don’t want to be meek in your approach either. What is the right tone, pace, and level of authority that you should take when making your sales pitch?

Know Your Audience 

Obviously, you wouldn’t talk to an audience consisting of a panel of experts the same way you would talk to people who are just now entering the field. The same goes for your sales pitch. Always know to whom you are speaking. Research what their specific needs are and what they are hoping to get out of the pitch. Gear your level of information toward their level of need. The more you know about the group you are pitching to, the better. Include stories that may apply to them and their field as well as gear all slides or handouts in the same manner. 

Keep it Short, Simple, and To-the-Point 

Business people are inherently busy. The fact that they made time for your pitch is good, but you want to value that time as much as possible. Keep your message clear and to the point. Try to avoid straying off topic or relying on small talk once you have started your presentation. Keep all graphics or slides easy to read and direct. Your audience will appreciate that you value their time and will know immediately if you have a deep knowledge of your product or service rather quickly. 

Anticipated Questions Early 

If you have been in the marketing field for a while, you can probably anticipate the questions that inevitably come up at the end of your pitch. Instead of waiting to be asked, build the answer directly into your presentation. Your audience will appreciate that you have anticipated their concerns and that you have already considered a response or solution. 

Don’t Just Talk, Listen! 

Many salespeople have perfected their pitches within the first few months of working with a certain product or service. Make sure that your pitch doesn’t sound scripted. Change it up and use different stories or updated information whenever possible. In addition, don’t take up the allotted time by talking endlessly. Listen to what your audience has to say as well. You may have inadvertently missed some information or confused members of your audience. Take the time to hear their questions and follow up, even after you have completed your time by text, email, or voicemail. 

Be Yourself 

We all live busy lives and setting time aside to hear another marketing representative drone on can be painful. Try to be yourself and sprinkle your personality into your presentation. This may be the thing your audience remembers most about your presentation. It will also let the group learn about the human side of your business/product. 
Do you have questions about how to improve your sales pitch? Check out our workshop on Sept 12th called Pitch Panel Session.

Categorised in: Blog, Email Marketing, Sales