TIPS & TRICKS TO THE PERFECT PITCH
BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
A convincing, relevant pitch is essential to securing new business but with so many people fighting to get their ideas heard, how can you deliver this? Missing out on deals because you are underprepared, don’t have a viable solution to offer or are overly focussed on yourself, will hold back your business. Whether you are getting ready for a big final meeting or the thirtieth phone call of the day, approach each meeting with care and enthusiasm, and follow our guide to ensure you keep delivering results.
APPROACHING A PITCH Instead of fitting a salesperson persona – hunter, closer or negotiator – try to grasp elements of each in order to conduct a successful pitch from first contact to close.
“A mediocre person tells. A good person explains. A superior person demonstrates. A great person inspires others to see for themselves.” Harvey Mackay, businessman and author
BE A HUNTER: PLAN AHEAD It goes without saying that you should research your prospect so you can be sure that your pitch is relevant to them, but the more in-depth your knowledge, the more likely you are to engage with your audience. Clue yourself up on as many details as you can get your hands on: past work or projects, current spend, personnel information and changes, their industry news and even any work they might have done with competitors – so you can explain your competitive advantage. Investing in an online database such as ALF is one useful way to keep your information up-to-date with minimum effort. Insights about the people and companies you are targeting, including information on spend and investment areas, will set your pitch apart and enable you to share information that is of interest and timely. It will also help you to make that initial contact at the opportune moment.
“Say, ‘At the end of the this call I want them to agree to meet with me,’ or ‘At the end of this call they will buy from me … I always suggest that salespeople think big and optimistically.” Art Sobczak, President of BusinessByPhone.com Ahead of your pitch, take some time to set realistic goals for both the short and long term – what should be the immediate outcome and ultimate result of this contact? These individual goals can be used alongside your general conversion targets. Speaking generally, suggested average conversion rates for professional services, law, accounting, technology and IT are 1 Qualified Meeting for a day to a day and a half of work (roughly one meeting per 10 hours), 5-7 leads a day for lead generation in the technology sector and 2-3 registrations per day for events.2
BE AN EDUCATOR: EXPLAIN HOW YOU CAN HELP Although you should limit how long you spend speaking about yourself, you do want your customer to understand your company and to be clear on what you’re offering. Be sure to phrase this as how your company can help them and solve their problems, rather than just explaining all your past successes, no matter how proud of these you are! Many sales pitches stray into brags about company accomplishments, which come across as arrogant rather than impressive, especially when they are not relevant. Customers are usually sick of these sorts of brash sales pitches so focussing your conversation on the their needs and explaining your business in relation to them will quickly set you apart – and is likely to extend the conversation.
“Don’t be afraid of silence – people are always very keen to finish other people’s sentences or guess what they are going to say. Sometimes, silence is more powerful.” Nigel Blake In order to have a relaxed conversation that doesn’t stink of sales-talk, be ready to stray from the script. Rather than having a bulk of information you’re eager to impart, note down ahead of the pitch just 3 or 4 important facts or points and make sure you say these, allowing the rest of the conversation to move around this and be shaped by the customer.
BE A CONSULTANT: BUILD A RELATIONSHIP “Make a customer, not a sale.” Katherine Barchetti, upscale retailer Your pitch is not just for you to sell, but also an opportunity for you to really get to know your customer so you can work more efficiently with them in the future. As mentioned, you should be clear about who your customer is and what they’re interested in before you contact them but don’t be tempted to move your focus as soon as you start your actual pitch! Salesforce found that 82% of sales people are not aligned with the needs of their buyer but rather overly-focussed on the product and that this leads to disillusionment from the customer3. Keep your emphasis in the right place by asking educated questions and listening to the responses – this will also allow the customer to feel they have some control in the conversation and therefore want to continue it. If you have the vital information about your contact to hand, you can cut past a lot of the introductory repetitive small-talk and spend time building a relationship in person. So consider using a system such as ALF ahead of the pitch to gather and understand this information – it will save you time when it matters. One key tip for your conversation is to match your body language, dialogue and tone to your customers’. Mirroring their way of speaking is a quick way to make them feel relaxed and establish a friendly conversation. Also remember your manners! Keep your P’s and Q’s in check; they can go a long way in an industry often seen as loud and impatient.
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BE A CHALLENGER: DON’T BE PHASED BY OBJECTIONS “If you enjoy what you do, don't be afraid of expressing your enthusiasm. Enjoyment is infectious.” Alan Sugar, Amstrad The greatest sales people are those who look forward to objections because they know how to overcome them and recognise them as a method of moving the conversation on. To be prepared for this, pinpoint the most common objections: start with BANT (Budget, Authority, Needs and Timeline) and as you make pitches, make a note of any issues that are regularly brought up. If appropriate, ask your current clients to pinpoint any concerns they had before getting on board and think about how you did overcome these – and what more you can do in the future to move past these efficiently. Before a big pitch, take some time to prepare your responses for any objections you are likely to face – and then a few extra ones for good measure! A list of about 20 objections with clear responses is a strong starting point and will mean you can respond positively and enthusiastically even when your customer appears unsure.
BE A CLOSER: FINISH THE DEAL So your customer is enthusiastic and the conversation is going well – great. But you don’t want to keep chatting indefinitely so refer back to your short-term goal and find a natural way to secure a next step. Ask open questions and make it nicely difficult for them to say no – don’t ask if they would like to meet to discuss further, ask when is good to meet. Establish a verbal contract so you end the conversation with a date in the diary and your customer expecting to hear from you again soon and, ideally, looking forward to it.
“Most people think "selling" is the same as "talking". But the most effective salespeople know that listening is the most important part of their job.” Roy Bartell, Publisher of Instant Internet Newsletter
BEFORE YOU PITCH… “Sometimes the clever thing is not to be too clever” Paul Arden, creative director for Saatchi & Saatchi, author Here’s a quick checklist you can refer to before you pitch, to ensure you’re as prepared as you can be for the conversation, as well as a couple of follow-up points:
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Do you have up-to-date information at hand?
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Do you know everything you need to about your client?
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Do you know if the client is currently working with someone else? If so, do you know what more you can offer?
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If they want more information, do you have a strong online presence to direct them to? AND Do you have further information to hand to send or give them?
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If they research you independently before making a commitment will they see the best work?
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Are you clear on the USP of your pitch and the points you want to get across, BUT Are you prepared to stray from the script so you keep the conversation relevant?
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Have you practised this pitch?
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Have you connected, or are you going to connect, with these people online as well such as on LinkedIn and Twitter?
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Does your pitch tie in with the rest of the campaign?
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Do you know how to follow up?
ANATOMY OF A GREAT SALES PERSON Knowledge about customer needs
Asks considered questions to build a relationship
Always listening to the customer
Passionate about solving customers’ problems Strong enough to move past rejestion and objections
Body language displays enthusiasm Prepared with information to share with the customers
Energetic and raring to go
Ready for next steps
