How to prepare a sales pitch
Presenting and delivering a sales pitch can be incredibly daunting. It’s important to prepare accordingly to ensure you set yourself up with every chance of success. This guide will outline some tips and tricks on how to best prepare a sales pitch to grab your audience’s attention.
Make it personal
Starting with a personal anecdote can help your audience feel attached to you as a salesperson. This can encourage them to become more invested in the pitch from the offset, perhaps relating their own lives to your experiences.
Making your pitch personal can also make you appear more authentic, creating a sense of empathy from your audience. Ideally, focus on a problem that you have faced which your product has solved.
Audience first
Nobody wants to feel like they’re being sold to, which is why it’s important to always put your audience and their problems first rather than the product or the service you’re offering.
Begin to form a conversation associated with the needs of your audience. Be sure to communicate how your product can potentially benefit each potential buyer in the room.
By asking questions to your audience, you can start to understand who they are and how you can help solve their problems with your knowledge and expertise of the product you are selling.
Practice delivery
Having your delivery nailed down before you begin your pitch will help you carry it out smoothly and cover as many potential questions that may otherwise be asked.
You should also ensure to utilise technology so you always have back-ups in case you were to lose your presentation. This is why you should save your pitch to a USB so you’re prepared for any worst-case scenarios.
Know how to listen
Think about your pitch as a conversation rather than a selling point, ensuring you are able to anticipate your audience’s needs before they make them known. By kickstarting this conversation, you could help your audience uncover a problem that they didn’t realise they had.
Reading from a script can make you appear robotic. Be more human as you pitch and try to read the room. By presenting with an open mind and listening to your audience, you’ll be letting the buyer do most of the talking.
Take the time to hear your audience’s views and opinions and respond with thoughtful questions. By understanding their exact consumer needs, this gives you a better chance of closing a deal. By responding with appropriate questions, your sales pitch will come directly through your responses.
A human conversation between yourself and the customer will increase the likelihood of you making a sale, rather than you forcing your product upon them.