Archive for August 31st, 2009

Make your sales pitches go farther by prepping them in advance.

Face it, the sales pitch is pretty important. And despite what you may think, most salespeople don’t have perfect pitches rolling off their tongues. It takes preparation—just like any other endeavor in your business.

In fact, one pitch isn’t really enough because you’re going to find yourself in many different selling situations. You’ll need at least three pitches to start—a face-to-face pitch, a phone pitch and an elevator speech.

Of course each pitch will vary based on the setting, but the main ingredients are a good understanding of your business and an understanding of your listeners’ interests. Here are some other guidelines for preparing a great pitch before you need it:

Plan For Every Contingency
Think of your pitch as a tree trunk. Each branch has more information the higher up you go. You may not need each branch in the course of a conversation, but they’ll be there if you need them.

Organize Your Points
The first 30 seconds are the most important in your pitch because they determine whether or not you capture someone’s attention. However, make sure that in addition to a beginning you have a clear and strong ending as well.

Remain Flexible
If the pitch is too scripted, a question or distraction could throw you off. Be mindful of your listeners and surroundings so you can more easily pick up a new conversation thread if necessary.

Be Honest
Don’t just tell prospects what they want to hear because you may not be able to follow through.

Don’t Forget To Practice
Practice with people who can be fair and honest, and preferably have knowledge of your customers and can improvise with you.