5 Essential Steps to Perfecting Your Modern Sales Pitch

A perfected sales pitch is a necessity in the arsenal of a successful salesperson. But a sales pitch isn’t what it used to be years ago. To be a successful salesperson, you have to do more than throw product information at a potential customer. Instead, you must engage them and make it a collaborate sell. In this article, we’ll help you perfect your modern sales pitch by offering five essential steps you should follow when selling to a potential customer.

1. Be prepared

First off, and this one is a given, make sure you completely understand the ins and outs of the product or service you’re selling. If you aren't aware of a product's capability or a service's fine print, you'll cause a confusing situation for your customer.

If a question arises that you don’t know the answer to, simply let them know that you’ll get back with them. You always want to make sure you’re giving accurate information so, you're better off getting back with them later than giving them wrong specifics.

Researching your potential customer is also a useful step in your preparation process. By better understanding the background and details about the person or company you hope to work with, the better you’ll be able to gear your sales pitch to them.

2. Create a two-way conversation

The modern customer is educated and knowledgeable about what they’re looking for. They have plenty of resources to find out what they need to know. Don’t expect them to be comfortable with a simple, one-sided spiel about your product. They want a back and forth informative conversation about their options. There should be a constant give and take.

Following along the same lines, encourage questions from them. This can often make them feel more comfortable and more like they have a say in the sale. The goal is to make the sale feel like a conversation and not a business presentation.

3. Address their concerns

Your main focus when working on a sale should be addressing all your potential customer’s concerns. The concerns they bring up are reasons they may decide not to work with you. Make sure to completely alleviate each concern before moving on to the next.

Typical concerns can include things such as the authority to make the decision, the need for the particular product or service, the time frame it's needed or their budget. Be prepared to talk about each of these topics and how you can counter any of these potential issues.

4. Ask questions

If your potential customer isn’t speaking up, ask them questions. Keep them engaged. The key to a successful sales pitch is an engaged audience.

Asking and answering questions is also helpful when you feel like you're receiving pushback from them. You can better address their issues and their reason for a “no” if you simply find out what's holding them back from the sale.

5. End the pitch with a call to action

You should have a defined call to action following your sales pitch. What are the next steps? Will you follow-up with them? Will they take this information to their company? Will they potentially sign with you immediately after the pitch? Decide with your potential customer what the plan of action will be. For example, if they request for you to follow up, they'll know to expect your call or email on a certain day.