How to give a successful sales pitch

Pitching a potential new client can be a stressful and daunting process. Your pitch could make the difference between landing a great new project and seeing that business go to a competitor, so you want to make sure that you go into every pitch feeling confident and prepared.

Whether this is your first pitch, or your 100th, here are 6 key tips to elevate your presentation.

1.   Keep it short and simple

The people you’re pitching to are likely busy and probably don’t have time to listen to a long sales pitch. You also need to consider that there’s only so long you can hold someone’s attention for before they start to switch-off, so make sure your pitch is succinct and impactful, not drawn out and vague.

A good pitch should last no longer than a few minutes. This is long enough for you to share all of the most important information, and then open the floor up to questions.

2.   Do your research

You should thoroughly research every person or company you’re pitching to so you have a better idea of what they could be expecting from you. Think about what they specialise in, who their competitors are, the products they currently use etc.

Once you have all this information you can tailor your whole pitch to the specific company and increase your chances of success.

3.   Focus on needs and solutions

The easiest way to demonstrate what makes your product or service special is to focus on the needs of the buyer, and the solution you’re offering.

What will make your pitch successful is if you’re able to clearly explain how you can solve a customer’s needs better than anyone else.

4.   Put yourself in the shoes of the person you’re pitching to

Before writing your pitch, put yourself into the shoes of the person you’re pitching to and think about what information they want to know and what they will think is the most important.

This will make it easier for you to tailor your pitch, and also prioritise the information that you’re sharing to be the most impactful.

5.   Paint a vision of the future

One of the elements that makes a successful pitch is to explain how your service will help the customer to set a foundation for their own future success.

6.   Plan responses to common questions

A large portion of your sales pitch will involve answering questions from buyers so prepare some responses for common questions and objections.

The most common objections that buyers have will revolve around time, need, budget and authority. So have a think about how you might respond to these. Case studies which demonstrate previous project successes can be very useful here, so don’t be afraid to go armed with examples, print outs or testimonials to illustrate your responses.