16 step Guide to an Irresistible Sales Pitch
“Approach each Prospect with the idea of helping them “solve their problem” and the Product or Service will sell itself.”
Sales Pitch Topics: Hook, Push, Salt, Setup, Deliver, Dazzle, Value, Objections.
Attention is at a premium. You are just one of the many fighting for a piece of your prospect’s mind. It doesn’t matter how good your product is, if your prospects are unaware of it. All of your sweat, blood & tears have come down to this: “How effectively can you communicate the “value” of your product or service to your prospect? Will they sign-up? This is not something to leave to chance. Regardless of medium – a promo Video, a Landing Page, a Presentation deck – your pitch needs to be carefully constructed, finely tuned to present a clear & concise picture. What follows are 16 key components for creating an irresistible Sales Pitch, – guaranteed to capture the attention & imagination of your prospect, then convert promotion into sales.
Step #1. Hook Them
Without hooks, there are no sales. I’m talking about the emotional, personal & highly targeted mental hooks that are going to get into the minds of your prospect and stay there. When looking to reel in potential customers, think about making an emotional connection. Google Chrome’s ads do an exceptional job. What emotions can you tap into? Those can be positive emotions like in you Ad, that could be linked to a deep frustration or a problem.
Step #2. Push Where It Hurts
Solving the right problem can make you rich. So, in your pitch, push where it hurts the most. Wherever possible, use the customer’s own words to describe their problems & frustrations. In the USA in 2002, Verizon milked the simple phrase “Can you hear me now?” for almost a decade, to describe the frustrations that their customers were having with other networks. And get this: in the first year alone. This lead 10% increase in new customers and a reduction in churn rate from 2.5% in 2000 to 1.8% in 2002.
Step #3. Add Salt to the Wound
Describe the impact the problem has on your prospect. Chocolate manufacturer M&Ms began using this principle as early as 1954, with their now famous slogan, “The milk chocolate that melts in your mouth, not in your hand.” Where relevant, use numbers to quantify the problem. Google Chrome Ad says “even the fastest computers still need 45 seconds to start. 45 seconds! That’s enough to make a sandwich”.
Step #4. Set them Up
Get them ready for your pitch: point out the problems with rival solutions. CrazyEgg does this well: Analytics tools will not tell you why your visitors aren’t buying, subscribing, or calling. This is where most businesses get stuck & stay there.
Step #5. There’s Got to be a Better Way!
This is where you take the stage. After setting up the headache, the cause of frustration, or the painful reminder, it’s time for you to rush to the rescue with the cure: “your solution”. First, just stoke their desire. This is what your Unique Value Proposition (UVP) A single, clear & compelling message that states why you are different worth buying.”
Examples: 1) “Hot fresh pizza delivered to your door in 30 minutes or it’s free” (Domino’s). [Notice the structure: end result your prospect desires + specific period of time = objections removed]. 2) “User research results in 1 hour: Get videos of real people speaking their thoughts as they use your website or mobile app. (User Testing.com). Notice how their sub-heading explains exactly what you get (the videos). 3) “Not More Numbers, But Actionable Metrics” (USERcycle). Notice how the differentiation (against competing solutions) is built into this UVP.
Step #6. Deliver on your Promise
Don’t let it be too good to be true. In plain language – and as simply as you can – explain exactly how your service works. Your solution needs to be simple & easy to understand. No buzzwords. No jargon. UserTesting.com does this twice above the fold of their landing page! In a short video, they show you an example of a what you get (a usability testing session). Then they use a classic 3-step approach to describe how their service works.
Step #7. Dazzle them with your Genius
Why should the prospect buy from you, and not your competitors? Give your prospect a glimpse of your ‘secret sauce’: the special ingredient that makes your product stand out from the crowd. This is where you surprise and delight your prospect.
Apple are exceptional at doing this. In 2001, when they launched their first generation iPod, they announced that it gave their customers the ability to keep “1,000 songs in your pocket;” a concept which was unheard of at the time.
Step #8. Show them the Value
Creating an irresistible Sales Pitch is all about making your prospect acutely aware of the value that they will derive from your product or service, in a clear and quantifiable way.
Value Patterns.Which of the following does your product fit into? 1) For B2B products: making money, saving money, reducing the time and effort or reducing risk? 2) For B2C products: addressing a human need (ie, increasing social status, entertaining, helping make connections, helping in personal development, saving money, time, or increasing convenience?
Focus on Value. And don’t just use generic wording like “We help our customer increase their competitive advantage”. Yawn! Make the value as explicit, concrete & as quantified as you can. The experts of the Landing Page (Unbounce), doesn’t miss the opportunity to pepper visitors with value statements.
Step #9. Bring out your Evangelists
If pictures are worth a thousand words, then credible customer Testimonials are worth even more. Build up quality Testimonials to ground your promotional copy in real-world results & experiences. Watch out The more embellished your product by your Testimonials, the less credible it sounds.
Step #10. Unearth Your Prospect’s Fears
There’s hardly any sales without objections. Every single prospect is concerned when making a purchase. People are not afraid of spending money. They are afraid of looking dumb. Or being cheated. So you need to address these objections head on. And you have to start by identifying them. Objections are often hidden in the form of questions. So every time you’re talking to a customer, listen carefully to questions they may have. Install a chat function, put up a number, invite them to raise questions.
Step #11. Turn Objections into Reasons to Buy
Pre-empt questions & objections. The most successful companies use this to their own advantage. Hooters, rather than taking exception to some customers’ pre-conception that their bars were tacky, decided to deal with the issue head on, with the strapline “delightfully tacky, yet unrefined.”
Comments: For more Guidance on your Sales Pitch go to Part 2 – in the next post.
from Scale my Business 2/17 enhanced by Peter/CXO Wiz4iz