Sales teams are always chasing the elusive “perfect pitch” – that magic formula that makes every prospect say “yes!”. Though there isn’t a way to get a guaranteed “yes,” there are certain elements essential to a specialization in business development pitching.
- Start Short
Whether you’re leaving a voicemail or got a real, live person on the line, always say less than you want to say. Give a quick overview, hitting on who you are, the problems you solve, how you solve them, your recent achievements, and what people say about you. This is your all-important elevator pitch: punchy, informative, and brief. Say it with conviction! Your tone conveys meaning just as much as your words.
- Connect and Discover
After giving your elevator pitch, move to something that will get them talking. This will help you connect and establish trust. Trust is a critical element of business development. Every prospect you reach defaults to being skeptical of you – and with good reason! Get them to open up by asking questions like “What’s frustrating you today” or “What’s working with your current system? What’s not?”. Display genuine curiosity to differentiate from negative perceptions of sales calls.
- Shut Up and Listen
Once you’ve asked your question, stop talking. Even if they pause or don’t say much, do what you can to get them to give you more information (i.e., “Tell me more about that”). The prospect should dominate your conversation, opening up for Personal and Operational Discovery, and talking about Current State vs. Dream State. The more you hear from them, the more data you gather on the best way to make the sale.
- Identify Needs vs. Wants
After hearing a bit, ask qualifying questions to understand top priorities. These are items that would make the most significant impact and the first things you should bring to your next call. Get them to talk about what their ideal solution would look like so you can figure out how to present that solution in your next conversation.
- Determine Next Steps
Make it worth it for them to continue the conversation. Lay out the reason why you should keep talking (success stories, ways you see your product benefiting them personally) and ask what they think. Get them to decide you need to keep talking.
Maybe they have to run your conversation by a colleague, or perhaps they want some time to think things over – no matter how much time they need, give it to them. All you need is to determine when you’ll talk next so you can assure things move forward. The sooner, the better to keep the right contact cadence, but if they ask for longer, respect their wishes.
Tailoring Your Pitch: The Power of Tactic Groups
These steps can help you wildly improve and perhaps even master the sales pitch, but you’ll need to stay wile and understand each pitch must be tailored to the prospect.
Get a leg up on tailoring each pitch through establishing specified content, scripts, and methods for different groups. That’s what we’ve done with our Tactic Group technique – a sales strategy focused on empowering your development team to come readily equipped with the tools to turn a dial tone into a signature and a handshake.
Find out more about Tactic Groups and how NuGrowth SaaS can help your team sharpen their skills and produce results. Get in touch at 614.304.3917 or fill out our simple contact form.
Author: Sarah Deak
Sarah is a veteran copywriter and content strategist with NuGrowth Solutions. She likes to look for the unexpected angle and uses her background in education, business development, and marketing to create interesting and informative pieces to equip readers with actionable data.
Sarah Deak is a veteran copywriter and content strategist with NuGrowth Solutions. She likes to look for the unexpected angle and uses her background in education, business development, and marketing to create interesting and informative pieces to equip readers with actionable data