{"id":11980,"date":"2020-08-19T17:03:00","date_gmt":"2020-08-19T21:03:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=11980"},"modified":"2020-08-23T13:31:55","modified_gmt":"2020-08-23T17:31:55","slug":"how-to-make-a-sales-pitch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-make-a-sales-pitch\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Make a Sales Pitch: The 6 Steps & Best Advice"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Are you looking for the best advice on how to make a sales pitch<\/a>? Can the challenge selling method help you develop a more effective sales pitch<\/a>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the challenger selling<\/a> method, the question of “how to make a sales pitch” depends on six simple steps. In order to craft an effective sales pitch, a sale rep should map out the conversation in advance, and plan ways to control the conversation. Check out the six steps below to learn how to make a sales pitch as well as advice for making it work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

How to Make a Sales Pitch<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Learning how to make a sales pitch depends on your sales strategy. Use the challenger selling strategy<\/a> to learn how to make a sales pitch using these six steps. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Step 1: The Warm-Up<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

An effective sales pitch starts with you Rather than asking, \u201cWhat\u2019s keeping you up at night?\u201d present your assessment of the key issues facing the customer, based on what you\u2019ve seen at similar companies<\/strong>. Then get the customer\u2019s reaction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The authors call this hypothesis-based selling. Rather than asking open-ended questions about the customer\u2019s needs, you offer a hypothesis based on your experience and research. Customers with solutions fatigue feel like they\u2019re getting<\/em> rather than giving<\/em> information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the warm-up, you come across as efficient and respectful of the customer\u2014your introduction shows you did your homework and value the customer\u2019s time. You also establish your credibility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In traditional selling, you\u2019d present your value proposition<\/a> next, shifting the focus from the customer’s business to your business. However, in a teaching pitch, you must give the customer a reason to care about your business (your solution) by reframing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Step 2: Reframing<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

This is the conversation\u2019s turning point. Based on the issues identified in step 1, you offer a new insight that connects them to a bigger problem or a bigger opportunity<\/strong>. You don\u2019t go into detail at this point\u2014you just give the headline to surprise the customer or make her curious.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If the response is immediate agreement, then you\u2019re saying something the customer has already thought of rather than offering new insight. You\u2019ve failed to provide value and lost the opportunity to lead the customer to your solution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So don\u2019t be afraid to surprise the customer with something provocative. Once you’ve presented a different way to think about the customer\u2019s problem, the next step is showing why it matters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Step 3: \u2018Rational Drowning\u2019<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

In this step, you make the business case for why the reframe deserves the customer\u2019s consideration. Quantify the cost or opportunity with data and charts. You\u2019re subjecting the customer to \u201crational drowning\u201d\u2014that is, presenting the rationale for a new approach in a way that makes her uncomfortable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The customer should react along the lines of \u201cWow, I never realized we were wasting so much money \u2026 we\u2019ve got to address this.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019re using an ROI calculator, it should calculate the ROI on solving the problem you’ve identified, not the ROI of your solution<\/strong>. You’re trying to show that the problem is worth solving.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Step 4: Emotional Impact<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

In this step, your goal is ensuring the customer sees herself in the story you\u2019re telling. You don’t want your customer to respond that while your argument probably makes sense for other customers, it doesn\u2019t apply to her company. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this situation, a core rep probably would present yet more charts and numbers. But the problem isn\u2019t that you haven\u2019t presented enough numbers\u2014it\u2019s that you haven\u2019t made an emotional connection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To effectively counter the \u201cwe\u2019re different\u201d response, storytelling must come into play. Describe how other companies suffered from doing what the customer is doing.<\/strong> You might say, \u201cI realize you’re a bit different, but here\u2019s how we’ve seen this play out.\u201d Your description should have a familiar ring to the customer. Her response should be something like, \u201cWe do that here all the time,\u201d followed by a head shake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019re successful, you\u2019ve connected the problem in your story with the problem in the customer\u2019s organization. Once she identifies with the problem, she\u2019ll want a solution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Step 5: A New Way<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Review step-by-step the capabilities the customer would have to have in order to solve the problem\u2014the capabilities to quit wasting money, seize the opportunity, or avoid a risk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don\u2019t launch into how you<\/em> can help.<\/strong> Resist telling the customer how much better her life would be if she bought your product (which is what most reps talk about). At this point, just show the customer how much better her life would be if she acted differently<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The customer has to accept the<\/em> solution before buying your<\/em> solution. You want her to respond by saying something like, \u201cThat makes total sense.\u201d Then she\u2019ll be ready for your solution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Step 6: Your Solution<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

In the final<\/em> step of how to make a sales pitch, demonstrate that your solution is the answer.<\/strong> This is the step most reps are most comfortable with. Explain specifically how your company is best positioned to deliver the solution they’ve agreed to. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you’ve followed the conversational flow created by the template, you\u2019ve taught the customer something new about her business in the form of challenges and solutions and led her to choose your solution as a natural outgrowth of your teaching. Instead of starting with<\/em> your solution, you\u2019ve led the conversation to<\/em> it.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The insight you provided, rather than the product, is what lent value to the sales interaction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Advice for How to Make a Sales Pitch Work<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In addition to the six steps, you should be able to employ certain methods to make your sales pitch effective. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Developing a Choreography<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

To choreograph your own Commercial Teaching message, begin with your solution (step 6)\u2014you need to know what you’re building to. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Clarify the unique benefits your company offers customers. As you pin them down, focus in particular on the benefits your customers undervalue.<\/strong> To teach customers something new, it\u2019s useful to offer a new way for them to think about how you can help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The next step to learning how to do a sales pitch with teaching is step 2: reframing. Identify the critical insight\u2014the \u201cah-ha\u201d moment\u2014that will get the customer to respond, \u201cI never thought of that before.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To get there, start with the unique benefits you identified for step 6 and ask why customers don\u2019t value them already. To change that view, you need to provide an alternative view (the reframe).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then explain how pursuing the alternative view could save or make them more money than they realized (step 3). After that, build out the rest of the story so it flows through the steps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Put together, you’ve answered the question of what problem is costing your customers more money than they realized, that only you can help them fix. This is the core of your pitch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Constructing Your Conversation<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

You need Challenger reps to deliver<\/em> your teaching message. But the rest of the organization must construct<\/em> the teaching conversation\u2014including the company\u2019s unique benefits, the surprising insights, and the choreography. This is an important piece of how to do a sales pitch. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are the key organizational tasks:<\/p>\n\n\n\n