Why Your Sales Pitch Does Not Incite Any Interest?

 

The performance of a sales department is one of the key factors in defining a company’s growth and success. It is the sales team who is responsible for generating the lead and increasing the consumer base. However, a dedicated sales team can contribute little if they don’t have a strategy to approach the selling of products or services.

 

Crafting a sales strategy is one of the many stages to generate revenue through sales. Marketing and advertising are secondary; one of the primary goals of any sales strategy should be to create a sales pitch difficult to ignore. In the selling process, the first meeting is crucial. Rather, it would not be wrong to call it the “defining moment”.

 

What is a Sales Pitch?

 

Your “sales pitch” is the “first impression” that leaves its mark on the client’s decision. A sales pitch is your introduction to the customer; it is the first thing that clicks a customer. While a smartly pitched idea can help seal the deal, a poor sales pitch can cause you to lose a prospect.

 

A sales pitch is just like an exam: you pass it you get promoted; you fail you miss the chance. From the business perspective, a sales pitch is the idea you propose to the potential customers to win them over. With a planned strategy, the sales team tries to convince consumers to buy a specific product or service.

 

However, many organizations fail to create an attractive sales pitch. They make such mistakes that discredit the company which ultimately leads to losing a customer. Remember, “The first impression is the last impression”.

 

A customer may find a sales pitch “boring” or less attractive due to many reasons. In this post, we breakdown some of the common pitfalls of a sales pitch.

 

Unqualified Prospects

 

Your sales strategy was on-point. You communicated your plan well. You were considerate and patient during the meeting. Still, the result did not go in your favor. Wondering why? That’s because you were targeting the wrong customer, the unqualified lead.

 

Targeting an unqualified lead is a waste of time and efforts. The time you invested in preparing the presentation goes in vain. Thus, your first step should always be qualifying the potential lead, i.e., finding the right customer for your product.

 

To avoid this mistake, conduct a BANT –Budget, Authority, Need, and Timeline survey. The process not only saves time but also gives you a clear picture of the wants and needs of the customers. BANT enables you to categorize the right prospect by:

 

Ensuring that the client has the required Budget;

Has the decision-making Authority;

Has the need of the product / service;

Time for the project.

 

Long Presentations are Boring

 

In an attempt to win over a customer, some sales personnel use jargons and sophisticated language; little do they know how bad it is for their business. The customers have no interest or time to listen to your hour-long presentations. All they care about is how your product will help them.

 

You have to master the art of telling your story within a couple of minutes; the same amount of time you take to ride an elevator. For this reason, sales pitches are also referred to as “elevator pitches”. Narrate a story to your customer, the more you personalize the experience, the more the chances of attracting the customer.

 

Hammering the customer with too much information in the first meeting is yet another pitfall. Relay your value proposition quickly and concisely. Keep your sales pitch SHORT and SIMPLE. One-liner summaries are impressive for customers.

 

Not Addressing the Clients’ Problem

 

Giving a generic presentation and not addressing the main concerns of a client is a big mistake. You have to tailor the presentation to the needs of your customer or else they will look for a better plan than yours.

 

Make the customers feel that the presentation is specially designed for them; personalize the pitch. The customers feel empowered when they are the focus of attention. If you want to transfer the money from your prospect’s pocket to yours, a personalized sales’ pitch is the key.

 

Assure the customer that you completely understand their problem. Also, you have the best and cost-effective solution to address the concern.

 

A Bad Listener is Unattractive

 

It is important to understand that sales’ meetings should be customer-centric. Taking the limelight away from the client may cost you the deal. Customers don’t like reps’ who are not good listeners. Unless the customer feels “valued”, there is little chance of cracking the deal.

 

No one is asking you to keep mum, but you have to wait for your turn. Let the client present his/her views and concerns without any interruption. Once they have finished, only then put your ideas across and assure the client that you care.

 

Your proposal, body language, and speech, all should reflect that you are interested in customer’s problem. Keep the conversation meaningful and don’t drag irrelevant topics into the conversation. However, you do want to discuss topics of common interests as it will help build a good rapport.

 

Talking past the Sell

 

A slip of the tongue or an unwanted comment at the meeting closure can be disastrous. Can you imagine the horror of losing a deal because of an offensive comment (though not intentional)?

 

Such slipups take place when you are not prepared to close the meeting. Understand that you are not the only company/choice the prospect has; thus, the client has nothing to lose. Instead of getting involved in meaningless chit-chat, it is better to work for the next step in advance.

 

Schedule a follow-up meeting, or ask the clients if they have any questions. Remember, the client is the star of the show, even when the meeting ends.

 

Final Thoughts

 

A sales pitch is essential to the success of a sales strategy. No matter how solid your sales plan is, it won’t work for you unless presented smartly. It is important to consider the client as the “Boss” and outline the plan keeping their needs and wants in mind. Using jargons, targeting the wrong audience, overselling your product, or not letting the client speak, can all make your sales pitch unattractive.