Spencer Llewellyn
April 24, 2020
The best sales pitches are two-way conversations between the seller and the customer, but for the sales rep, delivering a successful sales pitch begins well before the conversation. Read on to learn how to make a sales pitch and discover how using video in your sales calls can make pitches go more smoothly.
Start your sales pitch off with your objective
Your opening should always inform your attendees why they’re there and what you’re trying to achieve (think: a clear agenda). Before a sales call begins, first determine what the objective of the call is and your ideal outcome.
For example, depending on the type of call or the audience, your objective might be to understand the audience’s challenges and show them how your product solves it. In this instance, your ideal outcome would be to have the customer commit to a number of licenses or agree to a mutual action plan for purchasing.
This is really helpful prep work before the call, and gives you a chance to check if they agree with your agenda and objective. Don’t be shy about explaining what your ideal outcome is and asking the audience to confirm if that works for them. If it doesn’t align with what they are thinking, then you’ve gotten that on the table right away and you’re not on different pages.
You should also start building a personal relationship and making your credibility known at the start of your presentation. Prezi Video places your content on the screen right alongside you, which gives you the opportunity to have a face-to-face conversation with your customers rather than hiding behind your content when you share your screen. This can be helpful for customers, who may want to reference your agenda while discussing their priorities and business challenges with you.
Before you dive into your pitch, be sure to also check in with your attendees. Did you miss anything in your assessment that they need help solving? This can start a conversation and will help you better understand their needs.
Storytelling and the content of your pitch
Next, you’ll need to show your customers how you’ll solve the problems they’re experiencing. You should present a logical, structured argument that takes the customer from where they are now, to where you want them to be. Talk through the features of your product or service and explain how these features address your customer’s issues and will lead to a better place.
Think of this as storytelling. In his webinar, The storyteller’s edge: Communication secrets to sell, lead, and grow, author Carmine Gallo dubs emotional storytelling “the fastest path to the brain.” You can present a logical argument about why your customer should buy your product, but without a story to weave facts together and inspire them to take action, your customer won’t have anything to connect with.
Make sure to check in with your customers throughout your story and keep the tone conversational. If your customer is most interested in one certain part of your pitch, dive straight into that topic. The beauty of presenting your pitch on Prezi Video is that you can tailor the pitch to your audience in the moment. There’s no need to go through all your content linearly as you would with a slide-based deck — just click and present on the topics that align with the conversation.
End your sales pitch with a powerful close
Bring it full circle at the end of your pitch. If you opened with a bold statement, end your presentation by referring back to your opener and stating clearly how your product solves it. This is what you want them to remember.
Leave time for questions at the end of your pitch. You will have generated a lot of interest in the room and answering questions can help further establish your credibility, as well as reveal more issues they need help solving. Go back and revisit the parts of your presentation they were the most interested in and see if you missed anything important.
How Prezi Video can help in a remote sales pitch
Many sales pitches are happening online now, which introduces new challenges for salespeople who can’t be in the same room as their customers. Prezi Video is the next best thing for being in person for sales meetings, as you’re able to visually show the products and processes, all while keeping that face-to-face connection with your customers. When it’s the salesperson plus content, you’re helping to build that personal relationship and rapport with your clients, which is one of the most important parts of a pitch. Customers are more likely to buy from people they like working with, and remotely, they need to see you to like you.
Prezi Video is helpful tool in sales in more ways than that:
- Stand out from the crowd. The default for sales reps in customer meetings is to use a slide deck to share their pitch, which isn’t as dynamic or personal as a pitch created with Prezi Video.
- The “solution-oriented approach” in a non-linear presentation allows a salesperson to ask questions and have the flexibility to jump straight to the content the customer is interested in.
- Recording a message on video is a great way to communicate with customers. Use Prezi Video as a prospecting tool for outbound sales and generating meetings by sending a personalized video.
Take, for example, this invitation to the Gartner Marketing Symposium made by McKinley Marra:
By making this invitation a video, McKinley adds a personal touch to what could’ve been an email easily overlooked by the prospective client. In her video, she makes sure to describe how the event will benefit her customers and closes with an open offer to provide more info and answer any questions.
Check out Prezi Video to learn more about how you can create engaging, persuasive sales pitches with video, and find more sales tips and other great pitches when you watch the videos about sales on Prezi Video.
