Sales Quiz: Can You Pitch Effectively?
Contrary to popular belief, the sales pitch isn't dead; it's just become more conversational. This post contains three easy-to-answer questions that assess your understanding of what works, and what doesn't, in today's selling situations.
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This post is based on a conversation with Jerry Acuff, author of The Relationship Edge in Business.
The correct answer is #1. Here's why.
The opening "Here's an agenda of what I'd like to discuss--" tells prospects that you respect their time and are focused on doing business. Ideally, this opening should be accompanied by a brief agenda, typed on your letterhead, with the customer's name and the date and time at the top. Keep the agenda short -- five to seven bulleted questions, and use it to structure the discussion.
By contrast, the opening "Today I'd like to share with you--" is a lame attempt to make your pitch sound like something worth "sharing", maybe like an ice cream sundae. Such language is right out of 1970's touch-feely, self-help literature and has been overused to the point of nausea. In any case, the customer knows that your attempt to "share" is just a lead-in to the rest of your patter, so you should avoid this truly vomitable approach.
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The correct answer is #2: Here's why.
The opening "Would you agree that--?" is a leading question, and such questions are usually phrased in a way that's impossible to answer in the negative. The idea is to get the prospect to say a little "yes" and then use that momentum to land the big "yes." Nice theory but it doesn't work, because prospects are too sophisticated, especially in B2B, to fall for such a patently obvious ploy.
By contrast, the opening "Does it make sense that--?" automatically opens a discussion. If the customer agrees with the question, you've got a reason to tell the prospect more. If the prospect says "Yes, but--" the question surfaces the prospect's main objection, which you can then handle. If the customer says "No," you can ask "Why?" and then learn more about the customer's real situation.
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The correct answer is #2.
The question "If I could save you 15 percent, would you be interested--" communicates clearly that you haven't bothered to find out anything specific about the customer's real problem. It's the kind of line that you'd expect some TV satire of a sales rep to use. A ny phrase that screams "I'm trying to sell you something" is going to make it more difficult to sell, because you're telling the customer that you're all about selling and not about helping.
By contrast, the question "Where might reducing costs be of particular value to you?" gets to the heart of the reason why you're there talking to the prospect. It starts a discussion that should help you better understand the customer's problem and thus be better able to craft a strong solution.
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