Building sales pitches

Sales pitches are vital to all businesses. Whether you present through speech, documentation, or a presentation, a pitch is key to getting new customers and clients on board. It’s a cut-throat process, where competitors are equally, if not more, eager to beat you to the start line.

Sales pitches exist in many forms. They could be anything from the way you dress in public, to a huge advertisement on the TV. They could be a conversation, a letter, a presentation, a web page or an event show. Shops do pitches all the time, with varying degrees of effectiveness, as they present their ware.

The road to winning

But they are all designed to sell something. And they are designed to get their organisers into poll position on the start line. They are like to be the only opportunity to pitch to a certain audience at a certain time. And they are the only way to pitch to strangers.

Yet, it seems to us, it is the one place where businesses fall, and tolerate the fall. Even if it’s more serious than losing a customer – a failed presentation is a loss of a customer: you’ve paid for the effort, yet you will receive nothing for it. And there is respect from observers, potential customers, if you win.

The answer to a challenge is always a sales pitch

But sales pitches also have many uses. For example, what happens when your business becomes challenged on information it states? The answer to a challenge is always a sales pitch, yet most people resort to rows, recriminations and personal commenting.

A challenge is always the opportunity for a sales pitch. As the response to thirst is to drink, so the response to a challenge is a sales pitch. Golden Rule.

Challenges can come thick and fast. It’s important that businesses have a sale pitch ready to counter a challenge, which will have the effect of putting the business in a strong light, earn respect, and be able to “broadcast it’s pitch”, possible earning even more customers.

Demonstrating integrity

And if you can answer the challenge it demonstrates to everybody that you have a business of integrity, and it's going long-term. And it’s right that if a customer goes to a supplier that they should be able to ask what they’ll get for their money: they should be able to challenge your products or services.

Missing the point

It is also true that many businesses in making a sales pitch fail to state their key points. The answer the questions, yes, but that is not the same as making the statement. Potential customers only listen to statements. They will listen to reason when they’ve asked questions. That’s a reason why a good sales pitch should leave unanswered questions: but which questions?

Controlling the questions

All good communication efforts will be able to control the after effect. Through strong, powerful, well-controlled communications, it is possible to control the questions that get asked afterwards. The questions should lead to a close, and that’s where strategic communications come in.

Particularly difficult sales

Imagine the sales pitches tobacco companies make. There is no way to sell tobacco by making it sound good (that’s a fact), yet they still pitch for tobacco sales. We won’t walk away just because a job looks impossible.

Strategic communications

Among Chalestra’s clients are some huge international companies. We help them directly to prepare their pitches, pitches they make every day. Particularly, we help them control the event. We helped one company sell itself for 1.7x it’s net worth, just through a presentation.

If you’re seeking help in developing powerful communication strategies, you could choose few who are finer in the game than Chalestra: contact us.

"Since when do diplomats make cars, or carpenters make planes?"

So why do salesman make pitches?