I have been in the sales operations field for more than a decade and a major portion of my experience has been in working very closely with many small business owners across various industries. What my observation has been is that more than 99% of small business owners are fantastic in their core business and the product or service they deliver.
A good sales pitch is a presentation or a conversation a sales agent has with a potential customer, in which, the sales agent is able to articulate a value proposition of a solution that comprehensively solves the biggest problem the customer faces in a particular facet of their lives.
The one area where most business owners face problems in in the area of sales. Many small business owners simply struggle to get their sales pitch together in an effective manner that can actually lead to increased sales.
Basically, articulating an effective sales pitch is a critical pillar of the sales strategies that small businesses should use to grow their business. Many times, business owners try to solve for this by hiring people experienced in sales to do their sales on their behalf.
While that is a good way to solve it, one aspect the small business owner must personally get involved and get their hands dirty is in crafting a good sales pitch. A good sales pitch will also help the sales agent to make progress in the sales funnel in a single meeting with the customer which increases the rate of sales conversion.
Without a good sales pitch, small businesses will keep switching between sales heads and lose consistency not have meaningful growth over a long period of time.
What is a sales pitch? Why should small businesses pay attention to their pitch?
A sales pitch or ‘The pitch’ is typically the conversation or a presentation that you as a sales agent or a business owner will have with a prospective customer. A sales pitch is usually the first conversation you will have with your prospective customer and it can either make or break the relationship from there.
A sales pitch is the best opportunity to put your best foot forward and create an impression in your prospective customer’s minds where your product or business is viewed favourably. A few compelling reasons why small business owners should focus on their sales pitch are
- Create a great first impression even before the sales process
- Sow the seeds to build a relationship that can drive sales later on
- Acts as a discovery engine to understand more about the customer to customise the sales pitch and sales process
- Its helps spread brand awareness of your business slowly but organically which can improve sales over the long term
Is an elevator pitch also a sales pitch?
An elevator pitch is a sales pitch at its most fundamental level, but its also the most compact form a sales pitch. An elevator pitch is usually a 30-60 second long conversation that looks to get an immediate action from the person to whom the pitch is put forward. An elevator pitch is also very generic and focusses on the most important aspect of the product or service that you are offering and expects the listener to take a decision immediately
A sales pitch on the other hand, is more of a conversation, where both sides have a discussion and problem areas are often explored. A decision is not expected immediately, however it the sales pitch sets the tone for a follow up meeting at a later date which can go a long way in building a relationship and growing sales further.
Does the sales pitch of for a business have a dramatic impact on sales?
The sales pitch of a business can have a dramatic impact on sales. A sales pitch is not just a presentation; it’s what bridges the company’s product or service and its customers. When a business creates a sales pitch, it has to incorporate the value proposition of its product, making it an important part of the sales process. Think of sales pitch like a conversation where you want to establish a relationship between the product and the consumer.
An effective sales pitch can dramatically increase sales by trying to standardise the sales process in the beginning of the interaction with the prospective customer
A small business should take the sales pitch seriously since once the sales pitch is outlined, it drives the selling behaviour of the sales team. The value that is articulated in the sales pitch often reflects in the belief that the business holds about their product or service.
The sales pitch is an essential element of a business that helps build start the relationship with customers. Through an engaging sales pitch, a company can establish trust and rapport, which are foundational for long-term customer loyalty and repeat sales. The quality of a sales pitch can often be a deciding factor in whether a business closes a sale or not.
The impact of a sales pitch on sales becomes even more important when the small business has a technical or complex product or service and when the brand is not well known. A sales pitch also plays a crucial role of building awareness and education of the prospective customer, aspects which are usually handled by branding in a large business.
Basically, the sales pitch is a critical piece in the sales strategy of any business. A great sales pitch can dramatically boost sales by effectively communicating the value of a product, educating the customer and by differentiating the company in the market.
Therefore, investing time and resources in developing an impactful sales pitch should be a top priority for any business aiming to grow its sales over time.
What are the differences between a good sales pitch and a great sales pitch?
There are good sales pitches and then there are great sales pitches. The outcome of a great sales pitch is where a customer is already convinced that the solution on offer is what they need to solve a specific problem they face.
While there is no sure shot way of establishing a sales pitch as good or great, there are some elements which differentiate a great sales pitch from a decent one.
Understanding of the audience
A great sales pitch is able to factor in various aspects of the customer persona such as their motivations, aspirations and other unspoken but observed cues in addition to the spoken pain points.
Emotional connect with a good story
A great sales pitch has a story that revolves around the life of the customer with all the virtues and value proposition of the product or service weaved into the story which creates an emotional connect with the customer. This is also one of the key reasons why a great sales pitch remains in the memory of the potential customer for a longer duration.
Demonstrates value right away
A great sales pitch gives the value of the solution being pitched a visual or a combination of sensual experiences to the potential customer where they can experience the solution in an immersed manner.
Anticipates and handles objections within the pitch
The manner in which a great sales pitch anticipates and answers all objections questions will the potential customer with very few unanswered questions at the end of the pitch. This is the one of the best ways to keep the customer engaged. Anticipate and ask questions on their behalf, follow up with comprehensive answers.
Clarity, focus and authenticity in the pitch
A great sales pitch is does not look like a sales pitch. Its more like a conversation that revolves around solving the customer’s biggest pain point. This makes it authentic and shows the focus of the company that is pitching the product.
When the sales pitch is authentic and focuses around solving the customer’s problem, automatically there is clarity in communication which helps the customer remember your brand much better than that competition.
Why is storytelling so important in a great sales pitch
Right from when we were kids, we grew up listening to stories from our grandparents, reading stories in books and watching stories in movies. A good story is one where we can relate to the protagonist and we feel involved in the plot.
Similarly, when you keep the customer and the customer’s biggest pain point at the centre of your sales pitch, the most natural manner of delivery is through a story where your customer is the main protagonist and your product or solution is his sidekick.
Presenting your sales pitch in this manner tugs at the kid in all of us. A good story will keep your customer giving you all their attention which is rare today in an increasingly distracted world. In addition to the emotional tug of heart that a good story does, there are some hard benefits as well
- It covers the problem, solution and its impact on the customer’s life comprehensively
- A good story forces a business to develop a deep understanding of the customer’s pain point
- It helps in anticipating all objections a customer could have and help provide answers in advance
- Everyone just loves a good story
How should a small business owner structure a sales pitch that can impact sales?
There is a scientific way of structuring a sales pitch. Though everyone loves a good story, there are some successful guidelines to how the story should get introduced and how it should proceed. Lets look at some of the steps that a small business owner should follow to create the sales pitch.
From the steps that i have outlined below, it will become apparent that the sales pitch will force the small business to think about a lot more factors of their product or solution than just making a presentation or script.
Identifying the customer problem and matching the solution before the pitch
This is something that cannot be stressed enough. It is paramount for any business to have deep customer empathy and have a very nuanced understanding of who their customer is and what their key pain points are.
When we speak about nuanced understanding, such an understanding can come about only when a business takes time to actually be with their customers in their day-to-day setting.
I have visited more than 200 small business owners while I was at Intuit as a part of the follow-me-home program that Intuit is famous for.
When you visit your customer, observe them in their work setting, you will pick up a lot of observed, unspoken cues about what your customer likes and what they dislike. These will help you probe further and understand the extent to which a pain-point really troubles them.
Revealing the best solutions that solves the problem completely before introducing the pitch
Once you have understood all the nuanced aspect of the customer’s pain points, then you will have to internally brain-storm on the ideal solution for the pain point. In an ideal world, with no cap on budgets, resources, what is the best solution that your customer can get at the best value proposition.
Your sales pitch should have this ideal solution to the customer’s pain point right at the beginning of the conversation so that you are setting the bar very high for the customer with respect to their expectations.
You could also use this section to compare other alternatives available in the market and how they fall short of the ideal expectation. This sets the stage for the entry of your hero which is the product or service that you want to sell.
Pitch for how your product is as strong as the best solution you revealed above
Once you have set the bar very high with respect to customer’s expectations from an ideal product and how the competition fails to meet those expectations, you have primed the customer to expect that your solution soles for the ideal scenario.
This is where your product should make a strong entry and position itself as the best possible solution the customer can get, It is in this stage that all the virtues of your product are extolled and presented in a comprehensive manner.
You should cover the following aspects of your product or solution here
- Why your product is different
- How its better
- Where is the better value in your product
- Additional benefits that your customer gets
- Why your competition cannot do what you are doing
Going above and beyond to show how your product also solves many other problems associated with the core customer problem
While you extol the virtues of your product and how it demolishes your competition, this is also a great time to give the additional benefits your solution offers.
In addition to solving for the customer’s biggest pain point, there are other benefits that your product gives your customer.
If the customer is not already floored by your pitch of how your product is all they need, this additional benefits is the part of the sales pitch that should finish the job.
Introduce social proof of how strong the product is and how it works for an other customer who had the same problem
Social proof is basically what ‘subconsciously’ tells the customer that ‘he’d better buy it’ or else he risks losing out on the benefits that so many other have got.
If you are serving other businesses who are your customers, then the ideal social proof would be how your solution has helped other businesses increase their sales, reduce costs or improve productivity. It has to be any of these three only since these have a direct financial impact for your customer.
If your business serves consumers, then the social proof would be how they are missing out on the benefits that other customers have started reaping. The feeling you want top trigger here is that of a social ‘FOMO’.
Asking the right questions to probe the customer to craft the pitch to the customer’s circumstance is a hallmark of a good sales pitch
Once you have presented the social proof for your product, get into the customer’s mind and ask all problems they face, that can be both directly and indirectly solved by your business.
During this part of your pitch, your sales teams should be equipped to dynamically adjust the spiel to what the customer wants to hear based on their answers to the probing questions. Some of the probing questions that your sales teams should be asking them are in the lines of
- How are you doing [xyz activity] today?
- where do you end up spending most of your time while…
- what part of xyz activity really frustrates you…
- Do you see errors often while …
- Do you pay someone to do…
- What are some things you wish they would do in addition to what they do today
- if you did no have to do this, what else would you spend your time on..
These are some first level questions to start with that help reveal customer motivations, aspirations and what they could do if they did not face the problems they face today
Do a demo of exactly how the product solves the customer problem before, tweak the demo to the customer’s context
As you probe with the questions above, you will get an idea of how your customer might end up using the product that you have. Be sure that your customers will use your product very differently from what you envision.
Each customer will end up using it slightly different from each other
Once you know what’s playing in the customer’s mind, you will have to be equipped to tweak the demo to suit your customer’s preferences so that they can really relate to what you have to offer.
This is where many businesses fall short, everything goes well while the speak, but they are ill prepared to do a demo that can be customised to meet the customer’s requirements. Being prepared is the key. The only way to be prepared is to have the nuanced understanding of your customers pain. The only way to understand their pain is to spend time with them.
We have come back full circle.
Things that a small business owner must do outside of the sales pitch to build the right selling behaviour with the sales agents
While the sales pitch is where the rubber meets the road and it is what you put in front of your customer, there are a lot of un-seen things that you as a small business should get right.
You could call this as preparing for the eventual ‘encounter’ with your customer. The sales agents who are best prepared often have the best outcomes over the long term.
The following steps are some recommendations that I believe will help small business owners really level up their sales pitch. This is something i have seen really successful businessmen spend time on and i gives them great dividends over the long term.
Identify a key theme that your company, the business model and your product stands for – This is something that the customer should know your business for
This has to be a timeless value that your company should stand for and must also form a key part of the branding initiatives in your company. Your business should be known for something. It can be softer emotional aspects like ‘Trust’, ‘Safety’, ‘Comfort’ or ‘Perseverance’. It can also be hard measurable aspects like ‘reliability’,’performance’,’design’ or ‘quality’.
Pick one or max two, ensure that these themes are woven into all aspects of your communication and form the base emotion for your sales pitch.
This is extremely important since it will make sure that your customer associates your business with a feeling. Its much easier to remember a feeling as a human being than it is to remember a brand name.
Prepare 4-5 good stories that that cover majority of the situations your ideal customer faces – These stories should convey how your business and strong product solves the problems of your customer completely
As I discussed earlier, once you have covered all the nuances of understanding of your customer, prepare a set of stories depending on the personas of the customers that you have identified.
What this does is that it gives your sales teams a ready template to choose depending on the persona of the customer they come across.
This pre-written stories will also help you brainstorm and identify nuanced situations where these stories can be adapted which will reduce the need to ‘think on the fly’ for your sales teams. They will be less likely to fumble and ask for a follow up meeting.
The objective of this is to ensure that you are able to go down the sales funnel as much as possible in a single customer meeting.
Train your sales team to include the stories in all conversations with customers in their pitch so that they know how to make a great sales pitch
This is obvious.
This not done frequently enough
People think its obvious and they don’t give it the attention it needs.
I think i have highlighted the importance of why a lot of small business owners struggle with a good sales pitch. Its going back to the basics. Business owners are too caught up in dousing the daily fires that they assume that their sales teams are trained adequately.
This can’t be further from the truth. If you accompany your sales teams to a customer meeting, it highly likely that more than 2 out 3 folks don’t really know the stories you want them to weave into the narrative. They will improvise on the spot, which is great, but it defeats the plan and through process that you have put in to make sure that your product is presented in the best possible light.
Unpopular opinion 1: Get your sales agents to handle all basic customer complaints that customers face with the product, let customer success only handle the difficult and technical issues.
This is specifically applicable in B2B sales, where there is often two different teams involved for sales and for customer success. In this scenario, what I have observed is that, a sales agent will identify customers who may not really fit the ideal customer profile to just complete his quota.
I wont be surprised if this happens in more than 50% of the cases, and almost 35% of the refund cases can be attributed to a wrong customer – product fit.
Give the responsibility of handling level 1 customer complaints to the sales team. This will be a forcing function on the sales team to choose the right customer for the business. You will also notice that this boost customer retention by at least 25% in the subsequent quarters.
Unpopular opinion 2: Link all compensation for sales to the number of customers acquired and total revenue
I have done sales compensation planning for almost a decade and I have seen many businesses doing this mistake. They have a major chunk of the sales person’s compensation plan on a fixed based while a minor percentage is linked to the sales person’s quota achievement.
I have a firm belief that your sales person is your biggest business partner. Let the sales person benefit from the hard work they put in. At the same time, ensure that they get rewarded only when results are delivered.
I have seen business owners who have sales agents or sales partners with no fixed compensation, but they receive a commission for any sale that they do. The downside to this is that the sales person need not be 100% invested in selling for you. They will go where the money is.
The business owner will have to balance this for his organisation. This is not a one-size fits all and depends a lot on the state the business is located, the competitive environment, the availability of labour and many other external factors.
How can a small business sales team handle objections from customers during the sales pitch?
Since you have reached till here, you can figure out by now the key factors that help a great sales team in handling objections.
The key to handling customer objections during any pitch is to be prepared with a great understanding of your customer problems. The best sales agents often do good research about their prospective customers, they probe around to understand customer preferences and choices they have made in the past.
In this way, they give the customers very little room to raise any objections since they are prepared with what customers might ask them.
The best way to handle objections is to not give any room to ask objections.
There could be some out of control factors like in a B2B scenario, if the customer faces significantly high switching costs, they are unlikely to make the switch even if your product is damn good.
To outline what a small business needs to do to handle objections well
- Understand your customers
- Have a set of scenarios ready
- Research customer preferences, past choices
- Have set of potential questions and answers ready
- Practice handling objections within your teams
Good Sample sales pitch that a small business can adopt in the B2B space
I will share an example of a sales pitch where the small business owner provides professional services to other businesses. The problem that this business solves is in staying compliant with the local environmental laws.
Introducing yourself and your business, establish that this is a sales conversation
“Good [morning/afternoon], my name is [Your Name], and I represent [Your Company], a leader in providing expert environmental compliance services. I appreciate the opportunity to discuss how we can support your business in navigating the complexities of environmental regulations.”
Laying the foundation for the pitch by clearly identifying the specific pain points you are solving for
“We understand that keeping up with local environmental laws can be challenging and time-consuming. Non-compliance not only risks legal repercussions but can also affect your company’s reputation and sustainability efforts. Are you currently facing any challenges in ensuring full compliance with these laws?”
Gather all the challenges that your customer faces, typically, for a given problem, the challenges are similar or related so your solution should be able to address it.
Propose the solution that is exactly aligned with the challenge so that it solves it completely for the customer
“At [Your Company], we offer comprehensive solutions to ensure your business not only meets but exceeds environmental compliance standards. Our team of experienced professionals stays abreast of the latest regulations and provides tailored strategies to address your specific needs.”
“We also specialise in the correct interpretation of the laws such that you can comply with all the requirements in the most efficient manner. We believe that your primary purpose is to run your business well and not spend time and resources in administrative tasks”
The solution proposed here is aligned to the pain of the business not being able to run his day-to-day operations effectively since compliance is too big a burden. He is looking for an efficient way to solve for it.
Highlight what makes your business different from the competition
“What sets us apart is our proactive approach. We don’t just help you comply; we also identify potential areas of risk and improvement. This approach not only safeguards you against legal issues but also enhances your corporate responsibility profile, which is invaluable in today’s environmentally conscious market.”
The next step is to show social proof that other trust you and love doing business with your company
“We have successfully partnered with businesses across various sectors, ensuring they thrive within the regulatory framework. For instance, [insert a brief case study or example], where we helped a client achieve [specific result], demonstrating our commitment to delivering results.”
Offer a free consultation session to let the customer explore your solution and how your company can help them
“Let’s schedule a more in-depth discussion where we can assess your specific needs and how our services can provide a solution. We are committed to being a partner in your environmental compliance journey, ensuring peace of mind and allowing you to focus on your core business operations. When would be a convenient time for a follow-up meeting?”
“Thank you for considering [Your Company] for your environmental compliance needs. We look forward to the opportunity to work with you and contribute to your company’s success and sustainability. Have a great day!”
The conversation highlighted above is an example of how a B2B sales process can happen in selling professional services. Its important for the sales agents to understand the sequence in the sales pitch and take it slow so that the customer is not overwhelmed.
Remember that in B2B sales, its usually a team of people that decide on what services ot products to buy and they will have a set of processes and procedures that they will have to comply with. Do not rush into the sales process without having evaluated the customer’s situation fully.
An example of a sales pitch that is written to sell a digital product without human involvement (Sales pitch to drive organic sales).
Lets take an example of a digital product like a financial app that helps small business owners manage their budget. Lets look at the structure of how the product gets introduced online, the stages that should be covered to walk the customer through the range of emotions to bring them to a point where they seriously consider buying.
For the context of this example, lets call the digital product as ‘Finapp’
Use the headline of your website to capture customer’s attention
- Example: “Discover Financial Zen with Finapp: Revolutionize Your Money Management Using AI”
Problem Statement: Connect Emotionally with the customer and side with their frustration
- Example: “Tired of juggling numerous financial apps and still feeling out of control? Do unexpected expenses throw your budget off track every month? You’re not the only one grappling with these frustrating financial challenges.”
The above statement goes into the mind of the customer to comfort them that their frustration is genuine, there are many others who struggle with the same problem.
Introduce Your Product as a solution to overcome their frustration easily
- Example: “Finapp is your all-in-one financial guardian. Our AI-driven app doesn’t just track expenses; it anticipates them, adapting to your spending habits to offer real-time, personalized budgeting advice.”
- “Our app can warn you if you don’t have sufficient cash balance and are unlikely to see any income to take care of an upcoming payment, based on your past transactions.”
In the above example, the spiel explains how it can solve for the customer to eliminate their problem and educates them about how this actually works.
Benefits and Features: Provide Proof to your customer that this actually works
- Specific Benefits: “Enjoy the peace of mind with Finapp’s Predictive Budgeting – it alerts you about potential overspending. Our Investment Genius feature dynamically adjusts your investment strategies based on market trends.”
- Unique Social Proof: “Like Sarah, a freelance designer, who used Finapps’s freelancer financial suite to streamline her irregular income and expenses, boosting her savings by 30%.”
The above points are important as they provide a 3rd party assessment of the benefits that the products give their customer. Testimonials are great for this very reason. Customers are more likely to trust a 3rd party with no vested interest promoting your product that your own promotion.
Visual Elements: Enhance Engagement with showing a preview of the product
- Targeted Visuals: Show a graphical timeline in the app where users can visually track their predicted vs actual spending. Include a video case study of a user, like Sarah, highlighting her journey with Finapp.
Call to Action (CTA): Encourage a the customer to join your community via email or a free trial
- Revised Example: “Join the community of smart savers. Start your journey with FinAIze today – Your first step towards a financially balanced life. Try it free for a month!”
This call to action is super important since it can have one of 3 outcomes
- The customer really loves your product and buys right away – great job!
- The customer is not ready to buy, but get them into your marketing funnel by opting to join a ‘free’ community ot start a ‘free’ trial
- The customer just goes away and does not come back
You want to increase the odds of conversion in your favour. You need to have CTAs that encourage customers to be associated with your for ‘free’ so that you can re-target them wil emails, more testimonials, discounts or any other promotional messages over and over till they are convinced to buy.