3 MIN. READ
For salespeople, the perfect sales pitch is the holy grail. It may not exist, but it's certainly worth searching for. The right pitch can drastically increase a salesperson's success rate.
However, developing a great sales pitch isn't always easy - particularly for salespeople in the manufacturing market.
In Part One of our "Perfecting the Pitch" series, we'll be covering how to know if your pitch isn't working - and the first steps you should take when going back to the drawing board.
How to tell if your pitch isn't working
Here's a fun fact: the top 20% of salespeople close 80% of deals. So, what sets that upper echelon apart? To say their sales pitches play a considerable role would be an understatement. Having a great pitch is one of the defining characteristics of an elite salesperson.
1. It takes too long. There's a reason the "elevator pitch" has become so popular. Even potential clients who have already agreed to a meeting don't want to feel like they're wasting time by meeting you. Time your pitch. If your pitches are supposed to last 60 minutes, aim for 30-45 minutes. If your pitches are supposed to last 15 minutes, aim for 5-10 minutes. The goal should be to tread the fine line between detail and precision.
2. It doesn't acknowledge your client's needs. No matter what market you're trying to penetrate, there's one thing every manufacturer values highly: safety. Manufacturers will appreciate you emphasizing what sets your product or service apart from the pack in terms of safety options or other features.This will immediately gives your pitch more punch.
3. It's not timed correctly. When targeting manufacturers, timing is incredibly important. Manufacturing Day occurs on the first of October and kicks off, without a doubt, the best period for salespeople in the manufacturing industry to make their calls. Work on your pitch throughout the year so that it's as refined as possible when fall rolls around. Then you can start making big moves.
4. It doesn't have a narrative. The best sales pitches are also stories. Your pitch should revolve around three large, over-arching ideas or themes that are central to your company and offers. Being able to combine these three elements with narrative draws, such as use-cases or personal experiences, will help draw in your audience. For manufacturers, use-cases involving increased productivity, decreased waste, or increased safety may be particularly compelling.
5. It's the same for every customer. Every potential client you meet with has pain points. Ideally, your pitch should lay out how your product or service will address those pain points. A client in the gas valve production market will have different pain points than a client in the steel fabrication market. Research your targets and aim your pitch at the unique pain points you know they have. MNI, compiler of the industrial data that powers IndustrySelect, tracks data on specific industries. You can learn more about the industry you're pitching to on the Marketing By Industry section of the IndustrySelect blog.
6. It's a presentation, not a dialogue. The most effective sales pitches open up a dialogue with potential clients. If you're the only one talking for the majority of your pitch, you're doing it wrong. Ask for audience participation when appropriate, and encourage clients to pitch in. Most manufacturers will want to know how they can customize your product or service to fit their production process, but they probably won't ask unless you encourage participation.
There you have it: a list of tips and tricks you can use to deduce whether or not your sales pitch is effective.
When it comes to delivering your perfect pitch to the right contacts, IndustrySelect can help.IndustrySelect provides access to MNI's database of 400,000 U.S. manufacturers on a subscription basis, providing detailed profiles of each company. Subscribers can select up to 30 data points on any manufacturing company in the U.S. to help identify or pre-qualify leads.
Company profiles also include the contact information for hard-to-find executive decision-makers.
Click here to try out a free demo.
Think your sales pitch might need a refresher? Check out Part Two of this series: 6 Things Every Sales Pitch Needs.
Article Sources:
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/pdffiles/SN/SN00400.pdf
https://www.forbes.com/sites/jacquelynsmith/2014/01/03/7-tips-for-crafting-an-effective-sales-pitch/#14b4304f2c0c
https://www.asicentral.com/news/newsletters/esp-tips/march-2016/the-basics-of-selling-to-manufacturers/
https://blog.topohq.com/sales-pitch-17-ideas-creating-ultimate-sales-preso/
https://www.forbes.com/sites/theyec/2017/11/15/how-to-create-the-perfect-sales-pitch/#3439057a37d6