Data-Driven Selling By Sales Insights Lab

I'm going to show you five revealing characteristics of a successful sales pitch.

Number one, there is no traditional sales pitch upfront. This is so key because I see it all the time. Salespeople are stuck in this old school traditional mindset that they need to have this fantastic sales pitch upfront. Now, of course, we want to be tight and concise in what we're saying to prospects, but we're not using the beginning of the conversation to pitch our product or service. We're not using that early part of the sale to focus on what it is that we do and all the ways that we're going to help them. It is a huge turn off to a buyer to immediately feel like you're being pitched hard upfront. Instead, great people save the sales pitch or that presentation for much later in the conversation. What they're using upfront is simply a means to engage prospects in a conversation. 

Number two, whiteboard pitch instead. So this builds on the last idea that I just shared with you, which is that most salespeople are focused on selling their products or services, sharing the features and benefits that their product has to offer upfront. Instead, what we want to do is share insight upfront, not about our product or service, but instead, insight about the prospect's world, and that's where a whiteboard pitch comes in. We use whiteboard pitches, which means having something that you can draw on. It could be a whiteboard; it could be on a Zoom. You can write directly on the screen using some stylus or a pen or an iPad, but you want to have some tool where you can map out some of the critical challenges that you see prospects facing in their particular world. 

Number three, disqualify before solve. This is a critical distinction that we are not presenting the solution early on in the conversation. Instead we're ultimately going to be giving our whiteboard pitch, engaging them in that conversation and then taking them through a disqualification conversation where we're asking a series of systematic questions that are going to help us determine whether someone is truly a fit, whether they're really dealing with the types of challenges that we solve and understanding how it's affecting their organization or their life. 

Number four, case study presentation. So this is the point at which we start to present our solutions and our product or service, but what we want to do is present that through a case study presentation. We want to have a series of stories or examples that demonstrate how our product or service helped other folks that are similar to them, and that's where we want to have an arsenal of case studies or just examples. 

Number five, let their questions drive the presentation. This is a massive change in the way most salespeople think. Most salespeople think I want to avoid getting questions during the presentation. Still, the latest data shows that salespeople that are most likely to close a sale are getting the most questions during the presentation. And think about it, it makes sense, right? If a prospect is asking you a lot of questions during the presentation phase of a sale, it means they're engaged; it means that they're interested. 

There are the five revealing characteristics of a successful sales pitch, and if you enjoyed this video, then I have an awesome free training on the data-driven approach to help you crush your sales goals. Just click right here to get registered instantly.