Creating a winning sales pitch is a presentation that ends with a decision being made. That is our definition. When presenting to get a decision, it is important to understand this: Theoretically speaking, if a salesperson has done everything correctly up to the point of presentation, then their prospect should be in a position to make a decision at the end of the presentation 100% of the time. That decision could be Yes, or it could be No. We define either one of those as a winning sales pitch because there is a clear decision and a clear next step, or none at all. Our definition of “winning” eliminates “think it overs,” which is often where many great proposals die.
Creating a winning sales pitch that gets a decision 100% of the time is all about the qualifying process that salespeople follow. They certainly must have uncovered a compelling or multiple compelling reasons to take action from the prospect. There has to be pain or what we call severe mental anguish over something that is either a problem that exists today or a problem that will exist if action isn’t taken. Or there is an opportunity that has to be leveraged. That problem or opportunity has been monetized. The salesperson must also have identified that the prospect has the capacity to invest and has shared the decision-making process. The salesperson must have a solution that meets their specific terms and conditions. All of that contributes to creating a winning sales pitch, prior to presenting.
A salesperson’s ability to create winning sales pitches can be evaluated by checking their close ratio closely and understanding what contributed to the wins and losses. Salespeople and their managers must identify the choke points in their qualifying process. What are they hearing from the prospect at the pitch? What are their objections to buying? What are they ‘thinking over’? How often are they losing to the incumbent, not talking to the decision maker, or facing a money objection at presentation time?
To close 100% of qualified buyers, salespeople must also have the right attitude about the presentation. Attitudes are driven by beliefs. If they don’t believe that they must uncover all of these issues prior to pitching, then they will not gain a decision, and if they do win it, it will mostly be luck, which is not a winning sales strategy.
Salespeople should start preparing for their winning presentation as they are qualifying the prospect. That’s right, preparing starts at the very beginning of creating a winning sales pitch. Too often, salespeople make one of three assumption mistakes when it comes to presenting a solution:
- They make assumptions that because they have extra features and benefits in their solution, the prospect will want them even if those come at an additional cost.
- Assumptions are made about price—salespeople too often assume that every prospect will make a decision based on price. We know that is not the case. Or worse, that the price is not important to discuss prior to presentation.
- They assume that prospects will be honest and not share their ‘stuff’ with the incumbent. How often have they lost a deal because the other company lowered the price of their offering to match theirs?
How often do salespeople lose sales to the incumbent? In many cases, salespeople are not creating a new sale; they are gaining market share by taking business from the competitor. That means that virtually 100% of the time, they are in competition. They must find out more about that relationship and the prospect’s willingness and capabilities to end that relationship.
They must ask questions like:
- When you told your current advisor you were going out to shop around, what did they say?
- When you told your current advisor that you were unhappy and were going to find someone else to work with, what did they do?
Understanding this in advance helps a salesperson better prepare for their presentation to get a decision. Dealing with it before the pitch will help eliminate the “I need to talk to my current provider” objection at the time of close.
Money is always a factor. Unfortunately, many salespeople fail to approach this part of the discussion, either because they are uncomfortable talking about money, don’t know how to ask, or don’t believe it is relevant to their type of sales. Insurance brokers are notorious for believing they don’t have to ask about budget because the prospect is already paying premiums. But when they get copies of policies and do a risk assessment, the premiums are ‘blacked out’ in the policy. Why? Because the prospect is playing the price game to leverage the current relationship.
Here is a recommended approach to set up a winning sales pitch with the prospect:
- I will present a solution to solve those problems we discussed today.
- I will provide a solution that meets your specs and fits within the terms and conditions, including budget.
- I will be in a position to answer all of your questions.
- When I’m finished, I will ask you three questions:
- Do you feel like I understand your business and what you are trying to accomplish?
- Do you believe that I can help you accomplish your goals?
- Do you want my help?
- When I ask that last question, you will be in a position to say yes or no. Either one is okay. I’d rather hear yes, but no is okay. What objections do you have to that process?
This is when the rubber meets the road, and the salesperson finds out if, in fact, they have a 100% qualified prospect!
