The art of crafting a good sales pitch is lost on many salespeople, and some, in fact, take their pitches to the far extremes of pushiness.
A meager 17% of salespeople think they’re too pushy when pitching their product or service to a potential client. Comparatively, 50% of prospects are fed up with overly aggressive sales pitches. Do you see the disconnect?
Pushy sales antics lead to professional relationships built on distrust between customers and sales representatives, which in turn leads to low conversion rates, higher churn percentages and an overall negative customer experience.
Despite your best efforts, a brilliant presentation is worth nothing if you don’t bring the whole thing home with a powerful, memorable close. In order to help you close more deals faster (and with more resonance), we’ve rounded up some of sales pitch best practices and strategies to help you crush your sales quota.
In this article, we will be covering the best way to close a pitch, different types of sales closing methods and great sales pitch examples of killer sales pitch closes.
Tips How to Close Sales Pitches
Salespeople practice the subtle art of closing a great sales pitch to (surprise!) grow their business to scale.
It doesn’t matter how good your product or service is if your pitch is half-hearted or pushy. Most sales presentations end with a whimper rather than a bang; this causes prospects to lose interest and their enthusiasm toward your brand begins to fade.
The best sales pitch tends to fizzle out when the salesperson feels as though they’ve run out of time or talking points to hit, causing them to rush over their final points or lose their audience’s attention by rambling on.
Your sales pitch example should never end in: “that’s all I have for today. Any questions?” Avoid this faux pas by coming into every situation prepared and focused. Connect personally with the people involved (make sure to do your research, first!), and leave every situation with a clear understanding of their questions, requirements and next steps.
What Makes a Good Sales Pitch Work
There is no one-size-fits-all approach to what is a good sales pitch. It’s important to “read the room” while figuring out your customer’s needs and how you can fulfill them. Here are a few sales pitch closing techniques that can help you identify the best way to close a top sales pitch.
Types of Sales Pitches
1. The Assumptive Close
This is the most straightforward way to close the best sales pitch ever; an assumptive close refers to a sale that can’t be fitted into a customized category. Essentially, the strategy behind this approach is to make it apparent that you assume your prospect is ready to purchase from you.
You accomplish this by asking questions such as: “what color would you prefer this in,” “when would you like the delivery to be made,” or “would you like a private coaching along with your membership?”
2. The Summary Close
When you summarize the overall value of your service or product, a prospect will be more inclined to buy in. By outlining all of the key features that address your customer’s needs, they’ll be more inclined to commit.
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For example: If you offer a CRM contact management solution (like us!), you would summarize the key features of your product that would help business teams work smarter, faster, and easier.
This strategy reinforces the benefits of what you have to offer and drives all of your key selling points home right before an ultimate decision is made.
3. The Hard Close
This sales pitch closing example requires a lot of confidence and bravery, and should therefore only be implemented by the bold of heart (or if you have nothing to lose).
People love buying stuff. They hate being sold to. This method defies the logic of a soft sell (hence the name) by cutting right to the point. Despite the negative connotation of a hard close, sometimes it’s the most strategic technique to use. One word of wisdom: never use this strategy too early in the sales cycle. It can easily be seen as overly aggressive and should only be used as a last resort.
4. The Time Limit Close
“I would like some time to think about it” translates to “I still have some doubts.”
Politely acknowledge that you understand why they would like time to consider their decision. However, clarify that you can’t guarantee that the offer will still be on the table due to whatever the circumstances might be.
These circumstances can include the actual product itself, the number of spaces in a program, or a limited amount of services at a particular tier of pricing. You can also feel free to ask why they need more time to get to the heart of their reluctance.
If the price is a factor, discounts and exclusive promotions can also help tip the scale in your favor.
Best Phrases to Close a Sales Pitch
Every great sales pitch needs the perfect ending. Here are some strong closing statements that will help you really seal the deal.
- “Unless there are any more questions, I think we are set to start.” This question leaves the door open for your customers to ask more questions while also signaling that you are confident in your pitch.
- “Let’s talk about the price.” This to-the-point phrase moves your sales cycle from your proposed solution directly to your offer.
- “What are your thoughts on this?” This question can help you determine your prospect’s readiness to commit to your service or product. Observe any signs of hesitation and figure out what you can do to eliminate any further concerns.
- “We can take as much time as you like, but I’m sure you have other matters to attend to. With that in mind, let’s move forward to next steps.” This approach lets your prospect subconsciously know time is limited but that you don’t want to rush them into a decision they don’t want to make.
Sales Pitch Tips and Strategies
Identify the Decision Maker
Distinguishing the decision maker is critical to a successful sales pitch. Of course, there are always instances in which the true decision maker sends someone else to learn the necessary information about a brand or service.
When this happens, make it your mission to learn the interests and proclivities of the key decision maker — even if they aren’t in the room. Ask the right questions that will give you legacy knowledge in regards to the decision maker’s likes and dislikes and tailor the conversation to address any possible concerns.
Obviously, the ideal situation would be to have the decision maker present during your product sales pitch. Do everything in your power (without coming off as overly aggressive) to make an in-person meeting happen in order to increase your chances of closing the deal.
You should also research the people who influence their decision making and build trusted relationships with them.
With the Smart Contacts App, you can locate a decision maker’s social profiles to tune into what they talk about and what they consider important in order to better address their concerns. Additionally, with Nimble Mobile 3.0 you can access these social insights anywhere and everywhere; you’ll be prepared for every pitch, every time.
Overcome Objections
The best sales pitch ever removes any roadblocks that may get in the way of closing a sale. You can easily be thrown off your game by a raised concern you weren’t prepared to address. Stalling in your response to a concerned potential client can lead to distrust and a bad first impression.
This is why it’s pivotal to address any objections before they’re even brought up. Outline all potential problems that may arise in order to avoid surprises and gain the confidence of your prospect by showing that you have their best interest in mind.
This is a great opportunity to loop in your sales team and collaborate on creating somewhat of a “landline map” of potential deal breakers. Different points of view can be very helpful when trying to tackle an issue from all angles and can help your sales pitch close the deal.
Avoid Rambling
An obvious sales rookie tends to get nervous and lose control of the conversation simply to avoid drawn-out silences. Exercise restraint in your words to show that you are indeed a professional that your prospective client can trust.
After you ask a question, avoid being the person who speaks next. Let the dialogue flow naturally without forced interjections which can indicate an insecurity in your approach. Although your knee-jerk reaction will be to continue talking, your calm demeanor will speak volumes in itself.
Always Follow Up with Follow Through
Even if your prospect decides they need more time to consider your proposal, it is still your responsibility to keep the line of communication open.
Make sure you always reach out promptly with a follow-up email to reinforce what was discussed during your meeting and to thank them for their time. If you met with an entire team, send a group message to everyone who partook in the meeting as well.
You can also keep the rest of your sales team in the loop by documenting meeting outcomes within your CRM, which your entire team can access (our team typically dictates those notes using Nimble Mobile 3.0). From there, you can designate tasks to the appropriate team members to make sure nothing falls through the cracks.
Conclusion
With all of these tips and tricks in mind, you’re now a sales pitch pro. Just remember: confidence is key.
People won’t buy from you if they’re not buying you. When you exercise patience, poise, and professionalism, your prospective clients will be more likely to trust you as not only a salesperson but also a thought leader within your industry.