Have you ever experienced this situation? You met a prospective client or partner at an office elevator but was left tongue tied. I have, it’s cliche but true.
After taking the leap into entrepreneurship 2 years ago, I struggled with my sales pitch. It was just unconvincing and uninspiring to my target audience. It was not until 3 months later that I managed to land my first VK Transformation deal.
This challenge is not isolated to junior sales professionals; it could also happen to sales leaders due to the shifting of focus from client interactions to day-to-day operations management while they advance the corporate ladder.
During my recent facilitation of a sales clinic ‘Delivering a Winning 30 seconds Elevator Pitch’, some of our participants shared the top challenges they faced when they had to pitch:
Being over eager and ending up oversharing
Being unprepared to pitch
An unclear pitch due to a lack of structure
Being unclear about their USP
During the course of our clinic, I coached the participants using my bespoke 4-Step sales pitch framework designed based on my business practitioner experience. The sales pitch framework involves pre-approach planning, bring the different elements together and practicing.
It was interesting to observe some of the challenges faced when participants had to go around pitching to each other, such as:
Lacking clarity on their target audience’s point of view
Having to be concise about their USP
Being confused about their value proposition
As we practice, another often overlooked point is our body language as we speak. Continuous practice will boost your confidence, but take care that your pitch does not sound too rehearsed. That said, there’s no better way to pitch-perfect than to strategise first before pitching and to keep doing it. Practice makes perfect!
Here are some highlights of our event with highly energetic and enthusiastic participants:
Shoutout to Found. Prinsep and Andee for graciously hosting us and helping make this event a success!