It’s about people not products…

One of the most difficult thing to get new (and even some seasoned) salespeople to remember is that sales is not about pitching. It’s not fair to say pitching rarely works because it does and there are instances where it is perfect. Example of this are the county fair and TV infomercials. In that environment Pitching is perfect you have anywhere from 5 seconds to 2 minutes to make your sale or you will never see your customer again. In that instance I say pitch away…. Really it’s all you’ve got.

For the rest of us it’s time to Ditch the pitch! I have a secret for you… Top salespeople are smart! The key to getting on top and staying there is learning your product inside out. You have to be creative, interesting, and free thinking. Most important you need to engage your customer.

Selling in today’s marketplace means asking questions. It means learning about your client, where they are now, what issues they are facing, and where they want to go in the future. Only after you have done all of that should you start formulating solutions.

This is easier said than done, because so many people are trained (by bad sales people) to expect a pitch. It is common to here “Just give me your pitch” or “How soon can you get me a proposal?” from clients. This is the ONLY time I’ll pitch and I still do not pitch on my product! I pitch based on my need for more information. Basically my “Pitch” is a longer version of this conversation: I have hundreds of solutions, how can I give you a proposal when I have no understanding of what your REAL issues are, what you have tried so far, and what you are ultimately trying to accomplish. My real version of this pitch is more like a 3-5 minute conversation and any reasonable person should be able to understand why this data is important. If they don’t… I move on. I am simply not willing to waste my time writing proposals where my chance of winning is similar to winning the lottery. I don’t want to guess what the right solution is, I want to KNOW. Refusal to participate is the final portion of my pitch and believe it or not it frequently turns the situation around for me. If this approach does not change the tide for me I would rather move on to someone else interested in solving their problems, invest my time there, out perform my peers, and win the deal!

I’m interested to hear what others think about pitching, and the processes they use to avoid falling into that trap. If you have a story to share or some thoughts on the issue leave me a comment and I’ll get back to you ASAP!

-Brad

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1. Ditch Your Pitch
2. The Sales Pitch – Is It Really Dead?
3. The Pitch
4. Here’s What You’ve Got: Ideas
5. Why are sales people afraid to ask for referrals?