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So what separates the good sales pitch from the bad?

Fri, 10 Jul 2020 15:45:51 GMT

The perfect telephone pitch that can change sales results starting tomorrow …

What to say and how to say it?

During my 15-year career in sales development, I’ve built and seen many sales pitches. I’ve also been pitched by numerous salespeople — some good and some bad.

So what does it take to sound remarkable, compelling and convincing on the phone?

To find out, our call analyst Jo, screened over 500 sales calls in an 8-month period. What we learned was that ALL the best-converting sales pitches include the exact same elements.

If you know what these elements are, you can easily replicate their success. Keep reading to learn what those elements are — and how you can use them to craft your own killer sales pitch.

First, though, let’s address the elephant in the room…

Scripted vs. Freestyle Pitch Guides

The debate is ongoing. Some organisations swear by the effectiveness of a sales pitch script that reps can read word-for-word. Others feel strongly that a freestyle call guide allows reps to initiate a more natural conversation with customers.

Both are true. The sweet spot is actually somewhere in the middle. The benefit of starting with a sales script is that you can plan exactly what you’re going to say and how you’re going to say it. But once started you’ll never stop encountering new scenarios and new ways to address these.

So a script never reaches its completion state. It evolves and becomes second nature for most callers after 30 or 40 solid conversations and therefore starts to sound more natural with improvised and embellished elements.

Now, let’s look at how to make a good sales pitch…

There are 6 Essential Elements in Every Good Sales Pitch . Keep in mind, there is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all approach. But if you can answer a prospects’ most basic questions in your sales pitch, you’ll have a great jumping-off point to pitch effectively.

Based on our study of 500 sales calls, these basics include 6 elements that MUST be included:

1. Why you

2. Who your company is

3. Pain points

4. Benefits

5. Validation and referrals

6. Close

This Is What Makes A Good Sales Pitch

Read how to apply it below and takeaway a free pitch template to get yourself started.

1) Why You & Why Your Organization

Let’s be honest, when someone you don’t know calls you, the first thing you want to know is “what do you want from me”. So, get that out straight at the beginning of the conversation.

You can immediately separate yourself from other salespeople by showing that you have done your research on the person or company you are speaking to . Useful information like this can easily be found on LinkedIn, Social Media, Data providers or even Google. For Example:

“I know that you are responsible for ____ at your company.”

“I know you’re currently looking at projects in relation to ____ at the moment.”

“I read an article you posted online about ____”

“I can see you were recently promoted to the position of ____.”

A powerful way of starting a conversation is by using a referral from someone else within the target company. However only use this if you have actually spoken to someone! Don’t lie and say you have spoken to someone when you have not. It is dishonest, you will get found out and it is not a good way to start a business relationship. For Example:

“The reason for calling is that I had a conversation with your colleague Simon about ________ and he told me you would be the best person to speak to in regards to what we are able to do for your company”

If you can’t do any of the above, then simply say something like: “The reason for calling is I know you would be the best person to speak to about ________ as I understand this falls under your responsibility at your company. “

2) Who Your Company Is & What They Do

That is often one of the hardest parts to formulate in your pitch, as most salespeople focus far too much on who their company is and what they do.

This needs to be very simple and only needs to be one or two sentences, something like:

“We are specialists in XYZ and we help enterprises solve _________.”

Think about how you would describe what your company does in a nutshell? Has someone already figured it out? Here’s a tip: ask the marketing folks on the fly. You don’t want a printed statement that reads well but sounds awful. The simpler and shorter, the better.

3) Pain Points

Most solutions are born out of the idea that there is a problem you need to solve. The technology is created to fix the problem, and you should highlight that. Clearly describe the pain (problems) your prospect is experiencing that your solution resolves. Keep it to a maximum of 3 problems.

“Lots of companies introduced xxx in the “90’s” to improve xxx, where do you sit with this? As a result what challenges eat into your time ________. Does that mean you’re not getting ______ because of ______ and ______. ”

If you want to make the pitch more conversational, this might be a good place to add in multiple-choice questions, which can’t be answered with a simple yes or no , and it helps you to qualify that your product/service is relevant.. Something like:

“What would you say your biggest challenges are in regard to _____ at the moment? Is it more about reducing cost or increasing visibility or both?”

4) Benefits

Benefits, Not features. It’s very important to make that distinction, because in the beginning, people aren’t necessarily focused on what your solution does or how it does it. They’re more interested in the outcome .

What are the main benefits your product/service will bring to the company you are speaking to? Will it make them more productive? Will it save them time or make them more efficient? Will is save them or make them more money?

This is the most important part of your pitch. This is where you will be able to convince the prospect that it is worth their time to look at what you’re offering.

If you don’t know how your product or services can benefit different customer types, you will not be able to pitch it effectively. Try, where possible, to back up what you’re saying with facts, figures, and percentages .

Something like: “Our solution uses _______ to provide the best and most ______ on the market. The main benefits are not only that you get ______, but that we can also reduce the time your team spends managing this area by up to 30x, and we can typically save you 40% on costs.”

5) Validation and References

An excellent way of validating what you’re saying is to reference companies/organisations who are current customers . Even better, reference customers who are direct competitors of the company/organisation you are pitching. But remember not to scare prospects with your references.

If you are speaking to an early stage start-up, telling them that one of your clients is Google will scare them — they may think they can’t afford you. So, choose your references wisely and plan before you hit the phone.

“We have been able to help companies like Coca Cola, Pepsi, and Starbucks be much more efficient and save huge sums of money.”

6) Close

There are varying opinions on how you should close a sales engagement touch-point. Some say you should ask for a date and a time that would be suitable for your next engagement. The problem is this gets the prospect thinking about whether that appointment is viable, based on the work they are currently doing.

What we have found to be more successful is reiterating the benefits and asking the prospects about the value it would bring to their company. In other words, sell the value of the zoom call . With a question like this, the prospect is more likely to think about the issues they’re struggling with and what they will get from having the call you are trying to arrange.

If someone’s going to take up their time talking about a service or product, they want to know the time will be well-spent, whether they buy your product or not .

“What I’d like to do is arrange a time in the next few weeks for my colleague to show you how we’ve helped companies like yours specifically. Is your diary open on xxx for another chat?

The Takeaway

Okay, so now you have the 6 elements that the best sales pitches include. With this information, you have everything you need to put your power pitch together, except for a narrative.

Remember, a good pitch is like good storytelling . It’s got to have a clear beginning, middle and end. So write your intro, then weave together a narrative that includes these six elements . Not only will you create a stellar story, you’ll have a winning formula.

Take away this free template and start pitching.

Put a managed service of; Lead follow-up, lead nurturing and lead generation in place

We address a number of strategic sales development challenges. Our work with senior executives to deliver lead generation programmes not only contributes significantly to team pipelines but also enhances the sales & marketing workflow for sustained revenue generation.

Take the ‘ouch’ out of an ‘outsourced’ sales service. Get more advice on optimised lead generation for corporate brands.

Following-up sales leads in today’s world has changed. Once again – the phone is key to reaching potential customers.

Fri, 03 Jul 2020 08:11:01 GMT

The thing that makes customers listen when you call. And the formula that can change sales results starting tomorrow …

What to say and how to say it?

Prospects may have visited your website and downloaded content that looked interesting but eventually, you need to engage in conversation to see if there is a mutual fit and desire to proceed to the next step (think online dating).

What you say and what you do in this first interaction will either start or end the relationship – and make or break the sale.

Here are the four tactics in our formula for a first customer call - the start of a lasting relationship.

• The First Impression is Everything

• You Have to Start the Relationship by Showing Interest

• Leave Them Wanting More

• Make the Conversation About Them, Not You

This blog highlights a skill to make outbound lead generation calls stand-out in today’s world.

1) The First Impression

Translating your on-line and printed messaging into simple, easy to grasp, conversational language is key – with no industry jargon or empty buzzwords.

Buyers get inundated with offers and they all sound the same after a while. Put a conversation guide together that highlights what makes you different and worth a few minutes of their time . The 3 second elevator pitch.

2) You Have to Start the Relationship by Showing an Interest

The initial conversation is designed to filter and segment potential buyers and unqualified marketing leads. We reserve discussions around technical specifications, demonstrations, etc. to a more specialised sales resource who follows on with a subsequent call/zoom meeting.

The first call acts as an additional filtering layer to gather more information on the prospect and build rapport as you work towards a committed relationship.

Prepare a few short questions (not a survey) to tease out information whilst demonstrating how much you already know about their company and role. Your use of language and tone should show that you’re sensitive to their environment and understanding of their work/home pressures .

3) Leave Them Wanting More

Like a first date, you don’t want to tell someone your whole life story off the bat.

We don’t want to get hung-up on pitching a product or in too deep on features because busy buyers are looking for ways to rule you out vs. rule you in . Change is risky and typically requires more work on their part, therefore, protecting the status quo is just often easier.

So you want to provide just enough information to leave them wanting to learn more about you — but not so much they might get “cold feet” after that initial encounter.

4) Make the Conversation About Them, Not You

The goal is not to talk about you. Get them talking about themselves. The majority of our conversations are about the buyer’s needs and circumstances, not our client’s offering.

Prospects talk much more readily when the conversation is about them and get disinterested quickly when the call starts off talking about our client’s long list of accolades and unique selling propositions.

Once we’ve established their needs (this may not be on the first call) and get them thinking about potential solutions to address their issues , we then determine a good next step (another conversation, an email with more information, a demo, etc.) and when that next step is convenient for them — not convenient for our client.

Follow-up timing is another critical part of the sales development process — get the follow-up and the hand-off dates right, for that hard-won first date.

The Takeaway

Many of the supporting 1st touch tools that we used to rely on for sales lead generation have disappeared since Covid-19 took hold.

No longer can we ping an email to arrange a face-to-face meeting. No longer can we send a text to meet at booth 50 of the exhibition hall. No longer can we mail a pack of personalised goodies to the office with info and samples.

If you’re re-skilling and re-equipping your sales development team to be ‘tele-sales experts’ you’ll want someone capable of tailoring messaging for this stage and monitoring it’s use and effectiveness.

If you’re partnering with a sales agency, ensure they have the process, experience, and expertise to understand your solutions well enough to “work the call” and get you the first virtual date with a prospect.

Put a managed service of; Lead follow-up, lead nurturing and lead generation in place

Take the ‘ouch’ out of an ‘outsourced’ sales service. Get more advice on optimised lead generation for corporate brands.

The new tactic: For marketers focused on helping their firms rebound

Tue, 30 Jun 2020 20:40:46 GMT

The thing that makes customers listen more than anything else. And the thing that we can deploy starting tomorrow in our first conversations…

Empathy...

According to the latest McKinsey B2B Decision-Maker Pulse , buyers are now twice as likely to opt for on-line purchasing - and many won’t change their on-line approach once the pandemic is finally over.

So with buyers transitioned to virtual purchase journeys where 'self service' ' is the preferred model, how and when do sales teams engage 1-1 to build relationships?

We're seeing companies tool-up to make 'instant chat' more available on customer screens; on corporate web sites; at webinar events; on social site forums... Places where buyers can engage on-demand.

This blog highlights a skill to make B2B chats stand-out in today’s world

1) Have your sales teams been trained in chat etiquette?

A large majority of business (96%) have already shifted their go-to-market strategy, with remote selling “now the norm and perceived to be effective”.

S uddenly, there is no real distinction between inside sales and those out in the field (as far as customers are concerned) .

Organisations have recognised that most sales conversations begin on screens. And this shift in behaviour is revealing a skills and experience gap for many field sales reps when suddenly they're asked to stand-by on 'chat' for a webinar or web-event or response desk.

TEXT-BASED EXCHANGES, WHERE INSTANT ANSWERS ARE EXPECTED AND OFTEN TRANSCRIBED FOR REFERENCE require a well-trained head. (Saying the wrong thing carries a cost). Chat etiquette needs to be documented and rules shared across sales teams.

2) So what's the takeaway today - what makes customers want to carry-on chatting with your team

The secret lies in the TONE of your B2B chat:

If we believe that live, on-line chats are effective vehicles to help move client engagement forwards, we must remember that it’s the first touch-point that determines the relationship. So the tone that we deploy starting from tomorrow, in our first live engagements on-line… is one focused on listening and responding WITH EMPATHY .

Why empathy?

It reminds us of the importance of understanding one another. Interpreting what someone might mean without it being spelt-out in text.

Empathy is the ability to recognise, understand, and exchange thoughts. To offer instant assistance before a trivial concern becomes a big objection and headache. To share experiences whether personal or corporate.

If a customer opens up dialogue on-line, developing empathy is the first thing needed to establish relationship and show respect and compassion. It gives space to hear the other person’s point FIRST , checking and responding with genuine openness . It puts a stop to; formulaic qualification steps, pre-written chatbot snippets and templated 'copy & paste' paragraphs .

Introducing empathy shapes a more free-flowing interaction . It means your company’s sales process can no longer be forced onto a buyer. It makes the buyer feel in control. Sales teams need to skill-up as agile chat professionals, well-prepared to write accurately – on-message - on-the-fly - on record.

(Get the right tone and they'll like you!)

3) Why is it so important to train teams in on-line engagement?

More often than not, sales personnel tend to dive straight-in to an on-line chat without trying to understand a customer’s motive and perspective. We’re so caught up in the urgent need to pack-in the benefits as quickly as possible that we forget to use language and phrases that coax more information out, so that we can answer questions better and without deliberation.

It’s not second nature to wait for a customer to stop typing (in fact most sales reps are writing answers in a chat exchange before the customer finishes their last sentence). The perfect tone, pace and timing of an on-line exchange needs practice and guidance. It must be pro-active but not pushy, prepared but not pre-scripted.

Empathy in chats is about discovering key drivers , not waffling for the sake of holding-on to keep a dialogue live . Conversational competence is not about product specs and features, but stories and experiences. If your team considers ‘what they say’ to be more important than ‘how and why they say it’ – it’s time for some training .

A recent blog written by Mitch Little supports our emphasis on the power of on-line empathy. He views empathy as the cornerstone for ALL of our selling thinking. In his words ‘Empathy is it. It is everything. It’s how we make a difference by showing we:

Care greatly

Understand deeply

Serve endlessly

with Purpose

And we do all of that with an anchor of EMPATHY THAT’S GENUINE.

Go have some virtual conversations with your team about how they present themselves on-line and the impact that tone of voice has when a client discovers that you actually care about them and their challenges.

SERVE FROM EMPATHY!

Put a managed service of; live chat, email, text & call-me on your website

If your chat widget pops on screen, you need to be ready to answer because chat means ‘chat’ – it’s not a message taker .

Instant messaging is all chat agencies do… Their role is to assist in the set-up, running and optimisation of live chat/engagement services. To them, they’re bound by SLA to be ready as soon as someone has a question or problem on-line.

Emails can take a few hours to answer, but B2B online engagement (when done well) is an ongoing, trackable, live conversation with file-sharing and linking capabilities that drive the engagement & endorsement process forward in a measurable way.

Take the ‘ouch’ out of an ‘on-demand’ service. Get more advice on optimised chat for corporate brands.

When you finally re-open for business - could ‘live-chat’ re-assure customers to; visit… meet… book… buy… refer…pay?

naomi@b2bleadagency.com (Naomi Campbell) — Wed, 24 Jun 2020 22:33:51 GMT

3 reasons why we think the answer is a solid, resounding “YES”!

If you offer a face-to-face service, customers exploring your website over the next few weeks and months will likely have these questions to ask:

• Can you help me with 'x'?

• Where are you?

• Will a visit be 'safe'?

As businesses re-open, the biggest advantage of having live website chat is the instant response that it offers .

Customer confidence needs careful handling

Unanswered questions lead to frustration & delayed action

In this article, read why companies with website chat stand a greater chance of immediate success as they re-open after lockdown to conduct face-to-face business in a Covid19 world.

1) Stay open with on-line chat, inside & outside standard business hours

Every visitor to your website has a question in mind.

Not only does website chat offer you a more timely and open communication vehicle to engage customers. It also helps you understand and analyse quicker what customers are asking, why they are buying (or not), and more importantly how confident they feel with your risk mitigation/support plans. What better way than to capture it directly from the horse’s mouth?

Live chat checks all the boxes:

• No queues for assistance – less irritation time

• A proactive response service - increasing customer satisfaction

• Direct feedback and ongoing dialogue – because whenever customers need to chat again, they re-connect without the need to re-cap.

When done well, live chat mimics modern instant messaging applications so that a customer is able to quickly connect, explain what they need briefly, and get a real-time answer.

Most well managed live chat services allow chat operators to handle multiple customers at the same time, effectively getting rid of wait times and raising satisfaction levels by up to 98% . And as we embrace the Covid19 unlock phase when enquiry volumes will peak as everyone wants to know everything now – customer responsiveness is key.

2) Push the positives & kill the negatives in real-time on-line

In the new digital arena that our customers now engage in, the trick is to offer instant assistance before a trivial concern becomes a big obstacle and headache . That’s why web chat is often referred to as “ proactive chat ” – but in essence we are probably better off calling it a “ proactive support ” or even better, “ preventative support ”.

To get a better understanding of how much customers appreciate access to web chat, consider the fact that almost a third of site visitors (31%) expect to see it on web sites today . They feel more confident engaging with business that are easy to reach out to and make the support process hassle free and in real time.

3) Prompt next steps & increase the take-up of your services

Web chat can be a multi-task activity. Your customers don’t have to stop what they’re doing when they have a question. Instead, without leaving your pages, they can have their questions answered while placing an order or booking an appointment.

And if that doesn’t convince you, consider this report from Forrester Research : 44% of online customers rate having their questions answered by a live person, while trying to make a purchase decision, as one of the most important features that a website can offer!

Improving your overall website experience has dual benefits – not only does it help customers, but it also helps profit margins since customers who use live website assistance are 3x more likely to complete a purchase and/or move along your customer journey .

As the fight for new customers now intensifies, now is the time to learn more about website chat services.

Put a managed service of; live chat, email, text & call-me on your website

If your chat widget pops on screen, you need to be ready to answer because chat means ‘chat’ – it’s not a message taker .

Take the ‘ouch’ out of an ‘on-demand’ service. Get more advice on optimised chat for corporate brands.

Re-focus on your 'mobile-first' customers

naomi@b2bleadagency.com (Naomi Campbell) — Mon, 08 Jun 2020 15:53:23 GMT

When your web-site visitor puts their hand-up - make sure you're there

More often than not, calls and posts coming-in to your business originate on a mobile phone. But what if that user wants to reach you instantly without making a call? Do you force them to wait, abandon their mobiles and seek a desktop or laptop to write an email?

If you're considering a new 'information as a service' model for your website, t ake-away 5 essential tips:

Click-to-call - people don't dial numbers any more
Text support - reply in 90 seconds or loose the thread
Live chat - put-in place experts not escalators
Social chat - listen then talk - but don't sell
Email response - a 12 hour turnaround is too slow

Take-away 5 essential tips:

1. Click-to-call - If you offer phone support, make your contact number an easy click-to-call button

2. Txt support - It should be familiar and convenient like a live chat, but without the need to stay connected the entire time. The average response time for a text message is just 90 seconds, and even that can feel too long when you’re waiting for an important reply.

3. Live chat - Your online chat support agents are just as important as those taking phone calls and pulling email tickets. Knowledge is key. Answers should fulfil the request not park it...

4. Social chat - 80% of customers expect companies to respond to social posts within 24 hours... give people a personal point of contact, a paper trail they can follow, and most importantly show (sometimes in a public way) that you take concerns seriously.

A study by Aberdeen found that companies with a well-designed customer service approach to social sites had a retention rate of 92%.

5. Six-hour turn-around for email response - The average response time for customer support emails in 2019 was 12 hours. As consumer expectations become more demanding in a mobile-first world we believe you should halve that today. Set the bar at a 6 hour response time and satisfaction levels will soar.

With all this said - there's no point investing in response workflows if they're not centred around lead conversion and customer retention metrics

Will on-line response desks gain momentum in 2020?

Gone are the days of enquiry lines being important. In today's marketplace it's; call-me buttons, live text, live chat, social site moderation & community engagement that are the essential front-line ambassadors for companies wanting more healthy relationships with existing & potential customers.

"Put the customer first - show you're doing everything to engage in the now"

It’s in your best interest to please audiences at EVERY engagement point.

Find out about managed services for; live chat, email, text & call-me options on your website

If your chat widget pops on screen, you need to be ready to answer because chat means ‘chat’ – it’s not a message taker .

Find a specialist agency with experience of your industry sector that has experienced agents to take the ‘ouch’ out of an ‘on-demand’ service.

Read more advice on optimised chat for corporate brands.

Where does live chat perform best?

naomi@b2bleadagency.com (Naomi Campbell) — Mon, 08 Jun 2020 15:00:50 GMT

Should you add live chat to every website page ?

Your homepage probably gets the most traffic, but that doesn’t mean it’s the right place to add live chat.

Most companies start by placing chat on the bottom-of-the-funnel conversion pages. For example:

High-intent web pages
High-traffic web pages
High-intent (Negative) web pages
Blog article pages

The 4 types of pages in your armour:

Will B2B web chat gain momentum in 2020?

Three quarters of website visitors select live chat as their preferred communication method, and 42% expect to see it on their favourite brands’ sites.

Millennials famously prefer live chat to other forms of communication and 9 out of 10 customers cite the importance of immediate responses.

C urrent on-line behaviour trends point to an increasing need for live B2B chat in the futur e . And technology roadmaps suggest there’ll be an even greater demand in 2021, when phone systems redirect callers to SMS support with greater frequency and efficiency; this effectively turns a B2B voice call to an organisation into a live chat.

Consensus in the marketplace is that if you can start now and get really good, then you’ll have a competitive advantage with web chat services

Read more advice on optimised chat for corporate brands.

Does website live chat boost sales for B2B companies?

naomi@b2bleadagency.com (Naomi Campbell) — Sat, 06 Jun 2020 23:25:35 GMT

Should you add live chat to your website ?

Signs over the last 3 months point to an even greater demand for website chat on B2B sites.

It’s the new pillar of communication since Covid 19 hit– a service that’s becoming front-line for B2B companies to answer their visitors quickly and engage in first sale conversations on corporate sites.

We imagine if you’re reading this blog that your company may be thinking about the business goals below which are all achievable through live chat:

Convert more site visitors to leads
Qualify leads quicker & more cost effectively
Open an extra channel to engage new markets on-line
Learn what information your website lacks or hides from its visitors

Consensus in the marketplace is that if you can start live chat now and get really good at it, then you’ll have a competitive advantage with your web chat services

Before you jump-in, here are a five points to consider:

Will B2B web chat gain momentum in 2020?

Three quarters of website visitors select live chat as their preferred communication method, and 42% expect to see it on their favourite brands’ sites.

Millennials famously prefer live chat to other forms of communication and 9 out of 10 customers cite the importance of immediate responses.

Why outsource to a specialist B2B chat services agency?

If your chat widget pops on screen, you need to be ready to answer because chat means ‘chat’ – it’s not a message taker .

Instant messaging is all chat agencies do… Their role is to assist in the set-up, running and optimisation of live chat services. To them, they’re bound by SLA to be ready as soon as someone has a question or problem on-line.

Emails can take a few hours to answer, but B2B chat (when done well) is an ongoing, trackable, live conversation with file-sharing and linking capabilities that drive the engagement & endorsement process forward in a measurable way.

Find a specialist agency with experience of your industry sector that has experienced agents to take the ‘ouch’ out of an ‘on-demand’ service.

Read more advice on optimised chat for corporate brands.