How do you craft an effective sales pitch? First, ditch the “pitch”—or at least neglect the traditional meaning of the word. It basically describes what salespeople used to do: throw information at prospects hoping to sell a product or service before the buyer could hang up the phone or slam the door. But according to sales experts, today good salespeople treat the “pitch” process as a collaborative conversation.
“A ‘pitch’ typically conjures up images of a one-way presentation, with the salesperson talking at a prospect, which is not the effective way to sell,” says Art Sobczak, President of BusinessByPhone.com. “The word is outdated, and is typically used in a derogatory way when talking about sales and salespeople,” he adds.
If you choose to employ the dated term to describe that part of the sales process, make sure you don’t take it so literally.
“If someone is pitching to you, what are your options?” says Nancy Bleeke, president of Sales Pro Insider and author of Conversations That Sell. “If you are pitched at, you either swing to bat it away or duck to avoid it. Neither of these works well in sales.