The Science of Persuasion: Crafting an irresistible Sales Pitch

What is a sales pitch?

Sales pitch: definition

A sales pitch is a persuasive speech delivered by a salesperson to convince prospects to purchase their products or services. Typically used at the start of a conversation, the objective is to make a strong impression and capture the attention of the listener.

The 5 different types of sales pitch

• Phone sales pitch: A sales pitch communicated on the phone. It’s one of the most powerful ways to give your sales pitch as it happens in real-time. You’re more likely to grab your interlocutor’s attention and establish a personal connection with him/her.
• Email sales pitch: A sales pitch sent by mail. While it may be less effective than a phone call, as you can’t directly interact with your prospects, it’s still a good way to go if you have a lot of prospects to contact!
• In-person sales pitch: A sales pitch communicated orally directly to your interlocutor. You’ll need to have your prospect in front of you but it’s definitely the best way to convince him/her! You can use all your sales techniques to have the biggest impact!
• Social media sales pitch: A sales pitch communicated on social networks, such as Linkedin. You’ll not have an important conversion rate but will potentially generate an important number of leads if your speech is convincing.
• Video sales pitch: A sales pitch communicated in a video. It’s a great way to operate as videos are more impacting than words. But as they are generally not personalized, they don’t have an important conversion rate… Except if you use Claap to create video sales pitches in 5 minutes and watch your conversion rate skyrocket!

The 4 rules to make a good sales pitch

Show consideration

This is maybe the most important piece of advice I can give you. You need to show your prospect you spent time on his/her company’s situation and you aren’t just randomly calling prospects. For that, you can call your interlocutor by his/her name (while staying professional of course), mention his/her company’s specificities and problems… It will give you much more credibility and make your prospect more attentive to your speech!

Show that you understand the problem

The first step in convincing your prospect you have a viable solution to his/her problem is showing you understand the problem. One good way to do so is explaining the problem. Backing it with numerical data is even better. For instance you could say “75% of the companies in your sector encounter this problem. And it incurs a loss of around 10% in turnover.” 

The inherent objective is to highlight the fact they NEED to solve the problem. So don’t hesitate to build your speech around the problem and its consequences on the activity of the prospect!

Prove that your solution will have an impact

When your interlocutor is convinced he/she needs a solution to his/her problem, you’ll have just what he/she needs. But again, you’ll need to convince him/her of that.

Start by the classics : how concretely your product is adapted to the prospect and how it can solve the problems mentioned. Then, strengthen your point: provide reference examples, give customer stories … Your prospect has to be 100% sure your solution is the BEST!

Keep it short

Put that way, it seems like there's a lot to say. Well, the art of a sales pitch is to say it succinctly! Always keep that in mind: your pitch should be SHORT: 30 seconds at most when spoken!

How to craft the ULTIMATE sales pitch? 

Start strong

As I said, your sales pitch has to be short. So each part must have an impact. Especially the beginning.

A great pitch starts with a WOW moment. For that, I advise you to share a personal anecdote or a counterintuitive statistic that introduces your prospect's problem. Now that you have your interlocutor's attention, the persuasion work can begin.

Have a clear value proposition

To keep your sales pitch short and understandable, having a clear value proposition is a must. The value proposition will allow your prospect to understand what your company does in one sentence.

Don’t know where to start? Look at these great value propositions for inspiration:

• Slack: “One platform for your team and your work”
• Grammarly: “Compose bold, clear, mistake-free writing with Grammarly’s AI-powered writing assistant”
• Suntrust: “Our mobile app makes depositing a check as easy as taking a picture”

Tell a story

I love stories. You certainly love stories. Everybody loves stories! Think about the last movie you enjoyed. Would you have enjoyed it as much if the story had just been presented to you in a straightforward, factual manner? I bet not. That’s why the best way to keep your interlocutor captivated during your sales pitch is to tell a story.

The story can be about your company or about a client’s success story. It only needs to be related to your prospect’s problem and your solution. 

Play on emotions

It’s way easier to convince someone you know of something right? When I don’t know somebody, I always tend to be suspicious like, no, it’s too good to be true. Your prospects will probably think the same! That’s why you’ll have way better results if your sales pitch includes elements to create a personal bond with your interlocutor. 

The best way to proceed is to find common ground with your interlocutor and highlight it. Use all available means to convince your prospect that you're a friend and the solution you propose will be beneficial for his/her company!

Back your arguments

Maybe it seems logical to you. But think about TV commercials where they throw elements at you without any justification or proof behind. Like “the best on the market” or whatever. Does it have an impact on you? Not really, right? This is exactly what you SHOULD NOT do. Instead, back your arguments with figures that resonate with your interlocutor. You’ll see the difference in your conversion rate…

Talk more about the problem and the solution than the product itself

Your sales pitch needs to be entirely focused on the problem of your prospect and how you’ll solve it. Remember the sales pitch’s objective is to convince your prospect. So don’t get into technical details about implementation or whatever! Anyways, you don’t even have the time to do it!

Don’t be robotic

There is nothing worse than having someone mindlessly reciting a script over the phone. You certainly experienced it yourself. 

I advise you to have a certain flexibility of mind regarding your sales pitch. During your conversation, try to include your interlocutor, ask questions, show that you’re interested! It may be harder than just reciting your pitch but I promise you’ll see the difference in terms of results.

Personalize your pitch

I know it takes time to adapt your pitch to your prospect but it’s worth it. I recommend having a reusable pitch framework but leaving room to customize it based on your prospect. You need to show you know your client and your pitch isn’t just recycled. And you’ll have far better results!

4 usable examples of sales pitch

Phone sales pitch

“Hello [Prospect's Name], quick question for you: did you know that 80% of businesses struggle with customer retention? It's [Your Name] here, and I recently helped a similar company like yours turn that statistic around. By implementing a unique customer engagement strategy, they not only kept clients but boosted revenue by 25%.

Imagine the impact that could have on your bottom line. I'd love to share the specifics and tailor a plan for [Prospect's Company] during a quick call. When works best for you this week? Looking forward to a chat!”

Email sales pitch

“Subject: Unlocking Revenue Growth - Let's Talk!

Hi [Prospect's Name],

I hope this email finds you well. I came across a statistic recently that I believe could resonate with [Prospect's Company]. Did you know that a staggering 80% of businesses grapple with customer retention challenges?

My name is [Your Name], and I recently had the privilege of assisting a company similar to yours. By implementing a strategic customer engagement plan, they not only retained their clients but experienced a remarkable 25% boost in revenue.

I'm eager to discuss how a tailored approach could work wonders for [Prospect's Company]. Are you available for a brief call this week? I believe a quick conversation could unveil exciting possibilities for [Prospect's Company].

Looking forward to connecting and exploring ways to unlock growth together.

Best regards,

[Your Full Name]

[Your Contact Information]”

In-person sales pitch

"Hey [Prospect's Name], it's great to meet you! Quick share: did you know that a whopping 80% of businesses face hurdles in keeping their customers engaged? It's a common challenge, but here's the exciting part – I recently collaborated with a company much like yours.

Through a unique approach to customer engagement, we not only retained their clients but witnessed a remarkable 25% surge in revenue. Picture what that could do for [Prospect's Company]!

I'm genuinely eager to explore how we can tailor a strategy for your specific goals. What are your thoughts on carving out some time for a deeper conversation this week?"

Social media sales pitch

“🚀 Unlocking Growth Together! Did you know 8 out of 10 businesses struggle with customer retention? 📉✨ I recently collaborated with a company facing similar challenges. Through a tailored customer engagement strategy, they not only retained clients but soared with a 25% revenue boost! 💼💰

Imagine the impact on YOUR business! Let's discuss strategies for success. 🤝 Drop a comment or DM to explore how we can elevate [Prospect's Company] to new heights! 🚀🌐 #BusinessSuccess #CustomerRetention #GrowthStrategies #LetsElevateYourBrand”

Start using video sales pitches with Claap and watch your conversion rates take off!

In this article, we haven’t really talked about video sales pitches. You must be wondering why. Especially when we know that our brain processes visual information 60 000 times faster than text. Video sales pitches are extremely efficient but they aren’t widespread because they can be long and complicated to do. With Claap, this is not an issue anymore.

Record great video sales pitches in 5 minutes with Claap

Claap is a video transcription and a meeting recording tool. But it also allows you to record claaps: 2-minute videos to present your findings efficiently as you’d do in a 30-minute or 1-hour meeting.

Actually, you can replace your sales pitch with a claap. Instead of talking 30 seconds and trying to be as impactful as possible to grab your interlocutor’s attention, let the magic happen. With Claap’s screen recording function, you can actually show your prospect how your product works. Combined to Claap’s edition tools, you can create the most impactful video that will captivate your prospect for two minutes. 

Increase customer engagement

Once your claap is recorded, you can embed it everywhere to make your prospects watch it (emails, website…). You can even invite them to watch your videos on your workspaces, to allow them to directly react and ask questions on your product. Claap offers advanced collaboration tools, notably the possibility to interact with a specific part of the screen during the video.

Shorten your entire sales cycle

With a traditional sales pitch, you need to convince your prospect based on words only. And it will be a success if the prospect accepts to schedule a call with you in which you can present your solution (with slides, demonstration…). 

With Claap you can do that in 5 minutes, the time needed to record your claap. You don’t need to take another 30 minutes or an hour to present your product, your prospect will know everything in 2 minutes. And if he/she has questions, he/she can ask them on your workspaces. In 80% of cases, you’ll sell products by simply answering questions online.

Many clients, such as Surfe, already adopted Claap and revolutionized their sales process. Join the movement, try it here!