An Elevator Pitch is a technique that you can use in sales meetings, prospecting, and telesales and appointment making calls. The sales technique makes your first contact with a buyer more effective and will help you close more sales.
An elevator sales pitch will help you introduce yourself to potential customers with a conversation that hooks the buyer into your sales pitch. You can make a short, concise, sales introduction that grabs the prospect’s attention and moves them towards closing the sale. It also stops sales people that cram too much information into their opening sales lines and bore the buyer.
The elevator pitch originated in the USA as a way of business networking in any situation. Because it is a quick and effective way of communicating the important parts of your business message it was soon adapted for sales. It’s called an elevator pitch because the communication technique could be used effectively in a very short space of time, such as an elevator ride. You can use your pitch in any business or social situation, such as elevators, and it works really effectively in those awkward first seconds of meeting a sales prospect. It can make your sales introduction comfortable for both you and your prospect, and it sets up the rest of your sales pitch.
Elevator pitches, or lift pitches in other parts of the world, are short and to the point. They only contain brief information that works toward moving the buyer into your sales process. A good sales introduction, based on elevator pitching, will introduce you, your business, and possibly your product. To grab the sales prospect’s attention you add possible benefits the buyer could gain from you, your business, or product. It is all about the listener and what they could gain, not the sales person and what they want from the meeting.
After introducing yourself and your business you come to the most important line of any sales pitch, telephone sales or appointment call, or prospecting conversation. The most important line that will make you successful in sales is: The reason you are there, or why you want to meet with the buyer. This is the turning point of the sales introduction or appointment setting call. It’s where you take hold of the buyer’s interest, or lose their attention and any chance of closing a sale.
So you’ve introduced you and your business. You’ve given a great reason for meeting the sales prospect and you’ve got them listening. The next step of the elevator pitch is to motivate the listener to a call to action. Your next line should be gently taking the buyer to the next stage and a step closer to a sale. To close more sales you must have a sales prospecting pitch and introduction lines that work and get the buyer interested.
Elevator sales pitches are worth working on. Constantly review your first lines with a customer or prospect. Look for redundant words or phrases. Make sure you have potential benefits for the buyer, and you are motivating them to move with you through the sales process and towards closing the sale.
If you would like to see more on how to build a great sales and prospecting introduction, and using similar techniques to make your whole sales pitch more effective, you can see more at Sales and Training Solutions.
I’m Stephen Craine, a working sales manager and trainer for a national market leader. You can see more proven ideas and techniques on sales training on my website at http://www.sales-training-sales-tips.com.