Modern marketing efforts have come a long way since the Madmen marketing era of the 1960s. We’ve since swapped typewriters with social media and AI, and business meetings over martinis to networking events in coworking spaces.
And yet, the simple sales pitch remains.
Companies, organizations, businesses, and creators must still convince their audience to buy what they’re selling if they want to achieve success.
The tactics may look different, but the end goal is the same—crafting a compelling sales pitch that works.
Here are six steps to do it in 2024.
6 Steps to Develop a Persuasive Sales Pitch in 2024
Crafting effective sales presentations today is a combination of tried-and-true methods and modern tools and techniques. Here are six steps to do so:
1. Understand Your Audience
It doesn’t matter how much marketing practices evolve, the key to any effective sales pitch is to understand your audience. Few products or services appeal to everyone, and if you take that approach you’ll likely miss the mark.
Here are some ways to get to know your target customers better:
- Identify customer problems: What pain points does your client experience? What problem do they face? What causes them to seek out a solution? And, most importantly, why is your product or service the right solution?
- Use data analytics to understand demographics: Gather information about your clients and customers so you know who you’re selling to. You can glean this data from your own CRM (customer relationship management), website or Google Analytics, or social media information. Understand demographic information like age and location as well as psychographic information like buying power and preferences.
- Create a client avatar: With everything you know about your client, create an avatar or profile that brings them to life. If you imagine all your customers as one realistic avatar, you can let it inform your marketing decisions—“What would Avatar Andy do in this situation? What would he buy?”
2. Craft Your Message
With knowledge about your target customers, you can start to craft your message to them. You know their problems and pain points, so now it’s time to convince them of your solution. The goal is to distill your value proposition in a clear and concise manner that captivates and convinces your audience.
Here are some tips to try:
- Use a framework: Don’t get bogged down by complicated language, but use a simple pitch framework to craft your message: Client problem > Your solution and value proposition > Proof it works > CTA and next steps.
- Be clear and concise: Simple sales pitches are often the most persuasive because your value proposition is not drowned out by too much noise. If you’re having a hard time editing your work, bring in other people to do it.
- Highlight benefits over features: Instead of just listing off features and characteristics, connect the dots as to why those things provide real, tangible benefits to the clients.
- Use AI: We’re not suggesting getting ChatGPT to write your sales pitch, but it can absolutely help brainstorm and generate creative ideas. Other AI platforms can produce written copy, create visual guides, analyze data, and more.
3. Choose Engaging Strategies
With your message crafted, you need to think about how you will convey it in an engaging way. Persuasive sales pitches are memorable ones.
Here are some ideas to try:
- Use storytelling: Stories are compelling because they involve our emotions. They connect with people and invite them into the story. You can use storytelling when crafting effective sales presentations by sharing the values of your company, why you got started, or how you’ve seen people be impacted by your work.
- Make it personal: Similar to storytelling, personal anecdotes or vulnerability help engage people’s emotions. You don’t have to share every personal detail of your life but remember to infuse your personality into the sales pitch and connect on a human level.
- Leverage social media: Many of your potential customers are hanging out on social media. You want to meet them where they’re at by leveraging those platforms as well. Consider creative options like Instagram Live, YouTube videos, or a TikTok series that get you in front of your target audience.
4. Choose the Right Environment
Crafting effective sales presentations is not just about what you say, but where you say it. The right environment is key to a persuasive sales pitch.
Here are some sales pitch environment tips:
- Choose the right medium: You may give a persuasive sales pitch in person, online, via social media, over the phone, or by email. There are lots of ways to do it! Make sure you are choosing the right medium for the type of client. A cold lead—someone you’ve never met before and doesn’t know your company—is different from a warm lead—someone who’s ready to buy. There are also small-ticket and high-ticket customers and products, which will all be treated differently, too.
- Book a professional space: If you’re meeting with potential investors or high-ticket clients, it’s worth booking a meeting room or flex space at your local coworking space, for example. This presents a professional image and offers services and amenities like A/V equipment and on-site staff to help things run smoothly.
- Practice in your space: When practicing your pitch, make sure you do so in the space you’ll be giving your presentation. This ensures you’re familiar with everything and it will run smoothly.
5. Practice and Refine Your Pitch
“Practice makes perfect” is a common refrain for a reason—it’s true! The more familiar you are with your sales pitch, the more persuasive you’ll be. It’s important to rehearse your pitch and receive feedback to make it impactful.
Here are some ideas to try:
- Strike a pose: If you’re nervous about your pitch, consider trying out a power pose. In a now-famous TED talk, social psychologist Amy Cuddy discusses how standing in a specific way before giving a presentation can help boost your confidence.
- Ask for feedback: Bring in some trusted friends or colleagues to give feedback on the pitch so you can make improvements.
- Practice with your visual guides: To ensure a streamlined sales pitch, practice with your visual aids. Make sure your PowerPoint or other visual aids are queued up and go through all the content as if it’s the real pitch so there are no surprises.
6. Develop Strong Closing Techniques
Persuasive sales pitches hinge on a strong close. You can give a great presentation, but without a clear call-to-action (CTA) and next steps for your audience to take, you’ll never convert them to customers.
Here’s how to develop strong closing techniques:
- Include proof: Customer testimonials, reviews, case studies, or other proof of success can be very convincing in a sales pitch. You want your audience to see that your product or service really works—give them the proof!
- Have a clear and simple CTA: What is the next step for a potential customer to take after your sales pitch? It could be to sign up for a demo, come for a tour, start a trial, or make a purchase. It has to be simple and clear so that you get maximum buy-in.
- Follow-up: Crafting effective sales presentations includes planning intentional follow-up with your audience. Some people take longer to make their decisions, so sending a nudge or a quick message can help convert them to customers. When you follow up, do so in a way that prioritizes their needs and offers true value.
Sales pitch techniques in 2024 have evolved, but the basics are still there—know your audience and their problems and craft a compelling message about how you can help them. From there, you can include creative, engaging strategies to connect with your unique audience.
Nailing a persuasive sales pitch is key to success for many small businesses and entrepreneurs. These 2024 sales pitch techniques help you stand out from the crowd and convert the right customers to business.
If you’re looking for a professional environment where you can host your sales pitches and inspect your prospects, you’ll find it here. Book a tour of The Post today.