Crafting a great sales pitch is complex.
In 2010 I recruited and trained my sales team at No Te La Pierdas (NTLP) Argentina. I took my newest recruit Luciano to a client meeting. After 5 minutes he whispered, "there’s no way we’ll make this sale". 20 minutes later we walked out with 4 signed contracts. He was blown away by my pitch. He later became the Head of Sales leading the business until it was acquired by Pez Urbano.
In this article I’ll share how to build a great pitch from my Groupon experience. I’ll also share examples of sales pitches by billionaire entrepreneur and investor Marc Cuban and YouTuber and designer Chris Do.
The anatomy of a sales pitch
A great pitch has 5 parts.
Opener: you introduce why you reach out.
Introduction: you present who you are.
Explainer: you explain how it works.
Closure: you close the deal.
Feel good: you make the customer feel great about their decision.
Let’s first look at a sales pitch from ecommerce discount coupon company Groupon.
Groupon Sales Pitch
Groupon sold highly discounted offers, minimum 50%, to great experiences in your city promoted via a daily newsletter and its website originally highlighting one great offer per city and day. If you want to know more about this company, check out Admond Lee's analysis on its rise and challenges.
Opener
I found your restaurant on the internet and read a number of positive reviews and was really impressed.
I would like to introduce your restaurant to Groupon users online. Our lifestyle portal features the best locations in town and we would like to promote your business as one of the best venues in the city.
Are you familiar with Groupon?
Introduction
Groupon is the biggest online portal for daily promotions.
It has more than 100k regular users in your city.
We want to promote your restaurant as the pick of the day for one whole day on our site with a great offer. This could be a voucher for half price.
We have featured other top restaurants in your area (3 examples) and helped them get 1000s of new customers.
Does this sound interesting?
Explainer
Show a live demonstration.
Today we have this restaurant offer. €15 for €30. The customer pays €15 and eats for €30. The discount is the bait to get people into the restaurant. On average they spend more.
You’re wondering, why do so many people buy these offers?
We have 1MM users. Each morning they receive an email with a great offer. They look forward to our recommendation and if they find it attractive, they buy it.
You would buy it too, wouldn’t you?
Closure
Let’s make an attractive bundle to pull new customers to your venue.
I think €15 for €30 would make a great deal. I think your customers spend €30 to €40 on average. If we get them in with €30 they may spend more and some will bring friends along too. This will result in a total bill of significantly more.
Feel good
Our team will take care of everything for you. A professional editor will write the copy, we have designers who will make a great design using images from your site.
You don’t have to pay anything upfront. We only get paid a commission of 50% if we bring you new customers. You receive €7.5 and a new customer.
Objection handling
Of Course not all pitches go this smoothly. You can expect objections and it is essential to know how to respond effectively. In our case some common ones were.
We don’t do discounts
That’s the reason we came to you in the first place. You have a great brand. We only work with businesses with a great brand. We offer your target audience of young professionals attractive experiences, not cheap offers. The offer is only available for one day and only to Groupon users.
We won't make enough money at 25% of the value
You are right. However keep in mind that our goal is to drive customers to you. This makes it extremely effective as a customer acquisition tool. We ask you to treat your new customers as your best customers so they become your customers for life.
Also keep in mind that we are doing all the legwork and taking all the risk. We do the direct email, social marketing, graphic design, and copy. This offer will be broadcasted to 1000s of subscribers at zero out of pocket cost to you. A marketing agency may charge 1000s of Euros without any guaranteed results or way to track its effectiveness.
We can’t handle too many customers at the same time
We will inform the customers that they need to make telephone reservations in advance to help you manage your new customers. If you get 600 new customers and we offer a 3 month redemption period you will have 200 new customers per month or roughly 10 new customers per day. Would you be able to handle this volume? We can extend the redemption period to make it easier to handle.
Marc Cuban Sales Pitch
Marc, the owner of the Dallas Mavericks basketball team, featured in my article on my favorite US Shark Tank pitches.
Vanessa of Science of People breaks down how Marc won back previous ticket holders after he bought the team in this excellent YouTube video.
What did he do?
He sat surrounded by his sales team calling former season ticket holders to pitch them on returning to the games.
Opener
This is Marc Cuban, the owner of the Dallas Mavericks. I know you’ve been to a game. I want to tell you we’d love to have you back.
Explainer
Did you know that going to a Mavs game is cheaper than going to McDonalds? It’s cheaper than going to the movies. But it's an unforgettable experience. Do you remember how you felt the first time you attended a game with your parents?
Closer
We create special experiences. I cannot guarantee a win but I can guarantee it will be entertaining. When you see your daughters face you’ll be thrilled to death that you gave them that experience. It’s $8 for a ticket.
Finally he made sure to create a memorable experience for his audience.
Chris Do Sales Pitch
Chris is a Designer and the CEO and Founder of thefutur. A firm helping contractors and freelancers through consultations, seminars and YouTube videos attract new clients.
In this excellent video he talks about how a fitness guru sold him on a training program. Below I list the key elements of the pitch. The guru was someone who he had met before, was well trained, and who asked him before the call if he was really serious about his intention to become fitter.
Opener
I know you. I know you can do this. You look like you have the right genetics, the right body type. I know you are super disciplined and focused. A lot of people look up to you. Out of curiosity, why is getting fit so important to you? [Chris Do justifies it]. How important is that to you? Very. Do you want to know what my program is? Yes.
Explainer
Can you eat 3 meals a day? Yes. Can you commit 3 days a week to work out, I know you’re really busy? Yes. The program is $4500 for 9 months.
Closer
Can you commit to 9 months working out? Yes. Where’s your credit card? I’ll wait.
Good feeling
Here’s a list of things you can do before we start.
Conclusion
I hope I’ve convinced you that crafting and delivering a great sales pitch is a skill everybody can learn. But to build a great sales organization, having the pitch is not enough. You need to build the team, provide the tools, and understand your audience.
A great sales pitch requires preparation and persistence and once you’ve won your customer you must deliver on your promise to turn new clients into long-term partners. So, while mastering the sales pitch is a critical skill, building a team that executes with consistency and passion is the ultimate key to success.
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