Lisa Hugo Shares Insights on How to Pitch Like a PRO

How To Pitch Like A Pro

Sales is everywhere! We all need to be good at it! Whether you are selling a product or service, real estate, convincing your boss why you deserve a raise or promotion, or persuading your kids even.

We all need to be able to pitch ourselves, our services and our ideas. What is a pitch you may think? I’m not talking about the pitch of your voice, although that is an important element of effective speaking.

Pitching means to demonstrate to someone why they should like and trust you and why you, your services or your ideas should be considered. If you are a business owner or an entrepreneur you should have perfected your pitch!

There are different approaches to pitching, which is what I want to talk about today.

Most important for any approach, is that you are authentic and true to yourself and allow your personality to shine through. Oh and yes….you voice and your non-verbal communication skills do play a major role!

So, let’s outline the different approaches to pitch, to see which one you identify with best.

First, you might want to draw attention to your past successes. Talk to a client about the wins you’ve previously achieved. This helps reduce the perceived risk of choosing you. If the “product” you are selling is yourself, like in the case of a job interview, or when you are a coach or consultant. I know many people feel a bit awkward about this because it can feel like you are bragging. In particular, I hear a lot of women express this feeling about talking about their success. But in actual fact, you are giving others the confidence that you are the right person for them. As I said earlier…honesty is important here. It will come off less arrogant and more like an achievement if you communicate your achievements with honesty.

The second approach to stand out from your competitors is to offer honest feedback about where something could be improved. Most business people value honesty over flattery, so offering constructive criticism is an effective way to gain the trust of a new prospect. It also gives them a taste of what their experience working with you or your company would be like.

The third and less aggressive approach is sharing and understanding and connection with people. This is a wonderful way to help them to feel that you get them. This works when people feel like they or their problem is unique and requires special attention. If they feel like you understand who they are and what they want and need before discussing the solutions, they will be more likely to want to work with you. This only works if you are 100% authentic and genuine in your approach. People can feel it!

The fourth and last approach is to do something to make them feel special. You may find a customer comes to you specifically because you showed an interest in them and made them feel special. Going out of your way to do something special or over delivering on your response when they request a quotation, shows your passion and commitment to your work and the client is going to feel more comfortable to work with you. Just don’t sound desperate or you will lose their respect!

Remember everybody wants to know – What’s In It For Me? This should always be the focus of your pitch.

What ever you are selling. Whether it’s a product or service, whether it’s your own company or someone else’s, if you’re interviewing for a job or lobbying for a promotion, be strategic, be clever, be careful how you make your pitch. Practise and you will pitch like a pro.

Get in touch to learn more about developing your PERFECT PITCH.