Can We Please Stop Pitching?

An email hit my inbox from a sales association asking for me to register for their upcoming webinar.

The subject was "Shift Your Pitch" and the premise of the webinar is as follows:

Four members of the association were going to be allowed to give their "pitch" to professional trainers. These trainers were going to throw a wrench into the "pitch" to see if the member could meet the needs of the prospect. Do you see the issues here? 

For one, can we, as sales professionals, please stop calling a sales presentation a "pitch?"

What comes to mind when you hear the word "pitch?" When I ask this question, almost without exception, the answer has to do with baseball.

A "pitch" is something thrown by the pitcher and the objective is to strike the batter out or get them to hit the ball to one of their teammates so the opposing team does not get on base. Is this the mindset we want to put a prospective client in? I don't think so. 

Do we want to ask a client to listen to a "pitch?"

Do they subconsciously, or worse consciously, think that we are trying to sneak something by them? Could be.

Do they think you are throwing curveballs? Could be.

Second,  how can you create an effective presentation for a client without knowing their need? 

Answer; you can't. Or shouldn't.

If a client throws a new need at you during your presentation, you missed something in the needs assessment process.  

Maybe they didn't trust you enough to tell you all about their needs.

Don't have a needs assessment step as a part of your sales process? Get it. 

Let's be professionals. Provide a professional sales presentation. Don't pitch anything.

To do that, you must know the clients' needs. 

To know your clients' needs, you will want to know their story. To get their story, there has to be trust. 

Want to find out how to build trust? Go to www.storyseekers.us.