THE POWER OF PR™ with Danae Jones
Pitching your business wares to potential customers can often be a daunting task as many people see it as talking about themselves and find it off putting when they have to put themselves out there. Firstly don’t think of it like that, think of it as showcasing a new way to solve a problem for someone to make their life better in some way.
No matter what the product or service you are selling, whether it’s fashion, beauty, food, construction systems, IT platforms, professional services etc – you are making someone’s life better if you are able to solve a problem for them through that product/service. If you are unable to improve their life with your product or service, then you don’t have something worth selling, it’s that simple.
So who wouldn’t want to shout that from the rooftops?! Who wouldn’t want to share how they can make life better for people?
When crafting your pitch to your prospective customer you must put yourself in the customers shoes and shape your pitch to show them how you are going to make life better for them in some way shape or form.
Are you going to improve their skin with your beauty products, are you going to nourish their bodies better with your food products (or feed their need for indulgence! 😉 – as let’s face it donuts still nourish your body, they nourish your soul! LOL)
Do your IT systems save business owners time and money and provide more productivity? Work out how you are improving the lives and solving problems for your customers and focus on that.
Let’s take a look at my top 10 tips to craft your pitch:
Don’t do the hard sell – the hard sell is so yesterday! (Yarn)
First impressions count – research shows that you have 90 seconds to make your first impression, so make that 90 seconds count.
Be yourself, be personal, be confident and be relaxed! The more relaxed you are about your pitch, the more confident you will feel and it will help the potential customer be engaged as you will appear easy and comfortable to converse with.
Build rapport and be relatable – people will only actively and attentively listen to you if they can relate to you or connect with you in some way. What is it about you/your business that is relatable to your audience? Try and put yourself in your audiences position. What will make you relatable to them?
When pitching your product or service, always focus on the benefits. Not the price, the benefits. Keep it short, snappy and make it like the “highlights” reel of your business that will leave them wanting to hear more. Entice them with the compelling benefits and solutions. Use social proof or independent data to prove your point if required.
Be excited, happy and really into what you’re talking about. The word passion is often overused, but it is obvious to people when you are not passionate. Humans are emotional creatures and we consciously and unconsciously buy with our emotions with every purchasing decision. Connect on an emotional level wherever possible.
Don’t be mediocre in your delivery – let your passion shine through – remember, positive energy is contagious.
Always focus on what’s in it for them? Why should they take time out of their busy lives to listen to your pitch – what’s so special about you and how are you going to add value to their life or solve a problem for them?
When you pitch the focus is on the potential customer and no-one else. Not you. Don’t ever let the focus be about you.
Ask open ended and leading questions to encourage conversation at the end of your pitch. You want to open up a dialogue with your potential customer so you can learn more about them.
Enjoy the pitch process. Treat it as just a conversation with another person over a coffee or a beer. If you are too staged or practiced you can lose your authenticity, so just be yourself!