6 Things to Avoid in Your Next Sales Pitch

Overloading Prospects with Too Much Information

What you always want to do is be transparent and clear, but that sometimes leans toward information overload. This is especially true for advertisers who are relatively new to advertising digitally. Explaining how tactics work matters. Just be sure to offer details that are easy to understand versus technically specific jargon, which can be off-putting. Check out our guide on explaining tactics to advertisers.

Wait for the person to ask questions before you give lengthy explanations. Having a conversation like this builds rapport and means you aren’t the only one talking.

Hard Selling in Place of a Compelling VBR

Your VBR (valid business reason) is your hook and focuses on the customer’s needs. You don’t have to hard-sell anything when you have a compelling VBR. It will be unique for each prospect based on their goals and your knowledge. It’s a value exchange — what you will do for them that will deliver the ROI they expect.

Talking More Than Listening

Your sales pitch should involve more listening and less talking. Be sure to ask questions as you discuss campaign options. Tune in to what the advertiser says about their audience, objectives, past failures and biggest challenges. Everything you learn from these interactions helps you formulate your final pitch. If you’ve done this well, it will be all about them and align with what they need advertising to do for their business.

Leaving Things Ambiguous

After your sales pitch, you should clearly outline the next steps. One great way to prevent ambiguity is to develop a proposal during the meeting. With third-party digital platforms, you can easily do this, showing the advertiser the tactics you recommend for digital and radio spots. You can also show them retail costs, targeting options and more. When they see this, the ideas you’ve discussed become a reality. The next step is for them to sign off on the proposal and get the campaign running.

Telling, Not Showing

We all tend to tell rather than show, especially when we’re experts. This can come off as a bit harsh, even if with the best intentions. Advertisers want a tangible idea of what their campaign will look like and what they can expect. You can do this well by sharing case studies or stories about other local businesses and how they’ve found success. These examples make it real to the customer rather than just an intangible idea.

Dropping Your Personality at the Door

Pitching to anyone can be nerve-wracking, no matter how many times you do it. You’ve done the prep work and the research, so you can feel confident when the time comes. While this article offers some guidelines to improve this part of selling, always be yourself.

Your personality, empathy and warmth all matter in building relationships. Will you sometimes need to dial it back? Possibly, but let your character be part of the interaction. In this way, you are genuine and authentic, which anyone appreciates.