Is it that crucial to prepare a perfect B2B sales pitch?
YES, because pitching an idea to a company involves more than just you. It’s your company’s name on the line, and the pitch is a collaborative effort, so the consequences are not limited to you.
Therefore, a lot of preparation is needed to get that one perfect B2B Sales Pitch that seals the deal for you just like a cricket pitcher practices a lot in the nets to throw that one perfect delivery to get the batsman out.
But is there such a thing as an ideal or perfect B2B sales pitch?
The answer is NO, there isn’t any such thing called a Perfect B2B Sales Pitch.
It is because every client is different and has different needs. Not all clients will buy the same pitch, so thoroughly research your client before pitching him your idea and prepare your presentation accordingly.
Remember, if anything matters more than the idea itself, it’s how you present it.
Also Read:
6 B2B Sales Techniques I Wish I had Known When I Was Starting Out
How To Design An Effective Sales Strategy Presentation – Ultimate Guide
How B2B selling is different from B2C selling?
It is also important to note the difference between B2C and B2B selling, typically, if you’re selling a product to a business, you should focus on data-driven presentations, as companies always look for ways a product can improve their bottom line. While in B2C sales, emotional connections, needs, price, etc. drive the sales process.
Since the purchase will impact the customer’s business, B2B customers are very aware of the product details, while B2C customers are not as concerned.
An excellent advertisement in B2C may be enough to convert prospects, but that’s not the case in B2B.
There is one thing they both have in common: they revolve around customer needs. Hence, it is essential to analyze your target customers and their requirements before developing a B2B or B2C selling strategy.
Also Read: How to Convert a Prospect into a Sales Qualified Lead?
Here are 15 things your B2B sales pitch should include
Hopefully, you now understand why thorough preparation is important for B2B sales pitches.
This read further includes a few key things to keep in mind while preparing your B2B Sales Pitch.
1. Make sure you thoroughly research your target customers
The saying goes, “Know the battlefield before you go into battle.”
An effective B2B sales pitch starts with this step, you must know who is your target customer and what he needs.
To understand why you must conduct thorough research on the target company let’s take an example, suppose after conducting thorough research, you came to know that the company you are pitching suffers 10% material waste each year and that your product can prevent up to 50% of that waste.
Now that you know the pain point of the customer, you can focus more on it when preparing your pitch. Products are not what customers need, they need solutions.
Additionally, researching your client sends the message that you genuinely understand their pain and are able to provide an effective solution. This increases the probability of you closing the deal.
Pro tip: Want to sell anything? Make them believe this is the product they need or they will lose out.
Define steps, track sales history, guide your sales team
Managing your sales is this easy with TeleCRM
Try Now
2. The cover slide
It may not be the main slide of your presentation, but it’s the most important one because it sets the tone for your presentation the way you want.
The main slide of your presentation contains details, data, and reasons why the customer should take your offer up. However, this slide contains the reason why the customer even looks at your main slide.
Continuing the above example, suppose you created a visually appealing cover slide that says, “With XYZ product, you can reduce the amount of material waste by half.”
Do you know what you did by doing so?
You gave the reason to your customer why he should take your deal seriously. You will now have your customer’s attention throughout your presentation. This is due to pointing out his pain point in the cover slide itself.
Pro tip: Focus on the client’s main issue right from the get-go.
3. Data speaks louder than words
We live in a data-driven world, so calling this period the Data Age is not wrong. Today, companies make profit-boosting decisions based on data.
It is, therefore, better to make your presentation data-driven and to spit facts rather than phrases.
With the help of data visualizations, you can make your data more understandable.
Again taking the above example, use graphs to show the decline in material waste and the increase in total revenue of the company throughout the period.
In business-to-business sales, the main concern of the customer is ROI (Return on Investment) and it is this information that will attract the customer more, as he will now know what to expect from his investment.
Pro tip: They say that a picture is worth a thousand words.
4. Demonstrate your product’s current growth
It’s easier to trust something that’s already proven to be reliable. Providing customers with evidence of your products’ growth will build their trust in you.
If you are selling a new product, be sure to provide your customers with the test results you obtained during testing.
Alternatively, if your product is already in the market and being used by other companies, explain in your presentation how your product helps them increase profits.
It will be a cherry on top of your presentation if you include good reviews and feedback.
5. Demonstrate the evolution of your product
Commence from the beginning and demonstrate how you kept improving your product and what you have planned for the future developments of the product.
As a result, you will gain the customer’s trust and convey the message loud and clear that you intend to stay.
Since businesses look for long-term partnerships, so if you can convince them that they can trust you for the long term, you will be more likely to close the deal.
6. Keep your conversation short
Researchers at Gong.io analyzed 121,828 web-based sales meetings using artificial intelligence.
According to their findings, sales introduction meetings that resulted in closing deals were generally 9.1 minutes in length.
However, unsuccessful meetings averaged 11.4 minutes in length.
Additionally, John Medina, a molecular biologist at the University of Washington and the writer of the book “Brain Rules” says, “The brain does not pay attention to boring things”.
He further states that the brain loses interest after 10 minutes of listening to the same voice.
Therefore, follow the 9-minute rule when preparing your sales presentation, and if the presentation goes over 9 minutes, introduce something new and exciting or someone new to present to grab the attention of your customer.
7. Provide insights into their business
Describe how your customer’s pain points are impacting their business and how they will affect their future growth.
In addition, you should explain how your product will increase their profits and solve their problem.
If you discuss their business through your research, you might be able to point out some issues that even they are not aware of.
In addition to conveying your diligence, this will establish a personal connection with your customer. Since It’s not just that you point out their problems, but that you also have solutions for them.
8. Prioritize value over features
Consider the situation from the perspective of the client if you have a serious problem, and someone has a product that can solve it, but instead of explaining how the product can solve your problem, he describes the best version, features, etc.
What will be your response?
There’s no way you’ll be interested in knowing the features and versions of the product more than its capabilities of solving your problem, right?
You should first briefly describe how your product solves problems, then move on to its additional features and versions.
Pro tip: Take it step-by-step and don’t overlook anything. You never know what will seal the deal for you.
Want to know if your team is doing their job and who is the best?
Access your entire team's performance from anywhere
Try Now9. Convert your presentation into a conversation
Find ways to make the conversation two-way rather than preparing long speeches. Get them to ask you questions about your presentation and be prepared with the answers.
It is best not to overload them with too much information; give them time to digest it and ask any questions they may have.
Providing a detailed response to their questions will build your confidence and will also help the customer gain more faith in your product.
Pro tip: A good presenter inspires customers to ask questions, but a great presenter makes them ask the questions that he wants.
10. Be confident about your pitch
It is impossible for someone else to have faith in your pitch if you do not believe in it yourself. Presenting your pitch with confidence will increase customers’ confidence in your product.
However, how are you going to gain confidence?
When you thoroughly research the customer’s company before preparing your pitch, you will be able to prepare an effective pitch and gain confidence in your presentation. It’s because you know what you’re talking about.
Pro tip: If you are trying to convince someone, confidence is key.
11. Don’t just read your presentation out loud
Don’t just read your presentation; use body gestures as well. Keeping your hand movements in sync with your words is important.
The use of gestures during your speech generates passion in your speech and engages the customer’s attention.
By showing your enthusiasm, you will create energy in your presentation, and customers will be interested to hear more from you.
12. Prices come second to value
Establish the value of your product before discussing the price. Move step by step set your agenda at the start of your meeting, discuss the pain points of the customer then explain the problem-solving capabilities and other features of your product.
Once you’ve established your product’s credibility, i.e. once you’ve earned the customer’s trust, discuss the price.
13. You are not the only one
Wake up if you think you are the only one with the solution to the customer’s problem!
If you want to seal the deal with your customers, you must stand out from the competition. To do so, you need to thoroughly study your competition and determine what they are offering and at what price.
Analyze your competitor’s offer prior to making yours, and maximize your offer’s value without going into loss.
In some cases, it is possible for your product to offer more value than the competition. Be sure to explain it briefly so that your pricing appears reasonable.
Pro tip: Do not ignore your competition in the meeting. Talk about them early on.
14. Don’t overload your presentation with text
It is possible that if your presentation contains a lot of text, the customer will get distracted while reading the text and stop paying attention to your words.
Write concise text for every piece of information and explain it in words while presenting. Your customer will pay more attention to what you say if you use less text in your presentation.
As well as keeping your presentation to a minimum, you will be able to avoid just reading it out loud.
Pro tip: Your words seal the deal, not the text you used in the presentation.
15. Final slide
Make customers feel like they need the product right away by ending your presentation with powerful words.
For example, cut down on your organization’s material waste and unleash its extraordinary growth potential.
Present a graph that depicts how the company’s growth potential is trending upward.
It is very effective to touch both sides of the customer’s pain point and their emotional side through your words on the last slide.
Pro tip: A great ending is just as important as a great beginning.
The key to successful B2B pitching is to follow the right strategy and practice.
At the end of the day, the success of a B2B Sales Pitch depends on the depth of your research on the customer, your presentation style, the credibility of your facts, the value of your product, and the most important factor: the return on investment of the customer.
Be sure to prepare your sales pitch step by step while focusing more on your customer’s perspective.
Read Related: 8 Ultimate Sales pitches for Edtech Companies
Focusing on the wrong leads = Hard work - Results
Track and manage lead communication in a single pipeline
Try Now