How To Know If You’re Dropping The Ball During Your Sales Pitch

So you’ve done your research, you know your ideal client, you have your prospect list and messaging, and it’s time to start making contact through LinkedIn, email, or various other platforms.

But then you see the responses (or lack thereof), and you start to worry.

Is there something you’re saying that’s turning them off? Is there a better way to phrase what you’re trying to say?

The answer to both questions is yes.

So, how can you know if you are dropping the ball during your pitch?

Here are a few things to watch out for that could mean you’re doing more harm than good during your next sales pitch:

1. They don’t even realize they have a pain point

Getting caught up in your spiel can be easy when you’re in the weeds with your product or service. But if you’re not paying attention to your ideal prospect, you’ll be unable to address their needs effectively—which will cost you the conversation.

Start at the beginning. Does your prospect have awareness about the pain point? Sometimes our prospects spend more time doing the workarounds without realizing there is an actual problem.

Take Uber, for example. Before Uber, we had to pick up the phone to call a taxi service, or if you were in a city, you could simply hail a cab. With Uber, we now take for granted the simplicity of getting a reliable car, at the click of a button (often arriving within minutes), with added features that include tracking, simplified billing, and ride-sharing.

When Uber first launched, it was nearly impossible to get a prospect to realize that picking up the phone was a pain point.

When we traveled to New Jersey, my coworkers would call ahead to order a car service to get us from point A to point B. Uber was readily available, but they didn’t see a need for the service. That was until we had a client dinner planned canceled after our team arrived at the restaurant. Of course, we couldn’t read the driver’s handwritten phone number, and since it was after hours, the office wasn’t open. I grabbed my iPhone, popped open Uber, and had a car pick the team up within minutes to take us to a more casual venue.

Rather than showing a pain point and how you solve it, engage with your ideal prospect and gauge their level of awareness. If they do not experience the pain point as a pain point, you might as well be pitching to a brick wall.

2. You’re being too pushy

Nobody likes being sold, so it’s essential to strike the right balance between being assertive and pushy.

Suppose your prospect is starting to feel pressured; back off and give them some space. The last thing you want is for your ideal prospect to walk away feeling as though they were bullied into having a conversation with you.

That’s just bad business all around.

Try using a conversational approach to learn more about them, their business, their pain points, and what keeps them up at night. You don’t need to have all the solutions, but you will fail if you push your agenda before learning about their needs.

3. You’re overwhelming your prospect

How many messages and at what frequency are you contacting your prospects? Staying top of mind is essential, and growing awareness of your brand is critical. However, when you push an abundance of messaging, your prospects may feel overwhelmed or develop banner blindness where they don’t even see your messages because they are so frequent.

How could you be overwhelming your prospects? Let’s say you work for a lawn service. If you know your ideal client is a busy business owner who doesn’t have enough time to mow their lawn, overwhelming them with messaging will not help get the sales conversation started.

Is there a triggering event they would experience that would increase the urgency of their pain point and push them towards answering your messages? That’s the right moment to get the right message in front of your ideal prospect.

For the lawn service, it could be a big storm coming, maybe in fall, the leaves need to be raked, maybe it’s the perfect vacation time, or perhaps your prospect just adopted a dog. Each of these seasons could bring on a triggering event.

What if you are pushing the same message repeatedly to the same prospects? Is this a problem? Yes!

Think of an injury law firm commercial. Growing up in Maryland, we had a law firm called Saintz & Kirk. I can still remember their tagline 20 years later. “If you have a phone, you have a lawyer.” While it was catchy and you could always picture the phone booth, the grainy picture of a car approaching and the commercials were so frequently played (without variation) that we stopped “seeing” the commercials. It was the same message over and over and over. By the time the commercial came on TV, we had tuned it out completely. (You can check out the old commercial here)

Look at it from your audience’s perspective. Are you pushing the same message over and over? Do they realize they have a pain point? Is there a triggering event you should be marketing?

Dropping the ball during your sales pitch can cost you dearly—in terms of time and money.

But if you know what signs to look for, it’s easier to course-correct on the fly and make sure you close the deal. Just make sure you’re listening to your prospect, striking the right balance between being pushy and hands-off, and giving them all the information they need to make an informed decision about your product or service.

Do all that, and you’ll be well on becoming a sales superstar!

But, if you are unsure if you are dropping the ball…

Contact us.

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