by Tom Reilly

Gifted musicians have perfect pitch. They can recognize or sing any musical note without a reference pitch. Talented salespeople have perfect pitch when they hit the right note and strike the right chord with their presentations. These tips will help you create the perfect sales pitch.

Be efficient: You have 8 seconds and 31 words to grab the buyer’s attention. Choose your words sparingly. Waste nothing. Simplify. Edit. If your words add no value to your presentation, delete them. Try not to impress buyers with your vocabulary or everything you know about your products and services. Three compelling arguments for any idea are enough for most people. Your pitch must be long enough to persuade and short enough to maintain interest.

Be relevant: Your pitch must resound with the buyer. The only radio station that buyers listen to is WIIFM—what’s in it for me? The best way to make your presentation relevant is to listen to buyers talk about their needs and wants. French composer Claude Debussy said, “Music is the silence between the notes.” In sales, silence happens when you listen versus talk. In a study of employees rating peers on measure of influence, the most persuasive co-workers were the best listeners, not talkers.

Be unique: Without uniqueness, your message sounds like every other sales pitch. There are no discernable differences. Buyers complain that most salespeople sing the same song—high quality and great service. You must be able to complete this statement, “We are the only ones that …” Without differentiation, you are a commodity.

The perfect sales pitch is music to the customer’s ears. The imperfect sales pitch is noise.


Plan to join us for our next two-day Value-Added Selling seminar at our training center in St. Louis so we can help you develop the perfect sales pitch.

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