Pitching Is Not About Closing Deals
Fear of sales and failure in sales are both very real things.
I speak with many founders who possess superb technical skills but struggle with conveying the value of their service.
In their corporate lives, many of them avoided the sales department. When it’s time to sell their own business, they’re not adequately conveying the value that their competencies can offer to clients.
One key component of sales is, of course, pitching. This essential skill can be much more approachable with a few guiding principles.
First, check how you’re telling your audience about your service. If, for instance, you meet someone at a networking event and you just say, “I have a home care service,” the person you’re speaking with may not know what it’s about.
If you instead say, “We provide 24-hour care, trained medical support, and peace of mind for families,” you’re painting a much clearer picture of the specific value that you offer.
At its core, remember that the pitch is an act of communication to:
- convey the value of your service to leads
- just convince the lead to move to the next step, which could be a follow-up call, or a more structured meeting or demo
During a pitch, you must:
- not try to close a deal
- aim instead to learn about the needs of the person you’re speaking with, which can help frame the next interaction
With an understanding of pitching as an exchange of information, ideas, and feelings rather than as a challenge to close deals on the spot, any new founder should be able to approach it more calmly, empathetically, and effectively.
