As a

selling technique Sales are activities related to selling or the number of goods sold in a given targeted time period. The delivery of a service for a cost is also considered a sale. A period during which goods are sold for a reduced price may also be referred ...

, a sales presentation or sales pitch is a line of talk that attempts to persuade someone or something, with a planned

sales Sales are activities related to selling or the number of goods sold in a given targeted time period. The delivery of a service for a cost is also considered a sale. A period during which goods are sold for a reduced price may also be referred ...

presentation A presentation conveys information from a speaker to an audience. Presentations are typically demonstrations, introduction, lecture, or speech meant to inform, persuade, inspire, motivate, build goodwill, or present a new idea/product. Presenta ...

strategy of a product or

service Service may refer to: Activities * Administrative service, a required part of the workload of university faculty * Civil service, the body of employees of a government * Community service, volunteer service for the benefit of a community or a ...

designed to initiate and close a sale of the product or service. A sales pitch is essentially designed to be either an introduction of a product or service to an audience who knows nothing about it, or a descriptive expansion of a product or service that an audience has already expressed interest in. Sales

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who work (human activity), works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the partic ...

s prepare and give a sales pitch, which can be either formal or informal, and might be delivered in any number of ways. A sales pitch may be invited by an organization looking to obtain supplies or services, for example in a commissioning context.

Elements

First impression

The first

visual The visual system is the physiological basis of visual perception (the ability to detect and process light). The system detects, transduces and interprets information concerning light within the visible range to construct an image and buil ...

and

audible Audible may refer to: * Audible (service), an online audiobook store * Audible (American football), a tactic used by quarterbacks * ''Audible'' (film), a short documentary film featuring a deaf high school football player * Audible finish or ru ...

impression upon a

market Market is a term used to describe concepts such as: *Market (economics), system in which parties engage in transactions according to supply and demand *Market economy *Marketplace, a physical marketplace or public market *Marketing, the act of sat ...

or client can appeal to any of the five senses in order to initiate excellent chemistry between the

buyer Procurement is the process of locating and agreeing to terms and purchasing goods, services, or other works from an external source, often with the use of a tendering or competitive bidding process. The term may also refer to a contractual o ...

and

seller Sales are activities related to selling or the number of goods sold in a given targeted time period. The delivery of a service for a cost is also considered a sale. A period during which goods are sold for a reduced price may also be referred ...

. A strategy to attract potential clients and emphasize the overall

advertisement Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a Product (business), product or Service (economics), service. Advertising aims to present a product or service in terms of utility, advantages, and qualities of int ...

. An exchange of currency is not always required; rather, the pitching party seeks a formal

trade Trade involves the transfer of goods and services from one person or entity to another, often in exchange for money. Economists refer to a system or network that allows trade as a market. Traders generally negotiate through a medium of cr ...

agreement or

contract A contract is an agreement that specifies certain legally enforceable rights and obligations pertaining to two or more parties. A contract typically involves consent to transfer of goods, services, money, or promise to transfer any of thos ...

. With a wide variety of

selling techniques Sales are activities related to selling or the number of goods sold in a given targeted time period. The delivery of a service for a cost is also considered a sale. A period during which goods are sold for a reduced price may also be referred ...

used to "pitch", it is possible to apply one or a combination in a single attempt. Inspired by what has worked in the past from successful contributors to the art of the pitch, at least a slight modification is always required in order for it to be an authentic and most of all an effective pitch, otherwise the tone would not fit the sellers outfit and in critical situations be spotted as a fake by the candidate and in such a case defying the purpose. For a strikingly good pitch, one must know exactly what the other party wants and doesn't want and be informed of as much

information Information is an Abstraction, abstract concept that refers to something which has the power Communication, to inform. At the most fundamental level, it pertains to the Interpretation (philosophy), interpretation (perhaps Interpretation (log ...

as possible about the candidate being pitched to. Focus on a virtual balance of the candidate's

need A need is a deficiency at a point of time and in a given context. Needs are distinguished from wants. In the case of a need, a deficiency causes a clear adverse outcome: a dysfunction or death. In other words, a need is something required for a ...

s and

want The idea of want can be examined from many perspectives. In secular societies want might be considered similar to the emotion desire, which can be studied scientifically through the disciplines of psychology or sociology. Alternatively want can ...

s to maximize one's leverage when in the process of a pitch. Overall meaning: one gets only one chance to make a good first impression. At least two senses must connect: vision, and hearing. But the more one can connect at a single point of impact, the better.

Beginning statement

Usually the first sentence of a sales pitch is supposed to be either an attention-grabbing statement or a positive statement introducing the best information about the provider of goods or service. A method is usually selected depending on available attention span from the prospective client. There are certain groups with a lower attention span (for example children) for whom a sales pitch must capture their attention within the first few seconds to be effective. Frequently used methods for this are beginning a talk with a surprising or even shocking statement which the targets then stay to see the conclusion of. Normally people with children, shopkeepers, and people in a hurry are not able to give much

attention Attention or focus, is the concentration of awareness on some phenomenon to the exclusion of other stimuli. It is the selective concentration on discrete information, either subjectively or objectively. William James (1890) wrote that "Atte ...

especially if the explanation is not immediately intriguing or it is in broken English. Sellers of low-value,

fast-moving consumer goods Fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), also known as consumer packaged goods (CPG) or convenience goods, are products that are sold quickly and at a relatively low cost. Examples include non-durable household goods such as packaged foods, beve ...

(FMCG) are usually known to deploy the first method. In the second strategy, 'positive statement begins' is adopted in

solution selling Solution selling is a type and style of sales and selling methodology. Solution selling has a salesperson or sales team use a sales process that is a problem-led (rather than product-led) approach to determine if and how a change in a product coul ...

usually in

direct selling Direct selling is a business model that involves a party of people buying products from a parent organization and selling them directly to customers. It can take the form of either single-level marketing (in which a direct seller makes money pu ...

to corporate and or high value and or

capital goods In economics, capital goods or capital are "those durable produced goods that are in turn used as productive inputs for further production" of goods and services. A typical example is the machinery used in a factory. At the macroeconomic level, ...

selling. Here, the purpose of the positive statement is to emphasize a particular positive aspect of a provider to brand it according to seller's situational need.

Slides

Prior to 1980s the visuals ( transparencies and slides for the

slide projector A slide projector is an optical device for projecting enlarged images of photographic slides onto a screen. Many projectors have mechanical arrangements to show a series of slides loaded into a special tray sequentially. 35 mm slide p ...

) were used for at least two decades. Arrival of the

personal computers A personal computer, commonly referred to as PC or computer, is a computer designed for individual use. It is typically used for tasks such as Word processor, word processing, web browser, internet browsing, email, multimedia playback, and PC ...

greatly simplified flipping of the slides and the use of multimedia elements thus creating the "widespread addiction to slideware". By late 1980s

Microsoft Powerpoint Microsoft PowerPoint is a presentation program, developed by Microsoft. It was originally created by Robert Gaskins, Tom Rudkin, and Dennis Austin at a software company named Forethought, Inc. It was released on April 20, 1987, initially ...

displaced the original market leader, Harvard Graphics, as a tool of choice for preparing and displaying the slides. A presentation slide deck is sometimes called a pitch deck.

Issues

In 2021-22, advertisers and agencies raised concerns about the excessive volume of work and associated pressures entailed in making sales pitches for advertising opportunities. Criticisms raised argued that pitches were being requested unnecessarily often and their production being made too complex and too costly. The Pitch Positive Pledge was adopted as a result, according to which industry players would ensure a pitch was actually required before proceeding, "run a positive pledge" and "provide a positive resolution".

Feedback Feedback occurs when outputs of a system are routed back as inputs as part of a chain of cause and effect that forms a circuit or loop. The system can then be said to ''feed back'' into itself. The notion of cause-and-effect has to be handle ...

to unsuccessful bidders is a key element of this process.Jacobs, K.
Make pitching a positive tool
''Supply Management'', published 16 August 2022, accessed 27 December 2022

Elements

First impression

Beginning statement

Slides

Issues

See also

References

Further reading