Rick Enrico Archives

Getting Pitch Deck Ideas: Study the Client’s Business

Posted on July 2, 2015May 3, 2023 by Rick E

Knowing your client’s business is one of the four ways to get great pitch deck ideas.

Aside from speaking to clients in their terms, impress them by doing your homework and figuring out what problem to solve.

How It Works:

1. Do a Factory Tour

Most great pitch deck ideas begin with studying the client’s product or service, a method practiced by top advertising agencies like Doyle Dane Bernbach, makers of the famous Volkswagen ads.

Getting a chance to tour your client’s stores, factories or shops works to your advantage. According to ad veteran Luke Sullivan, study every brochure, advertising and PR material, even their sales pitches if they’ll allow it.

Doing so gives you information on how to solve their existing problem or an improvement that your company can pitch.

Once you get the chance, ask every question you can:

How are the products made?
How are their services given?
Who buys them?
Are there any special ingredients or parts that make it the way it is?

Every single question gives you the answer you need for that winning sales pitch idea.

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2. Study the Product or Service

Ask your client how customers behave towards their brand. As renowned author, Jim Aitchison asks, what situations do they use in your client’s products or services?

If your client is a travel agency, do people use their services to plan family vacations or business trips? Pitch for a tie-up with a hotel or resort promo.

Does your client provide companies with health insurance? Propose a partnership with a hospital or clinic.

Doing this puts you in the shoes of your client’s customers. By understanding what makes the product or service the way it is, and how the client’s customers use it, you get a clear picture of what it’s supposed to do and how your pitch can improve your client’s situation.

Look at it from every aspect before making your pitch deck. This gives you a thorough understanding that it’ll be strong enough to cut through other competitors.

The Advantage: Knowledge Is Power

Having this first-hand knowledge shows a clearer picture of what problem to solve. Knowing how your client’s business works also lets you define your pitch strategy.

Do you want to highlight how your proposal can expand your client’s current product reach? Do you want to show the benefits of your pitch over the competition’s?

Regardless of how you want to present your pitch, you’ll have more credibility if your client knows you did your research. Get help from a great pitch deck partner to make the most out of your pitch.

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References

Aitchison, J. (2004). Cutting Edge Advertising: How to Create the World’s Best Print for Brands in the 21st Century. Singapore; New York: Prentice Hall.
Sullivan, L. (2008). Hey, Whipple, Squeeze This: A Guide to Creating Great Ads (3rd Ed.). Hoboken, N.J.: John Wiley & Sons.
“The Greatest Print Campaigns of All Time: Volkswagen Think Small.” Design Shack. Accessed July 2, 2015.

Avoid These Filler Words When Writing for Your Pitch Deck

Posted on July 2, 2015May 3, 2023 by Rick E

Even the most complex ideas can be sufficiently explained using simple terms.

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As American founding father, Thomas Jefferson wrote, “Never use two words when one will do.” Keeping things short and concise keeps a pitch from rambling and confusing people.

As we’ve discussed previously, the conversational tone works when presenting to an audience. However, our everyday speech doesn’t always translate well into written form.

Avoid using words that may work in everyday situations but not in writing slide content.

Here are ten common filler words to remove from your deck:

Got

You’ve got to stop using “got.” Say it properly: stop using “got.”

See the difference?

The latter sounds more certain, succinct, and direct.

Just

If you just can’t stop, then you’re just not doing it right. Unless you’re not speaking in the context of justice, avoid using “just.” It needlessly lengthens your writing.

This is also sometimes used in combination with “got.”: “You’ve just got to learn proper etiquette.”

Keep it simple. Say “Learn proper etiquette.” instead.

Really

Really? Avoid using “really” in your slides.

It’s okay to use it in everyday conversations when insisting on and emphasizing a point. However, using it in writing makes you sound like you’re trying too hard to convince someone to take your side.

Remove it, and you’ll sound more believable and credible. No, really.

Then

If you’re narrating a sequence of events, then you can use this word.

Readers easily understand that sentences in succession are connected, with or without bullet points. Your flow will remain the same without it.

Maybe

Nothing reeks of uncertainty more than “maybe.” It works for lightly declining a party invitation…maybe.

Remove it to sound more certain.

Basically

It basically doesn’t contribute anything to your sentences, except for one useless adverb to add to your word count.

Even if you mean to imply that the statement is a summary, it still sounds condescending to your audience. You’re implying that they wouldn’t understand what you’re talking about in its non-basic form.

Unless you’re writing a college paper and your professor is strict about word counts, remove it entirely.

Literally

The word literally means “without exaggeration or inaccuracy.”

Unfortunately, people use this word when they should be saying “figuratively.” Its use as an intensifier is both totally incorrect and terribly irritating.

If something is what it really is, remove it or use an appropriate adjective instead.

Amazing

Amazingly, its overuse the main cause of its decline.

Simply saying that something is amazing convinces nobody. It’s in no way superior or even equal to substantial explanation and demonstration of a truly amazing thing.

Things

When you’re talking about things, no one really understands what you’re talking about.

Be specific when writing for your deck. Use a noun that describes a specific object or concept. Otherwise, just remove it.

Stuff

The difference between stuff and things is minimal, except that stuff is even more general and overused. It’s commonly used to give conversations a warm and informal feel, as if you were speaking with friends.

In a professional setting, it makes you sound like you don’t know what you’re saying. Free yourself of stuff.

Conclusion

Just because they work in everyday life doesn’t mean you should use them in your pitch deck slides.

Keep your writing style different between speaking and writing to optimize your message’s effectiveness and your audience’s engagement.

Check out our pitch deck portfolio for some effective examples, or contact us now for a free quote!

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References

“Literally.” Dictionary.com. Accessed July 02, 2015.

Featured Image: “Writing? Yeah.” by Caleb Roenigk on flickr.com

Don’t Fluff, Buff: Avoiding Filler Words in Your Pitch

Posted on July 2, 2015May 3, 2023 by Rick E

Even the most complex ideas can be sufficiently explained using simple terms.

We redesign pitch deck presentations.

Get your free quote now.

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As American founding father, Thomas Jefferson wrote, “Never use two words when one will do.” Keeping things short and concise keeps a pitch from rambling and confusing people.

As we’ve discussed previously, the conversational tone works when presenting to an audience. However, our everyday speech doesn’t always translate well into written form.

Avoid using words that may work in everyday situations but not in writing slide content.

Here are ten common filler words to remove from your deck:

Got

You’ve got to stop using “got.” Say it properly: stop using “got.”

See the difference?

The latter sounds more certain, succinct, and direct.

Just

If you just can’t stop, then you’re just not doing it right. Unless you’re not speaking in the context of justice, avoid using “just.” It needlessly lengthens your writing.

This is also sometimes used in combination with “got.”: “You’ve just got to learn proper etiquette.”

Keep it simple. Say “Learn proper etiquette.” instead.

Really

Really? Avoid using “really” in your slides.

Remove it, and you’ll sound more believable and credible. No, really.

Then

If you’re narrating a sequence of events, then you can use this word.

Readers easily understand that sentences in succession are connected, with or without bullet points. Your flow will remain the same without it.

Maybe

Nothing reeks of uncertainty more than “maybe.” It works for lightly declining a party invitation…maybe.

Remove it to sound more certain.

Basically

It basically doesn’t contribute anything to your sentences, except for one useless adverb to add to your word count.

Unless you’re writing a college paper and your professor is strict about word counts, remove it entirely.

Literally

The word literally means “without exaggeration or inaccuracy.”

Unfortunately, people use this word when they should be saying “figuratively.” Its use as an intensifier is both totally incorrect and terribly irritating.

If something is what it really is, remove it or use an appropriate adjective instead.

Amazing

Amazingly, its overuse the main cause of its decline.

Simply saying that something is amazing convinces nobody. It’s in no way superior or even equal to substantial explanation and demonstration of a truly amazing thing.

Things

When you’re talking about things, no one really understands what you’re talking about.

Be specific when writing for your deck. Use a noun that describes a specific object or concept. Otherwise, just remove it.

Stuff

In a professional setting, it makes you sound like you don’t know what you’re saying. Free yourself of stuff.

Conclusion

Just because they work in everyday life doesn’t mean you should use them in your pitch deck slides.

Keep your writing style different between speaking and writing to optimize your message’s effectiveness and your audience’s engagement.

Check out our pitch deck portfolio for some effective examples, or contact us now for a free quote!

Download free pitch deck templates now.

Get professionally designed pitch deck slides weekly.

Featured Image: “Writing? Yeah.” by Caleb Roenigk on flickr.com

3 Corporate Pitch Deck Tips: Maximizing Board Room Pitches

Posted on June 26, 2015May 3, 2023 by Rick E

Presenting to executives and other high-powered decision makers can have unbelievably high stakes. Corporate pitches of this significance can be absolutely nerve-wracking. You should expect no less from a possible career or life-changing opportunity.

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Achieving success here isn’t a Herculean task. Use these three tips to become a more confident and effective presenter for when it most counts:

Put the Spotlight on Your Core Message

Executives and board members are busy individuals who have no time to do long conversations. Simplify your pitch and break down your message so that it’s easily digestible.

Keep your discussion on the right track.

Avoid using industry-specific jargon and focus on explaining and expounding on your core message. If you have too much important data that clutters up your deck, put them in an accompanying report or handout.

This doesn’t mean your deck has to be plain and bare. Engage your viewers’ eyes with the right visuals. Despite their status, executives are people too, and would appreciate a good pitch that stands out from the numerous other pitches they encounter daily.

Rely on Evidence and Actual Data

Rhetoric tools are still useful in this situation, but the higher-ups need actionable data based on tangible evidence. You can’t expect them to make high-risk decisions based on unconvincing or misleading information.

This is where research comes in handy. Conduct a thorough and comprehensive study on the subject of your current report. If you can’t do it alone, try mobilizing other departments in your company and ask for help.

At the same time, according to entrepreneur John Rampton, you can also outsource and tap into other references to access the information you need. This may even save you the time and cost.

In terms of deck design, don’t saturate your slides with content. Minimize the amount of text to streamline your corporate pitch deck. If your data relies on showing numbers, then explain them in visual ways like charts, graphs, and diagrams.

Rehearse the Nerves Away

These are high-stake affairs, so your preparation should correspond to the predicted benefit of succeeding.

Be self-critical of your own pitch, determine possible weaknesses in your arguments and prepare for your audience’s possible concerns. Consider the proper clothing choices to match your purpose and the occasion.

Opt for an attire that’s not too flashy or formal. Go for something that won’t throw your audience off but give them a memorable impression of you.

It’s natural to feel more nervous than usual but you can get rid of your fears with constant practice. Practice breathing techniques and a few warm-up exercises to put you in the right state of mind during your pitch. You’ll want to be at the top of your game in front of this crowd, after all.

Conclusion

Getting through and impressing the big leagues requires an even bigger amount of preparation.

Fortunately, sticking close to your message, relying on hard data, and dedicated practice prove vital in getting the best out of your pitch. Keep these tips in mind for when that big break comes.

For these opportunities, you need to be at your best. Get a corporate pitch deck to match the occasion with pitchdeck.com. Contact us for a free quote.

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References

Rampton, John. “How Outsourcing Can Save You Money.” John Chow Dot Com. Accessed June 26, 2015.

An Effective Probing Strategy for Your Sales Pitch

Posted on June 25, 2015May 3, 2023 by Rick E

Lack of probing questions can be one reason why sales proposals are often rejected by clients.

Many presenters forget that throwing open-ended questions such as “How are you doing?” or “What are you up to?” successfully convinces your clients to share the information you need to meet their needs.

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First, build rapport and connect with them to get their attention and establish trust.

Briefly introduce yourself to highlight your pitch’s importance. This compels clients to answer your questions without question.

Why Probing is Important

In sales pitches, your main goal is to persuade your clients to take action.

Study your clients’ objectives and how they should be met. Know their needs and wants to craft an attention-grabbing pitch. Doing so makes them realize that you’ve made thorough research about their company, showing them that you’re just as interested in them as you want them to be interested in your proposal.

More than presenting your products and services’ features, advantages and benefits, make your clients feel that you care about them by meeting their expectations. Satisfying their needs makes them see that you value them above anyone else. This gives them reasons to listen and share their side of the story once you ask them probing questions.

When to Probe

A good sales pitch and ample presentation skills can make an effective sales proposal, but probing is an equally important technique. Your clients look for products and services that satisfy their company’s needs.

Probing is important when relating their needs with what you’re offering. Knowing their concerns prepares you to connect them with your products and services’ benefits, making them think that your idea can achieve their desired outcome.

Start by asking open-ended questions such as, “What are your plans for reaching your objectives for this area?” and “What strategies are you going to implement to make this happen?” to delve into more details.

When you notice that your clients have objections, ask whether they understand what you’re trying to emphasize. This can help clarify some concerns before they make their decision.

How Probing Becomes Effective

Probing encourages your clients to talk more, convincing them to share their thoughts and give you more information that can help you motivate them.

The “who, what, when, where, why and how” questions tell you more about your client’s concerns, letting you better understand their needs by asking:

“Who will…”
“What, specifically…”
“When will…”
“Where, exactly…”
“Why does…”
“How does…”

Know whether you’re asking appropriate questions or not. Be careful not to overdo it by asking more questions than necessary. Going overboard results in data that might not be relevant at all to your proposal, wasting both your time and theirs.

Prepare possible questions to quickly address any issues they might have, preventing them from delaying their decisions.

Conclusion

Applying this sales pitch technique makes clients more likely to approve your proposal. Once they realize how much you’re interested, how much you care about meeting their concerns, and how much you’re helping them achieve their expectations, you’ll convince them that your offering best suits their organization needs.

Knowing what and how to ask makes your sales pitch effective. This is because clients will see that you understand how probing helps satisfy their needs, showing that you’re serious and dedicated about what you do.

Clients are more confident to hire somebody who goes out of their way to give them a satisfying experience. Be the person that your client would never hesitate to go to for solutions to their needs.

pitchdeck.com can help you make your sales pitches more effective!

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References

“21 Powerful, Open-Ended Sales Questions.” RAIN Group. Accessed June 25, 2015.
“Probing.” Changing Minds. Accessed June 25, 2015.

Alan Monroe’s Motivational Sequence in Sales Pitches

Posted on June 23, 2015May 3, 2023 by Rick E

Monroe’s motivational sequence is a powerful speech writing technique based on the power of persuasion and developed in the 1930s by Alan Monroe, a college professor at Purdue University.

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Presenters should focus on their audiences. Since people avoid discomfort once they encounter a particular problem, they’ll be convinced to take action that will solve that issue.

Monroe’s Motivational Sequence

The objective of a sales pitch is to compel clients to make purchase decisions.

As a presenter, you should answer answer their questions: “Why am I here?” and “What’s in it for me?”

If they don’t see why your proposal is important, they won’t bother to listen. This makes your introduction the most crucial part of your sales pitches. It’s where you hook your audience and keep them interested.

Here are five stages Monroe suggested to making audiences act on unresolved issues:

First Stage: Get Attention

How will you convince them to pay attention?

Getting your audience’s attention is the first step in motivating them. Storytelling achieves this by providing them with stories that pique their interest.

Explain the importance of having them as your audience. Include humorous stories, questions, and quotations to connect with them, giving them a reason to stay and listen.

Second Stage: Establish the Need

How will you address a problem that needs solving?

Stating and emphasizing the issue points out the discomfort and dissatisfaction it brings. Use statistics to illustrate how this can affect them. Appeal to your audience’s emotions to connect with them.

After this, they’ll start looking for a solution.

Third Stage: Satisfy the Need

How will you offer the solution?

Provide them with concrete solutions to address the issues. Avoid confusing and misleading technical terms to keep them from misinterpreting what you mean.

Explain and clarify each of your solution’s supporting details to show their importance.

Fourth Stage: Visualize the Future

How will you show the positive effects of applying this solution?

Contrast the problem against your solution to illustrate the difference between the positive and negative outcomes. What happens if you apply this solution? What happens if you don’t?

Create a picture of both to convince your audience to follow your advice and take action.

Fifth Stage: Inspire Action

How will you move them to act now?

Return to your message’s main idea to remind them of its impact. Create a sense of urgency that challenges and drives them to act immediately.

Tell them to quit delaying the problem. Reiterate the reasons why they should do it and how it can be done.

Conclusion

Monroe’s motivational sequence convinces your audiences to take action by getting their attention, making them stay and listen to what you have to say.

Establish their need for a solution to stop the issue. Satisfy them with clearer and easier-to-understand solutions. Help them visualize how their decision affects their future, and inspire them to act now.

This sequence increases your chances of persuading your audience enough to make them take action.

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References

Barker, Alan. “Five Steps to Action: Monroe’s Motivated Sequence.” Distributed Intelligence. Accessed June 23, 2015.

Limit the Numbers: Designing Financial Sales Pitch Decks

Posted on June 23, 2015May 3, 2023 by Rick E

Including financial data in your sales pitch decks is both a blessing and a curse. Numbers undeniably give your statements much-needed weight, while their mere presence creates a life-sucking void in your pitch deck.

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Have you tried copying awkward-looking spreadsheet data straight into your slides before? According to Think Outside the Slide‘s Dave Paradi, plugging the holes in your deck with endless numbers is about the least helpful you can be.

Here’s how to make effective and compelling financial pitch decks:

Limit Numbers to the Ones That Help Tell Your Story

Before inputting data, ask: “What numbers tell the story?”

Pick the most important supporting figures. Endless stream of numbers will make your audiences’ eyes glaze over. Cut it down to the most relevant information that conveys your message clearly.

Just because you have numbers doesn’t mean you should use them. Including every single piece of information disrupts your pitch flow. Curate only the most vital data, that is, your main argument’s supporting information.

Illustrate Numbers Through Diagrams, Charts, and Graphs

Illustrate your numbers through diagrams, charts, or graphs to create an easier-to-follow visual narrative for your figures or statistics.

Since majority of the population are visual learners, your audience will probably appreciate and understand images better than blocks of text or numbers.

These visual representations let your audiences see the patterns and trends that you wish to explain. Instead of treating data as the pitch deck’s heart and soul, consider them the supporting details in a story you’re trying to tell.

Keep Text to a Minimum

Don’t include explanations or descriptions for your images, as you may risk oversaturating slides. Minimize the amount of text on your slides to avoid distracting your audience with unnecessary information. The effects of information overload involve inhibiting your audience’s memory. Too many things on the slide will make them forget about your main points.

Include only labels for the figures’ different sections. The rest of the explanation falls on your shoulders. Expounding on data verbally will not only ease your viewers in on your slides, but it also lets you establish much-needed rapport.

Conclusion

Too many numbers bore the lights out of even the most business-savvy audiences, but just enough data supports your message or even tells the whole story for you.

Put the right amount of numbers and determine the right way to represent them.

Still confused? If you’re looking for somebody to optimize your sales pitch deck, we have a team of pitch deck specialists who can make your financial slides the way you need them. Contact us for a free quote!

Download free pitch deck templates now.

Get professionally designed pitch deck slides weekly.

References

“Spreadsheets Don’t Belong on Slides.” Think Outside The Slide. December 20, 2011. Accessed June 23, 2015.
“The Visual (spatial) Learning Style.” Learning Styles. Accessed June 23, 2015.
“Using Excel Data in a PowerPoint Presentation.” Think Outside The Slide. 2014. Accessed June 23, 2015.

Three Effective Ways to Evaluate Your Sales Presentation

Posted on June 22, 2015May 3, 2023 by Rick E

Rehearsing your sales presentation prepares you for the actual delivery, but it’s only the first half of the process.

Be prepared for whatever questions your audience can ask you.

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According to Michael and George Belch, the advertising industry has its own way of evaluating pitches before suggesting it to clients. Play your own devil’s advocate to find out if your proposal will work by asking yourself three questions:

1. Is Your Solution Consistent with Your Client’s Marketing or Business Strategies?

Each company has their own way of doing business.

Some gadget distributors buy their products from reputable manufacturers. Some grocery stores give shelf space only to common goods.

See if your proposed solution is consistent with how your client sells themselves in their market and how they operate their company.

2. Is Your Sales Pitch Consistent with Your Strategy and Objectives?

Is your business presentation simple enough to show exactly what it’s supposed to?

Visuals are great selling tools, but excessively using them drowns out your message.

Using images effectively with the right words presents your message in a straightforward manner, as with the Crisis Relief’s “Liking Isn’t Helping” campaign.

In his book, Hey Whipple, ad veteran Luke Sullivan presents the following questions for presenters to think about:

Do you want to highlight the features and benefits of your product?
Do you want to pitch your product or services to solve your client’s specific problems?
Do you want to highlight your advantages over the competition?

Whatever tactic you use must be consistent with these strategies, and your slide content mustn’t overwhelm your message.

3. Is Your Sales Pitch Appropriate for the Client and Their Customers?

Whatever proposal you present will always affect your client and their customers, if they have any.

More than the products or services you present, the PowerPoint deck you use and your manner of speaking should be relevant enough for the client to relate to and not be offended.

Dated pop culture references may work, but they lose their relevance when faced with the wrong demographics.

Stay truthful, tasteful and straightforward when delivering business presentations. Give your clients a good reason to invest in you.

Staying Prepared

Anticipating your client’s questions and your audiences’ reactions gives you enough room to stay calm and composed when you deliver the actual presentation.

Being critical of your own work lets you spot possible errors before entering the conference room.

Lastly, having an extra pair of eyes to improve your work makes your business presentation the best it can be.

Take a few minutes to talk to a professional presentation partner today!

Download free pitch deck templates now.

Get professionally designed pitch deck slides weekly.

References

Belch, George E., and Michael A. Belch. “Creative Strategy: Implementation and Evaluation.” In Advertising and Promotion: An Integrated Marketing Communications Perspective. 6th ed. Singapore: McGraw-Hill Irwin, 2003.
“Sales Presentation Skills: Stay Relevant to Pitch Ideas.” pitchdeck.com, May 11, 2015. Accessed June 22, 2015.
Sullivan, L. Hey, Whipple, Squeeze This: A Guide to Creating Great Ads (3rd Ed.). Hoboken, N.J.: John Wiley & Sons, 2008.
Nudd, Tim. “The World’s Best Print Ads, 2012-13.” AdWeek. Accessed June 22, 2015.

Why Hiring Pitch Deck Specialists Can Save You Time

Posted on June 16, 2015May 3, 2023 by Rick E

There are two crucial rules for an efficient business:

Manage your resources properly.
Use your time wisely to be faster than the competition.

The same thing applies to making your business pitch deck presentations. Pitch deck is not only the most commonly used pitching tool, but also one of the most important ways to sell.

Whether you’re a CEO looking to get new business partners, a VP making internal reports, part of the sales and marketing team seeking new prospects, or an admin assistant, each department needs to make a business pitch deck at some point.

The problem is, with all the duties each department has, assigning the task of making a pitch deck presentation can be a problem. Gathering information, editing, and rehearsing the pitch lessens the time you have to perform your day-to-day tasks, making your deck’s quality suffer.

How can you manage your resources to make quality business pitch decks faster?

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Invest in the Right Resources

Entrepreneur John Rampton outlines the benefits of outsourcing for your company—Pitch deck included. According to Rampton, outsourced help lowers risk and cost while ensuring expert services.

Since almost everyone in the company doesn’t have adequate time to make your deck, outsource a reliable pitch deck specialist in the same way that you would hire a PR or advertising agency to promote your brand.

According to business gurus Gerald and Steven Michaelson, to be a businessman who gets results, you must effectively manage your operational resources to run your company and sell yourself. Not only will you have an effective pitch deck on your hands, you and your co-workers also get to spend more time on your business’ duties.

Use Time Wisely

To succeed as an entrepreneur, value your time and move faster than your competition. Outsourced pitch decks let you and your company focus on your own field. At the same time, you’re assured that the job still gets done. The advantage of companies who sell themselves effectively is their ability to get business partners and clients faster than their competitors do.

Doing this gives you less time to be surprised and more time to prepare for any unforeseen contingencies, even ones from inside your company (ex. internal emergencies, other promotional events to manage).

Take the Advantage

The company that strikes first leads the market. To do this, sell yourself ahead of the competition.

To know more about how a pitch deck partner can give you that selling advantage, take a few minutes to get to know our company or call us for a free quotation.

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References

Michaelson, G., and Steven Michaelson. Sun Tzu: The Art of War for Managers: 50 Strategic Rules Updated for Today’s Business. 2nd ed. Avon, Mass.: Adams Media. 2010.
Rampton, John. “How Outsourcing Can Save You Money.” John Chow Dot Com. Accessed June 16, 2015.

Tips for Using Incentives to Sweeten Your Sales Pitch

Posted on June 11, 2015May 3, 2023 by Rick E

Incentives are one way to sweeten the deal when you give your pitch.

Clients are always looking for the best benefits whenever they invest in potential business partners. According to marketing professors George and Michael Belch, offering them something extra gives them a reason to buy into your proposal.

Offering incentives is a special type of marketing tactic used in sales promotions. Often used to add value to the product or service that you want to sell, these help speed up your clients’ purchase decision.

At the same time, make sure to differentiate between features and benefits. Features are facts about the product being promoted while benefits are the results that consumers get in return.

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Here are four sales pitch ideas on how to include incentives in your proposals and to maximize your offers:

Keep It Specific

Discounts and rewards for purchases made within a set of time are some examples that allow companies to target different kinds of people.

In the same way, presenters need information about their clients’ expectations before they can offer the right kind of sales incentive.

For example, will your client be purchasing your products by bulk? Offer them a discount to save up on their expenses.

Is your client looking for a long-term partnership for supplying electronic parts? Offer them a discounted rate or free maintenance.

Knowing what your client needs is the first step to finding the right mix of sales incentives.

Brand Loyalty

Sales promotions are used to give occasional incentives that keep customers loyal.

Clients can sometimes invest in other presenter’s ideas if they see that the offers are equal.

To outsell your competition, offer your clients something others cannot.

This tactic is effective especially for clients that you’ve worked with before.

If there are special loyalty incentives that you can offer in your sales pitch, use them.

Encourage Them to Try Something New

Trial incentives are a good way to encourage investments from clients.

This works well especially if you have a new offer to present.

Even something as simple as a money-back guarantee goes a long way to establishing your credibility to your clients.

Whether you’re pitching a new product to loyal clients, or a startup company with a new product, offering them an incentive to try out your new offers are a good way to generate an interest.

Measure the Results

One benefit of using incentives is that they’re easily measured.

Try keeping a database to measure how effective your offers are for you to stay accountable to your clients.

This should contain a list of clients that accepted your incentives.

As you build this up, use this info as proof to other clients that your offerings are better than the competition’s.

—

As effective as incentives are, they’re only used to sweeten the deal. Clearly state the benefits that your basic offer has to give.

No amount of extra offers makes an unsatisfactory pitch worthy of investment.

To get more out of what your presentation has to offer, get in touch with a professional pitch deck partner for free! All it takes is 15 minutes to get a better pitch deck presentation.

All it takes is 15 minutes to get a better pitch deck presentation.

Download free pitch deck templates now.

Get professionally designed pitch deck slides weekly.

References

“Ad Agency Tricks: Outsell Competitors in Sales Pitches.” pitchdeck.com, 2015. Accessed June 11, 2015.
Belch, G. & Belch, M. Advertising and Promotion: An Integrated Marketing Communications Perspective. (6th ed). Singapore: McGraw-Hill Irwin, 2003.
“Marketing Features Vs. Benefits.” Entrepreneur. Accessed July 9, 2018.

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Gregor S.

How It Works:

1. Do a Factory Tour

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2. Study the Product or Service

The Advantage: Knowledge Is Power

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References

We redesign pitch deck presentations.

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Got

Just

Really

Then

Maybe

Basically

Literally

Amazing

Things

Stuff

Conclusion

Download free pitch deck templates now.

References

We redesign pitch deck presentations.

Get your free quote now.

Got

Just

Really

Then

Maybe

Basically

Literally

Amazing

Things

Stuff

Conclusion

Download free pitch deck templates now.

We redesign pitch deck presentations.

Get your free quote now.

Put the Spotlight on Your Core Message

Rely on Evidence and Actual Data

Rehearse the Nerves Away

Conclusion

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References

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Why Probing is Important

When to Probe

How Probing Becomes Effective

Conclusion

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References

We redesign pitch deck presentations.

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Monroe’s Motivational Sequence

First Stage: Get Attention

Second Stage: Establish the Need

Third Stage: Satisfy the Need

Fourth Stage: Visualize the Future

Fifth Stage: Inspire Action

Conclusion

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References

We redesign pitch deck presentations.

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Limit Numbers to the Ones That Help Tell Your Story

Illustrate Numbers Through Diagrams, Charts, and Graphs

Keep Text to a Minimum

Conclusion

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References