3 Tips for Turning Your Pitch’s Biggest Weaknesses into Your Greatest Strength

Sellers are usually optimists. You almost have to be. 

If you aren’t buying what you’re selling, no one else will. 

But there is optimism – and then there is the type of insecure optimism that can make a seller seem out-of-touch and uninterested in the depth and reality of their buyer’s pain.

Often the difference between the two comes down to the seller’s willingness to ditch the rose-colored glasses and acknowledge potential challenges the buyer might face once they make the transition from prospect to customer. Rather than being real, sellers often insist their solution will solve every problem the buyer can think of.

That is almost never the case, especially since new solutions always create new challenges.

One of the most impactful ways sellers can establish credibility with their buyer is by being forthcoming, transparent, and honest about potential shortcomings and work those points into their pitch.

In this Blinkist video available on LinkedIn Learning, sellers can learn how to close deals by putting their solution’s flaws front-and-center. 

Here’s what you need to know:

Tip #1: Practice role playing to gain a better understanding of your buyer. 

Buyers have heard it all before. They’ve been sold the moon only to end up finding out they purchased crushed concrete masquerading as space dust. 

So, before you give your pitch, give it a practice run – but reverse roles. Have someone you trust play you, and you play your buyer.

Assume your buyer knows everything you don’t want to tell them and work it into your pitch. It might sound like an academic exercise in pitch preparation, but today’s buying groups – as well as individual buyers – are more informed than ever.

One of the biggest weaknesses in a seller’s pitch can be the failure to look at the offer through the buyer’s eyes. When you role play, really dive in. Be one of those method actors who is so committed to the character that you actually become your buyer. 

Tell the pretend “you” all the reasons you’re going to take a pass, and don’t spare anyone’s feelings.

Then start weaving those objections into your pitch. 

Tip #2: Create a script known as the “Buyer’s Formula.”

Of course, acknowledging where your solution may come up short is more complicated than saying, “X feature is actually terrible, but if all goes well, it should be up and working ten months into our one-year agreement.”

In other words, bluntness and honesty aren’t the same thing. 

Instead of just laying it all out, give your buyer the context they need to both understand the reality of your solution – and why it’s still the best option out there.

The Blinkist video calls this the “Buyer’s Formula.”

Here’s how it works: 

• Casually establish yourself as an expert with lines like, “I’ve dealt with this sort of thing hundreds of times.”
• Outline some of the obvious ways your pitch or proposal could fail, including anticipating some of your buyer’s initial objections.
• Identify some of the counterintuitive challenges your buyer may face, like being unfamiliar with your technology.
• Identify some of the obvious actions your customer may take that could add to the cost, like purchasing a warranty or other additional add-ons.
• Identify less obvious challenges or solutions, like suggesting the buyer try a less expensive and/or advanced solution prior to trying yours.

Once you’ve taken those steps, hand the process over to the buyer – but do so in a more casual way and with the detached air of an expert, rather than a salesperson trying to meet a quota. 

Being transparent and empowering the buyer will help them take ownership of the decision, and your directness will help make their decision easier. 

Tip #3: Understand the power of framing. 

When you use the Buyer’s Formula, you’re really not opening up the hood so that the buyer can see every flaw your solution suffers from. The truth is that no solution will solve every problem your customer will face.

Why?

Because if your solution succeeds, it will create new challenges for your customer. 

That’s what success does. 

What you are really doing by using the Buyer’s Formula is directing your buyer’s attention to the two or three challenges that will most affect their business. Buyer/seller relationships are like any other relationship: you don’t need to point out all the red flags on Day 1, but it is better to identify something you think could be a deal-breaker early on. 

This approach helps sellers build credibility with buyers by allowing them to contextualize what their solution won’t do within the broader context of all the things the solutions will do. By framing your buyer’s most likely concerns or potential issues within your overall value proposition, you can turn a weakness into a strength.

For example, a Chevy Bolt doesn’t have the same battery range as a Tesla. It’s also a fraction of the price. 

As a result, both of these statements are true: the Bolt both has a range almost as good as a Tesla for a smaller price and has a worse battery than the competition.

Both statements are true. One just turns a strength into a weakness. 

The difference is all in the framing.

Summary and Takeaways

Sellers are rewarded for having the solution to their buyer’s pain points. By nature, they have to passionately believe that what they are selling will make a positive impact on their buyer’s life and business. 

However, that natural optimism and deep belief in their product can combine to place unnecessary additional pressure on a buyer. Occasionally, it can go further and erode a seller’s credibility with their buyer.

Instead of glossing over your solution’s flaws, address the ones you know will matter to your buyer. You and your solution won’t seem weak. 

Instead, your transparency and vulnerability will be seen as a strength. 

Remember:

1. Your buyer has likely learned the hard way that if it’s too good to be true, it probably is. 
2. Using the “Buyer’s Formula” will help your buyer contextualize potential flaws and challenges within your solution while building your credibility as a seller. 
3. What’s true in life is often true in sales: if you’re transparent from the start, there is almost no problem too big to overcome. But if your buyer feels you weren’t transparent? That’s one problem you’ll never overcome.  

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