Don't leave this out of your pitch
Martin Coburn
We help ambitious, driven individuals transform their careers, build confidence and self-belief and power up their performance
Welcome to the next edition of The Win Advantage For Sales Leaders.
Every fortnight, we deliver the latest insights, strategies and thinking on increasing your win rate from The Win Academy team.
Between us, The Win Academy team have been collectively responsible for?more than ￡1 billion in sales?annually.
Every other issue, we alternate between the latest advice on sales strategies and tools we're using in real-world environments and insights from our sales trainers and coaching team.
In this issue, Martin discusses the reason why so many pitches fail to land with buyers - and it's all down to emotion.
You can also watch one of our recent workshops, How To Overcome The Challenges of Virtual Selling, on-demand by scrolling down and clicking the relevant links below.
And you can register for our next workshop on 30th March 2022 with Futurecurve CEO Helen Blake, Challenging your customer value proposition to stay relevant, different and ahead of the customer buying curve. Again full details at the foot of this newsletter.
If you have any feedback or would like to discuss how we can help your sales team increase your win rate, contact us today at?[email protected]?or call us on +44 20 3303 0415.
INSIGHT
In a race between logic and emotion, emotion wins you the race every time. Just don't leave it out of your pitch.
When it comes to your pitch, logic is just a qualifying lap. It's emotion that wins you the race.?
This is something that challenges so many sales professionals we meet. But failing to consider the emotional side of your pitch will result in you losing out to competitors who 'get' it.
Let me explain by looking at this from the buyer's perspective.?
The purpose of the written proposal is to eliminate parties based upon the rational criteria in the buyer's opinion. All respondents to an RFI are answering the same questions in the same number of words. The process allows the buyer to make rational, objective comparisons.?
Here they can quickly and easily eliminate those not suitable for the project, such as being not big enough, unable to scale, or being a poor solution fit.?
The problem is the buyer is still left with two or three companies that have met the necessary score. Now the buyer has to make an informed decision on whom to choose. They will rely on the rational, logical information provided in writing, but equally and even more significant is how you have made them feel as a buyer.
And, as a buyer, they need more than facts. They need something else to predict the future.?
As a buyer, it's scary. They don't want to make the wrong decision. So relying on rational, objective and logical reasons will not get them there.?
The buyer needs to understand more about your proposition. Where is the nuance? How will you set it up? What wisdom have you acquired? How will you assure them you are the best bet? Do they feel confident? Are there any glaring gaps? Are they unclear? Do they see you as being organised?
As a buyer, they measure all this through your delivery style, engagement, and how you handle the questions.?
In other words, the buyer decides how they feel about those interactions and what it is telling them about you and your organisation. They need something other than the rational reasons to make a firm decision and - guess what? - you've given it to them through your pitch and, in particular, the Q&A. It becomes a proxy for what it's like to work with you.?
Your interaction beyond the written submission is what so much of the final decision is based upon in the work we do with clients. I cannot stress this enough. It's often underestimated. And instead, I see pitch teams fiddling around with slides, overanalysing the final content and doing anything to avoid rehearsing.?
They're missing the point. The client already knows you can do what you say you can do. They don't need further proof of it.?
What they want is reassurance.?
They want reassurance you are the right people to work with. The final decision is subjective - emotional, political and cultural. If you're only putting in rational information, you are missing the subjective process.?
In other words, don't leave the emotional factors out of your pitch.
Watch the accompanying video on The Win Academy Youtube Channel:
ON-DEMAND WORKSHOPS
[WATCH NOW] How to overcome the challenges of virtual selling and turn it into a serious advantage for your sales team
The world has changed, and selling will?never?be the same again. Now, we have the added complexity of selling in a virtual environment... and not everyone is thriving.
领英推荐
Many feel disadvantaged by not being able to sell face-to-face. Sales professionals and teams have a choice, either to embrace virtual selling and online pitching to excel quickly and stand out - or simply get left behind.
In the workshop, Martin Coburn and Ian Mackenzie bring their experience working in an online pitch environment over the last two years to show sales leaders and their teams how to be?more effective in delivering impactful presentations online?and increase your win rate.
Martin and Ian show you:?
Knowledge and feedback gained from working on major deals over 20/21 showed us the way forward for those wanting to succeed in the online environment. Martin and Ian will reveal practical tips and tools learned from spending hours successfully coaching pitching teams in the last 18 months.
Click here to watch on-demand and download the accompanying workbook and summary to share with your colleagues and team.
EVENTS
[Online Workshop] Challenging your customer value proposition to stay relevant, different and ahead of the customer buying curve - with Futurecurve CEO Helen Blake
30th March 2022?5pm (UK time)
The world has changed. Customers have changed. While businesses felt they knew what their customers wanted pre-COVID-19, they can’t be as confident today.
With a staggering 69% of B2B customers recently expressing a willingness to take their business elsewhere (Gallup), companies need to face the three critical challenges of changing customer behaviour, shifting values and waning customer loyalty.
Only those businesses who understand the new landscape and are committed to uncovering true customer value will survive. Not changing is not an option.
In our next Win Academy workshop, Futurecurve CEO Helen Blake joins Martin to reveal how companies can better understand customer value and build a go-to-market strategy that meets their needs.
In this workshop, you will discover:
Join Martin and Helen on 30th March at 5pm (UK time) and discover how challenging your customer value proposition will help you stay relevant, different and ahead of the customer buying curve.
Register here to secure your place.