Sell me this pen.

If you think selling is all about showing up for the meeting, in a nicely ironed suit and presenting your product with flowery adjectives like fast, innovative, state-of-the-art, unique and the best the market has ever seen, my friends you are in the wrong profession!

The real art of selling is anything but selling.

You have a great product that you want your prospects to buy. This product could be anything from a physical product to an idea or even yourself. The trick is to play the prospect and not your offering.

Now, you'll see a lot of articles online that talk about the best ways to sell. And 100% of them revolve around selling a story. Fine! I get it! I need to sell the story. I have a great story! But, can anyone tell me how can I make an impact that makes my customers go weeeeeee?

Here are 5 scientifically proven tricks that can help you elevate your perfect sales pitch. Fasten your seat belts, this list is going to sky-rocket your career:

• Always start with a bang!

Everybody loves a pleasant conversation that starts with a compliment. A smile, a firm handshake, a great compliment and a little something to lighten the mood is all it takes for a prospect to go from "Damn, another sales guy..." to "Boy, I like his style!" Now, confidence is good, but make sure you do not start on the wrong foot. Be positive. The glass is always half full!

• Don't self-sabotage.

The biggest crime a sales guy can commit is speaking ill of a competitor. You're both here to run the show and have your own methods of doing so. Speaking ill of a competitor creates a negative impact on the minds of the prospect. While according to you the competition may lack in product capabilities, you clearly show that you lack integrity. And yeah, stay away from gossips. I mean, do you really want to spend time during your sales pitch discussing one of your competitors? You might as well close the deal for them!

• Have awesome labels

The person sitting opposite to you may not be the brightest in the room. He may have been a pain in your ass and ignoring your meeting requests ever since, but he certainly deserves some respect. Use of power words like intelligent, smart and amazing can help your prospect feel proud (what in sales terms we commonly refer to as ego-massaging). There is a fine line between using labels and apple polishing. Be genuine and true in your labels. Always make your prospects feel that it is your pleasure in doing business with them and build a healthy relationship based on positive attributes.

• Use your body

Actions speak louder than words and rightfully so. Do you know that you can have 2 parallel conversations with a single person: one through speech and the other through body language? Having the right body language can elevate the intensity of your verbal communication. It can show interest or disinterest and even help you anticipate the rebuttals if any. A strong body-language and appropriate use of gestures can help you increase the chances of sales conversions.

• End on a high note

Now, you've just started your sales journey and there is a high chance that your pitch did not go as expected. What do you do? Excuse yourself and run away? Accept the 'NO' from your prospect and spend the entire night thinking about what you could have done better? While introspection is good, you have closed the door on the prospect forever. Prospects always associate the pitch by the way you end the meeting. Always end on a high note. Ending meetings by giving the prospects something to remember you by, will always have a more positive recall despite your pitch gone bad.

Having said that, I want to share a secret with you. I was a sales guy myself. I've been in both B2B and B2C sales scenarios. I never ever sold a product to my clients. I never sold them dreams, I never sold them stories. I've always networked with them. I've built relationships with them which last longer than just this one product. You've just started your career and you have a long way to go. Building your network is the next big thing for your career.

ProTip: In every call and/or every meeting, there is a sale happening. Either you sell your product to the client or he sells you the idea why he does not need it!

So, the next time someone asks you to sell him a pen, remember the pen should be the last thing that pops up in the conversation!

PS: If you need help in building the perfect sales pitch, read more on the PURPLE approach to B2B Sales!

And if you need help in prospecting, read more on the BlockChain approach to B2B Sales!

Hope this helps :)