The perfect pitch- Essential small business skills
Pitching, it’s a key skill for small business owners, salespeople and anyone looking to build their career. But where do you start? What makes a great pitch? How do you stand out in people’s minds? And if pitching isn’t a natural skill to you, how do you get better?
This is the second blog in our pitching series, for all our pitching basics check out our “Knock their socks off- How to introduce yourself and create an impression” blog here
Understand your audience
Understanding your audience is an essential element of pitching. Start by putting yourself in your audience’s (or ideal audience’s) shoes. Remember you may need to change your pitch to suit multiple audiences
- Who is the ideal audience for this pitch? Think about the buyer persona including where they live, their age, sex, interests and what they do with their time
- What do they need from you?
- Why are they attracted to your business?
- What makes you different?
- What are their problems and how can you solve them?
- How much time do you have?
Now that you understand your audience you can begin planning your pitch.
Your Pitch Introduction
Your introduction is your chance to engage your audience, remember you may only have a few moments to get their attention. Set the scene early, highlight who you are and how you are the solution to their problem(s).
Details are boring
Remember that although your business, product or service may be incredibly interesting to you, the details aren’t important to your audience. Explain to your audience only what they need to know.
Focus on your points of difference
In every pitch it is important to highlight the benefits of your business, product or service. Highlight each key benefit or difference individually and if you have time explain further.
Talk about the problem(s) you solve
Every person has problems and every product, service or business is a solution to a customer problem. Your product may save your customers time or money, help with something they cannot do themselves, or may help your clients comply with legal requirements. Whatever problem (or problems) you solve should be clear in your pitch. Whether you are pitching to investors, clients or employees your customer problems should be the forefront of your marketing and pitching efforts.
Get to the why
The why of your pitch is where it all comes together. Why should the customer choose you? Why should the investor give you the capital? And why are you different from every other product and service provider on the market?
Wrap it up
While the hook or introduction will get people listening, wrapping up your pitch is key to your audience remembering you. Summarise your pitch as concisely as possible, practice makes perfect here look at your ending and delete any unnecessary details, this is the perfect place to highlight your business’ tagline and your last opportunity to highlight why you are the best.
We created the handy worksheet below to help you work on your pitch. Don’t forget to share your pitch with us on social media, we love seeing what you come up with!
