“On a good day, your customers are distracted by text messages e-mails, and phone calls, and on a bad day, they are impossible to reach. If you’ve been in business for more than 10 minutes, you have figured this much out: The better you are at keeping someone’s attention, the more likely that person will be to go for your idea.” – p. 6, Pitch Anything: An Innovative Method for Presenting, Persuading, and Winning the Deal, by: Oren Klaff
When a potential customer reaches out to you, especially someone you don’t know, you’ll probably be nervous at first because you think you’ll have to sell that customer on you and your service. At this stage of the sales process, however, your job is to listen, so you must curb your desire to talk too much.
Your potential customers are only interested in buying what they think they need or want — not what you want to sell. Let them communicate everything they want to communicate about their needs, especially what they’re interested in buying.
All you have to do with your pitch is to demonstrate how your business provides what that person needs or wants, which you should be able to do if you listen closely to them.
If you and your business are the right fit, you will begin a relationship with that customer that could have a lasting impact for all the reasons mentioned in earlier chapters.
If you and your business aren’t the right fit, be honest. You can’t serve everyone, so get into the habit of saying no and then referring to other businesses that might be a better fit. While your potential customer might be disappointed, they will appreciate your honesty.
Takeaway: Pitch only what the potential customer is asking for as long as it’s something you offer and nothing more.