No matter who you are or how long you have been at it, sales pitches are tough.
As with many B2B sectors, the ideal and successful sales pitch for IT support services is a little bit of art, and a little bit of science. A good pitch for IT services requires a hook, a human connection, an ability to summarize, and so much more, all within a matter of moments.
Most importantly, it’s crucial to strike a balance between driving sales and not sounding too ‘salesy.’
The former will fail to emphasize the urgency of your pitch and tank your sale.
The latter, well, we have been trained for decades to disengage and tune out overly salesy content.
Here are some actionable steps for crafting a dynamite IT services sales pitch for your business.
Key strategies to use for effective sales pitches
Crafting the perfect sales deck
‘It’s OK to just fly by the seat of your pants’, said no successful salesperson ever.
Let’s talk about the key notes to hit when crafting your sales deck.
Long before you pick up the phone, ensure your research is in place.
Next, sketch out your pitch as follows:
- You will briefly provide a value proposition
- You will briefly tell them why your product is unique
- You will briefly (sense a theme here?) provide a company mission, framed as a brand story that ends in your company providing them with the solutions they need
- Along the way, add social proof and customer testimonials; if they are individuals or businesses that the prospect is familiar with, so much the better.
Now that we have outlined your sales deck, be aware that there are creative ways you can — and should — hit these points.
Here are some strategies to disrupt both popular notions and common missteps inherent within the traditional sales pitch structure, to better your chance of making lots of sales.
The human connection
We want to take the classic idea of the baseball ‘pitch’ — i.e., hurling a bunch of information one-way at your prospect like a fastball, and toss it in the proverbial ballpark garbage can.
Instead, connect with them on a human level right away, putting them off the idea of disengaging from your call. “How are you doing today?” works wonders. Meaning it sincerely? Even better.
Keep your introduction concise and to the point
You do not have a lot of time to keep a busy executive decision-maker on the phone: usually 15 seconds or less.
The backstory — be it your product history, team details, and so on — is available online, and the prospect has either reviewed this information or will following your call. Rather, skip ahead as quickly as you can to the purpose of your call.
Exude confidence in your product
Back to the human element of sales: key among the unspoken qualities is the confidence you have in your product. This comes from a genuine belief in your product and your business — and it should be obvious in your tone, body language, and energy.
It also comes from knowing your business, your product, your competitors, and your prospect’s pain points inside out.
It also comes from avoiding doubtful, wishy-washy language, such as ‘I hope,’ ‘maybe you can…’ and so on. Do not plant the seed of doubt in their head, and you’ll see much more success.
Keep your conversation solutions-based
In the sales call, you are speaking with a person who is dealing with a complex assortment of issues, perhaps one of which your IT support services can solve.
Many IT support solutions might optimize a process or solve a problem that your audience is not aware of yet. So focus on solving your customers’ problems with your product, and not the features of your product. If you are not aware of your customer’s pain points, then familiarize yourself with them long before you pick up the phone.
Throughout your call, really listen to what they are saying, and focus on the idea of helping them through each problem in real time.
For example:
- ‘Here’s how we/our product can help you with that current/future problem
- ‘Here’s how we/our product can optimize team time usage…’
- ‘Here’s how we/our product can save overhead and increase your ROI through…’
This approach will this sustain and enforce the human connection. Moreover, by directly addressing real problems posed by the customer, and building your case gently and firmly through emphasizing value, you will make a sale a more inevitable conclusion.
How to write introductory (cold) email messages
Not making a phone call and opting for an email instead? No problem!
Touch on the following points:
- Experiment with content to see what works — and what doesn’t! The tech industry changes all the time, and new IT & MSP solutions appear along with it; you’ll never know quite what will pique the fancy of your key decision-makers.
- Subject headings are important: make it personal by including their first names
- Keep the message and tone conversational throughout
- Include a graphic to break up the text. Break up the text with a visually pleasing infographic or video that will bring your potentially complex and abstract-seeming IT solution to your decision maker.
- Have a strong CTA leading to a landing page, both of which will be indispensable to driving click-throughs.
Even through a cold sales email, you can make a connection through pithy, conversational content and use optimized MSP marketing strategies to turn eyeballs into website engagement — and possibly sales.
Crafting an airtight sales pitch for your IT support service business is likely very daunting, but following the above steps while keeping the human connection in mind will heighten your chances of making a sale.
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