I just finished reading Sales Pitch: How to Craft a Story to Stand Out and Win by April Dunford, and I loved it. It was direct, clear, concise, and very actionable. I loved the perspective of helping people buy vs. selling. Below are my main notes and takeaways. Intro
Helping customers buy Positioning is about why your product is best in the world at delivering something a certain type of customer cares about Why pick us over the alternatives Sales narrative Part 1 do you sell or do you help customers buy? Considered and unconsidered purchases Considered purchases very difficult as they impact many and could cost someone their job Customers much less worried about missing out than messing up Solving the how to buy problem: buyers want a guide to categorize their options and teach them how to select the right one Typical B2B software purchase Buyer is overwhelmed with choices Demo is a wind tunnel of features Buyer is nervous because stakes are high Safest choice is the easiest choice (no decision at all, status quo) Do nothing is your fiercest competitor 40-60% of processes end in no decision Emotions in B2B selling Build trust and confidence What do customers want from vendors Buyers place the most value on a rep’s teaching skills Buyers want to understand different approaches to solve their problem, pitfalls and how to avoid them, what choices available and how to choose among them Buyers are experts in pain, vendors in solutions After a purchase, customers can tell you how they use your product and what they love or hate about it and what alternatives they evaluated and why they chose you Part 2 Sales pitch principles Qualification Make sure prospect is good fit for offering Criteria like company size or revenue, technical fit, budget Before real sales call, prospect fills out form or has quick call with business development rep Discovery Buyer teaches seller about pain, problems, situation Seller teaches buyer about their point of view on problems and solutions in the space Product demos Most expect in first call Walkthrough Day in the life Highly customized When you do a product demo, always show your best Show what makes you different and better than alternatives It is impossible to differentiate yourself without addressing the alternatives If you customize your demo, do it in a second call First show what you’re best at and differentiated in general You can skip a demo in some instances Skip in first call sometimes If they did a trial or used free version Sometimes no value in showing product in isolation Differentiated value Key to focus pitch on is differentiated value Value is the answer to the question “so what” Why pick us over alternatives You can’t differentiate without addressing alternatives Explain alternatives, how to categorize them, what their strengths and weaknesses are for different types of buyers Four common approaches to storytelling in a sales pitch Job as seller is to teach customers how to confidently make purchase decision Product walkthrough Click through features and explain what they do Describe how to accomplish tasks Customized walkthrough based on prospect When does it work best When buyer highly educated or solution they use now is very similar Downside Focused on features, not value Too much time on capabilities that are not differentiating All about solution and doesn’t leave room to discuss the market To confidently choose you, buyers need to understand why alternatives can’t meet their needs Leaves no room for discount Problem/solution pitch First describe problem customer has then position product as the solution before doing demo to show how you deliver solution When works best Buyer highly educated and can translate features into business value When only competitor is status quo Downside Competitor define the problem the same way you do Focused on features, not differentiated value All about solution and data want leave room to discuss market Vision narrative You can’t sell anything if you can’t tell anything Future state of product and company’s strategy When works best When pitching investors Downsides Ignored competitors beyond status quo Gives buyers another reason to delay a decision Not centered on differentiated value Hero’s journey Hero goes on quest, learns a lesson, uses it to achieve victory, returns home transformed StoryBrand structure 7 steps Hero (customer) has a Problem and meets a Guide (you) Who gives the hero a Plan and calls them to Action which ends in Success and helps them avoid Failure When works best When primary goal to entertain and engage customer with story Customer case studies Downside Focused on execution not how to decide what action to take Concept of alternatives is missing The road to a better sales pitch structure What happens to positioning when a prospect moves from marketing to sales Marketing tells story and how product special and different Sales pitch forgets that typically and just goes into barrage of features Discovering the magic of pitching a unique point of view (how IBM does sales) Start with discussion about company’s unique point of view on the market What company perceived to be important considerations for companies looking at any solution in the market How different approaches to providing a solution stacked up Stop selling. Start helping. Setup phase of pitch that positioned product in way that mirrored how we positioned in market Structure demo to focus on differentiated value instead of contextless product walkthrough The sales pitch structure Goal of pitch is to help customers understand all their choices, the tradeoffs between each, and when to pick your solution Help prospects understand entire market, including common alternatives beyond your product and pros and cons of each mapped to their particular situation Accommodate rep’s need to do detailed discovery Help prospects understand differentiated value vs alternatives and why the unique value only you can deliver is critically important Accommodate a product demo as a natural part of narrative flow of pitch Include clear call to action for what prospect should do next Two phases Setup focuses on offering insights about market, competitive alternatives, discovery Follow through focuses on your solution for the customer and the value that only your product can deliver including demo and call to action The setup Teach prospects the market context they need to know to understand the importance of the value only you can deliver Three components Insight: frames the convo by starting with what your experience has taught you about the customer’s situation, problems, and solutions in market. Explains why your differentiated value is important to them. Alternatives: discuss what solutions exist in market today and pros/cons of each for various customers Conversational so you can do discovery here Paint picture of market and understand prospect’s current situation Perfect world: characteristics of a perfect solution for target customers. Draw on discussion about alternatives as guided by insight from first step. The follow through Focused on exposing the value only your profit can deliver to prospect Five components Introduction Introduce company and product Transition from setup part Introduce your definition market category you position yourself in Differentiated value Value only your product can deliver for a specific customer and the features that enable that value, often done with a demo Meatiest and longest part of first call Proof Show how you can deliver the value Case studies, awards, third party validation Objections Optional step to explicitly handle common objections you believe are critical to address before end of meeting Concerns around difficulty to adopt, integration, pricing Ask Recommending next step for prospect Templates at aprildunford.com/books Part 3 A great sales pitch starts with solid positioning Positioning defines your differentiated value and the target buyer for your message Five components of positioning Competitive alternatives Status quo Excel Manual processes Hire an intern Unique capabilities Capabilities of offering that alternatives don’t have Features of product Capabilities of company like professional services and special expertise Differentiated value Value your product enables for customers Answers “so what?” About the unique capabilities Save money by reducing x or speed time to market by doing y Best fit customers Definition of target account that is a good fit Firmographic info: company size, revenue, number of employees Rest of their software stack Aspects of their team Market category Answer to the question “what is it” How the positioning components work together Preparing your positioning before building your sales pitch What are you positioning and pitching If you sell multiple products, focus will depend on sales process and what you usually try to sell first to a new account Full company pitch in first call and do discovery to determine which products to focus on beyond that convo Who is your audience 5-8 people involved in decision Key is finding champion Possible roles Economic buyer holds budget and ultimate approval Champion tasked with figuring out what product to buy, making a shortlist, evaluating, getting buy-in, and making a purchase recommendation End users involved in proof of concept, can stop a deal, and critical post sale IT dept: can stop a deal if doesn’t meet requirements Legal and purchasing: can stop a purchase if doesn’t meet requirements Sell to your champion First convince champion Then arm champion with info to handle objections from other stakeholders Worry about other stakeholders after champion convinced Determining and documenting the positioning components Competitive alternatives Two types Status quo: what current customers were doing before they adopted your product Direct: products that buyers put on shortlist of solutions during a purchase proces Don’t need to position against competitors prospects don’t know about. Only focus on those that appear in shortlists. Unique capabilities List of capabilities you have that competitors don’t Features of product Features of company (pricing model, professional services, integrations) Start with most common competitor and work down list to least common Differentiated value Value that only your product provides For each feature in list of differentiated, ask so what and why does customer care and what value does it enable for business Cluster into 3 or fewer value themes Best fit customers Which customers care a lot about that value? Firmographics and other companies things specific to solution like rest of tech stack Market category Context you position products in Does the category point customers toward my value? Capture and review your positioning Summarize in one page format Template on her site What if product hadn’t launched yet Create positioning thesis and later validate or adjust Positioning will change over time Review a couple times a year Changes in landscape, competitors, buyer behavior Mapping positioning components to sales pitch Insight: combine differentiated value and best for customers. Critical concepts your best fit customers need to be aware of to understand why your unique value matters. Alternatives maps directly Perfect world: maps to differentiated value. Define purchase criteria for customers you sell to. Introduction: introduce product using market category Differentiated value: maps directly to differentiated value and unique capabilities. Demonstrate value only you can deliver and show the features that enable that value. Proof: proof you can deliver the value you say you can Objections and ask: not from positioning Part 4 Constructing sales pitch storyboard Bringing a team together to work on the pitch Cross functional Sales, marketing, product, customer success, founders Build a storyboard first Overall flow and concepts first then fill in details later Step 1 insight Start with market insight that makes your differentiated value important to customers Immediately establishes credibility as experienced and knowledgeable Frames customer situation that orients toward your differentiated value and nobody else’s Sets up discussion with prospect about overall market Insight = the problem inside the problem Problems aren’t unique. Insights are. Reverse engineer it from your differentiated value and why it matters Your insight should point to your value How to determine your insight Consider the point of view of your best fit customers What do your best fit prospects need to know to understand why your unique value is important to them Your unique insight into the market is what leads you to build a product that is different and better than the alternatives Insight doesn’t need to be complex One slide, 1-2 min Step 2 alternatives Talk about completion as different approaches to the problem How should your customers think about their options Position yourself against the fearsome status quo Excel Consider direct competitors but only if they land on a prospect’s shortlist Don’t give buyer reasons to do more research or delay a decision Group competitors into approaches Help buyer make sense of their options We don’t compete with companies or products. We compete with approaches. Grouping competitors helps your customers understand your value Breaking up approaches into groups shows gap that you fill Should you call out competitors by name? Generally prefer not to name competitors unless guaranteed to be on shortlist Don’t give reason to research more Rep can ask at this step what other solutions they are considering It’s okay to position a competitor in a way they would disagree with as long as you believe that it’s objectively true Discovery is a conversation not a lecture Position competitors where they really land in market Your role is to be informed guide who has customer’s best interest at heart Outline pros and cons of each alternative for different customers Table of approach, pros, cons This is a discovery conversation not a lecture Do discovery in alternatives step Both learning about customer situation and teaching them about the market How are you handling this today? How is that approach working for you? What other solutions are you looking at? Practical tips Table with comparisons Picture with different alternatives mapped onto four by four grid Don’t spend too much time Step 3 the perfect world Clearly state what you believe the purchase criteria should be for a solution Perfect solution would have upsides of all alternatives and no downsides Perfect solution should map to your differentiated value Getting aligned on your point of view on the market Reiterate the insight you shared in step 1 and conclusions you can draw from the pros and cons of alternatives in step 2 “We know that (category) is incredibly important for (industry). In a perfect world, you would have a (category) tool that is as (upside of alternative 1) but is also (upside of alternative 2) all without the (downside of either). Right?” Ask “right?” At end to get customer to agree or tell you different If they disagree, they are not qualified to buy from you If they agree, they have chosen the value only you can deliver All that’s left is to show how your solution delivers the value. They also agreed alternatives can’t meet their needs Deal now is yours to lose from this point forward Practical tips Move on quickly if customer agrees Setup part of pitch done in 5-10 min Step 4 the introduction Switch focus from market to your solution Introduce company and solution Position your entire company, the products you offer, and the particular product this pitch is focused on and how it fits in the overall portfolio Diagram showing pieces of solution Diagram showing where solution fits into prospect’s existing tech stack Family diagram, platform diagram, marketecture diagram (see her site for examples) Family diagram Multi product companies All products in family and how fit together Platform diagram Range of functionality included in platform Marketecture How solution fits in with everything else Move on quickly from this step after light intro Step 5 differentiated value Helping customers understand the value only you can deliver should be the centerpiece Scripted demo with slides Demo and slides Slide that introduces the value themes Detailed demo that walks through key features that support each theme Back to slide to reiterate themes Demo only Not a product walkthrough We deliver a combination of Value A, Value B, and Value C to our customers Let’s start with Value A. Here are the features that deliver that. Next let’s move to Value B. Here are the features that deliver that. Lastly we have Value C: here’s how we do that Slides only Ok if product hard to demo or doesn’t make sense in first call before a customized demo Practical tips Keep security and compliance capabilities or things that aren’t differentiated to objection handling step Step 6 proof Ways to prove a value point Customer case study Third party verification Certification Statistics validated by customers Customer quotes Quotes or reviews from industry analysts Industry research or survey results from third parties Awards Practical tips Use case studies that reflect the situation of the prospect (similar companies) Facts tell, but stories sell Step 7 objections Optional step Some objections may be crucial to address in first meeting whether or not the customer has raised them Examples This sounds difficult to deploy We have a dedicated team that will help you with deployment. Here’s what a typical deployment schedule looks like and it usually takes two weeks. The price is likely too high for us and we aren’t sure we have the budget This is the way our pricing model works and what this would look like for three different types of customers. We can give you a specific quote for your situation whenever you are ready. Getting end users to adopt this will be difficult We have a dedicated training team that will work with you to get users on boarded. Here’s what some of our customers have to say about user onboarding. Here’s what a typical onboarding schedule look like. It usually takes two weeks. We don’t want everything now, just pieces of it Our platform is modular and it isn’t uncommon that customers want to start small and grow with us. Here’s how those steps usually look over time. Anything we adopt needs to be compliant with certain regulations or anything we adopt needs to integrate with our existing infrastructure We are currently compliant with all regulations necessary for a solution like this, and we would be happy to walk your technical team through this. We integrate easily with your current infrastructure through our well documented API. Most deployments take about two weeks for integration work. Our services team can help plan how best to do that, And we would be happy to talk to your technical team about how that would work Helping customers understand how to move forward Address potential objections about deployment and change management Professional services help, training, onboarding assistance, hands on technical support Specific timelines for deployment “We know that switching providers for a solution like this is never easy so we make it as seamless as possible to get started with us. Our clients often start with a small initial deployment. Our team can help you define what the requirements would be and usually we can get a client like you up and running in as little as a week.” “Most of our clients find it helpful to start with a proof of concept where you can get a feel for how our solution works with your data. We can easily migrate your data into our system for you in as little as a day and we don’t need the assistance of your IT department.” “Some clients worry about how our system would work with your existing tools. We have a set of prebuilt integrations that cover most tools teams like yours use. We also have an API that allows for custom integrations.” “We know that you operate in a regulated industry so our solution is SOC2 and ISO 27001 certified. We have worked with X, Y, and Z corporations and satisfied their compliance and security requirements so we are sure we can satisfy yours. We often find it helpful to meet directly with the IT team at some point to help them understand the depth of our Security posture.” Practical tips Only bring up objections you have good answer to Step 8 the ask Be deliberate about how conversation ends Embrace role as guide helping buyer through the purchase process Ask depends on the best next step in your purchase process Proof of concept example Who needs to be involved with a POC? Do we need to set up an additional meeting with those folks? Are there other steps that need to be taken (sign NDA, complete security review, etc.)? How to get those steps completed? Other examples: custom demo in front of wider group of stakeholders, free trial, prepare detailed quote, ask for the sale Sometimes the next step is for the customer to look elsewhere Ideally won’t even get to this point and would be disqualified earlier Practical tips Be consistent about your ask after the first call Now storyboard of pitch is done Next step is to construct a deck, a demo, and a script that reflects this storyline and test it Translating storyboard into pitch Where and how to use slides, demo, script Joint effort between marketing and sales Do you need standard deck and script? Yes even for startups Don’t sell life insurance. Sell what life insurance can do. Standard script endures everyone tells best story each time Makes onboarding new reps easier Need standard script to measure what’s working and not Can be word by word story or bullet points but need to stick to same structure and content and points Mature sales orgs recertify experienced reps by having them pitch to sales executive to ensure the story remains consistent regular checkins and reviews Slides versus conversation Step 1 insight: usually a slide or multiple slides Step 2 alternatives: simple table Give key pros and cons of each solution in bullet points to reps plus a set of questions to work into discovery conversation Step 3 perfect world: conclusion to discovery conversation. Slide to reiterate several points Step 4 intro: slide with graphic to introduce your he offering like a suite or platform or everything a company delivers Step 5 differentiated value: demo or slides with screenshots then customized demo later in sales process If use demo, then needs to follow value themes Slide to intro value themes, run the demo, wrap up with slide to reiterate value themes again Should script the demo in full detail so new rep can use without help from sales engineer Step 6 proof: case study, logo slide, sparklers like awards Step 7 objections: slide or scripted talk track for rep Step 8 ask: slide or scripted discussion Part 5 Testing and launching the sales pitch Testing the pitch Limited test before roll out to entire sales team Start with one rep, someone the team respects Once trained, they can test on real qualified prospects Test, discuss, iterate within limits Folks who created the pitch should listen to each call rep is doing After every call, team should compare notes on what did and did not work Where was prospect getting lost? Where was prospect excited? Were there questions that might indicate there was something confusing in pitch? Make small tweaks not to core of pitch to not invalidate test Pass/fail criteria Look at sales metrics like funnel conversion rates Ask for feedback from rep New pitch is validated when Rep feels the pitch no longer needs further refinement or iteration The rep decided to use the new pitch because it is better than the old one they have lots of experience with and may have bias towards using We don’t know if we have the best story possible, but we know if it’s better than the old one If test fails Two causes Sales team not involved enough Positioning is weak Read obviously awesome Rolling new pitch out to sales team Video of rep doing a pitch plus Q&A Practice pitches Test on pitch by someone on sales leadership team Who owns the sales pitch? Owned by someone who owns positioning and sales pitch Product marketing function Common mistakes Insight that isn’t unique Common industry trend not unique Insight should be unique and differentiated Lack of discovery Step 2 alternatives natural place to ask discovery questions Spending too much time on setup Should not take more than 10 min Bulk of time on differentiated value Weak or undifferentiated value themes The customer’s perception is your reality Need value that’s very differentiated Proof that doesn’t match the prospect’s situation Case study should be in similar industry or show similar use case An ask that’s too complicated Give prospect a next step that’s easy to say yes to Rolling out the sales pitch and then forgetting about it New reps need to be trained to do pitch properly Training materials Test and certification at end before they pitch to prospects Pitch should not be warping over time Regular checkins and scheduled pitch recertifications Pitch gets updated as needed When major shifts happen in offerings or product landscape, update pitch Using sales pitch story beyond sales calls Incorporate story into marketing, website Explainer video Use sales pitch structure for video to share unique insight Buyer’s guide Marketing content Lead gen content Purchase criteria Checklists of features a buyer should look for When and why they should look for those features Insight from sales pitch in buyer’s guide How certain features map to value for them Which customers should include what features in their purchasing criteria Telling the story using the product itself, including onboarding, tutorials, help Product led sales motion Assisted walkthroughs tell story Differentiated value and how product delivers it should be made obvious to prospects during onboarding and initial experiences with product Visual elements Product suite Company portfolio How we fit in your current infrastructure illustration Workflow graphic showing a particular use case highlighting value point like saves time or eliminates manual processes Example visuals in book website A well told story is a gift to the reader because it teaches them to confront their own discomforts Conference talk Insight from pitch is a good topic Research, white papers Sponsor or conduct research to explore themes of market insight Yearly research to track trends and adoption of solutions in market Can repurpose into blog posts, social media content Book Content marketing Graphic novel Ebook Conclusion Buying is hard Do nothing is the most fearsome competitor you have If customers cannot confidently make a decision, they just won’t make one Sales pitch is special Great sales pitch starts with company’s unique insight into market Help customers understand their options and they will be better informed to make decisions confidently No need to bash competition Differentiated value is the star of the show Value more important than features References The JOLT effect Building a StoryBrand Inbound marketing
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