3 Sales Mistakes Affecting Your Pitch to Strike Ratio

BY Rachel Cagle
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Is your pitch to strike ratio lacking? How many times have you finished a great pitch to a prospect and anxiously waited by the phone or computer for a sales decision only to never have them contact you again? You may be tempted to blame the prospect in disappointing cases such as these. However, according to Henry Canaday, writing for SellingPower, a poor pitch to strike ratio is likely the direct result of missteps on your part during your sales pitches.

According to Canaday, there are a few things that may be negatively affecting your pitch to strike ratio.

You Didn’t Address Why Your Prospects Should Make a Change

The first influencer of pitch to strike ratios is value. Prospects will only make a purchase from you when they know for sure how it will benefit them. Who wants to spend money on something that only has a possibility of working for them? During your sales pitch, did you give your prospect specific examples of how your product or service will help them achieve one of their goals? Did you have them consider the consequences of putting off making this potentially crucial change until later? If your prospect knows why they should make a change, they’ll likely do make it as soon as they are able to do so.

You Didn’t Make Yourself Stand Out

Hopefully you know who your competitors are in your field. You know their products and services, as well as their offers’ strengths and weaknesses and how your products and offers compare. But did this knowledge of differences get transferred to your prospects who have likely also been approached by your competition? While you should never trash talk your competition during a sales pitch, you can work in a few sentences about how your product or service compares to others in the industry in general. Also, highlight the benefits of working with you as a person. You as a salesperson may be the deciding factor in a sale, and therefore a huge impactor of your pitch to strike ratio. If your prospects like you as a person and your competitor hasn't had as much like in the likability department, it's obvious which direction they're going to go.

They’re Afraid of an Associated Risk

Most changes in business come with an associated risk. Did your sales pitch address your prospect’s hesitations? When you know what your prospect’s worries are, you can talk them through each one until they are comfortable moving forward. It’s also a good idea to tell a few stories of clients of yours who were in similar positions before they made a purchase from you and how well they’re doing now.

Improving Your Pitch to Strike Ratio

If you're guilty of making any of these mistakes, your pitch to strike ratio probably isn't too stellar right now. This not only weighs on your sales numbers, but also the safety of your position at your company. Pay attention to how you address these three topics to even the score going forward.


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