Over time, sales reps can settle into habits, especially when doing demos or discovery calls. During these important aspects of the sales process, reps may unknowingly fall into bad habits and could benefit from perfect pitch sales training. To remedy this, consider the advice from a recent Sales Hacker article by Dave Kennett. His experience has shown him the benefits of replacing bad habits with good when pitching. “As the CEO of an On-​Demand Inside Sales Coaching Company, I review literally hundreds of hours of recorded discovery and demo calls,” he writes. “As you might guess, my team and I have picked up on the subtle and surprising patterns followed by successful inside sales reps.”

He goes on to share his observations about what high-​performing reps do and how you can integrate these habits into your own process. If you have trouble with any of these practices, ask your manager to sign you up for perfect pitch sales training. 

Fewer Slides, More Demo

Engage your audience without reverting to stale, monotonous slideshows. Sure, slides can be an easy, efficient way to get across information, especially at the beginning. But slides shouldn’t be the highlight of your pitch. Make the most of the prospect’s time by getting to the actual demo. Kennett uses a great analogy to make his point: 

“Imagine walking onto a car lot to buy a car and getting whisked away by the salesperson to watch a boring 25-​minute PowerPoint before looking at the car, which is sitting just 20 feet away from him.

That wouldn’t happen, right? Why not? Because you would be thinking, ‘Just show me the car!’” 

Be thoughtful and intentional with your choice of slides and don’t keep a prospect waiting to see your product or service in action. 

Perfect Pitch Sales Training

While you're deciding which slides to show during your presentation, you also need to know what to say. A good perfect pitch sales training course can help you learn to listen well during discovery. You can use some of the trigger words that a prospect mentioned during your pitch. When you combine that strategy with a compelling story, your prospect will pay attention.

Make Meaningful Check-ins

Whether pitching remotely or in-​person, check in with your audience. It’s easy to get caught up in the pitch, especially if it’s one you could do in your sleep. But consciously pick moments to pause and make sure the prospect is following. This not only ensures comprehension, but also helps you engage directly with the prospect. Kennett reports that all of the best-​performing reps intermittently check in to make sure their audience is on the same page. 

Reinvigorate your pitch process and rid it of old bad habits (and replace them with good ones!). Even if your perfect pitch sales training encourages you to work outside of your comfort zone, Kennett encourages you to make an effort to adapt and make the effort to up your selling game. 

Sales manager training products are also available from SalesFuel.