How many pitches have you done to sell your products or services only to be crushed with a rejection? In the world of B2B it never happens that way. It’s often a ‘we’ll think about it’ or a ‘we’ll get back to you”. What I call a “soft no”. Well, if you and your sales team are deluding yourselves that there’s still a chance it could become a go, as my coach says “if it’s not a yes, it’s a no”. At least for now.
Sales Pitch to a Crush
Since I live in the world of sales pitches–creating them for myself and for my clients, I was delighted by a pitch presentation that went viral from Lizzy Fenton who made a powerpoint presentation selling herself as a viable girlfriend to a college crush and emailed it to him.
Here are the things I loved about this presentation that I wish businesses knew how to do as well as her:
Pitching To The Buyer’s Pain
Sick of your family nagging? Monogamy Not your style? Lizzy started the pitch by talking about her target’s problems. She talked about herself only in the context of being a solution to those problems.
The ‘Why Me’ Part of the Pitch
Even when Lizzy talks about why her crush Carter should choose her to be his girlfriend, she talks about HIS reasons (boob growth!) not hers. When you’re pitching, I always advise “have self-amnesia” and stop talking about your company, your product or your service.
Humour
The best part of any sales pitch of course, is the humour. Look at how Lizzy’s put a caption of a text message asking her parents for money as proof of her financial viability. Also great to see her ‘testimonials’ from relevant thought leaders that Carter would respect including Channing Tatum, his ex and his Mom! Hilarious.
Advertising Is the Cost Of Being Boring
34K likes and 22K shares later, Lizzy Fenton is a superstar. She didn’t have to spend a dime on buying Google Ad words or billboards. She’s been featured in the media repeatedly, months after the fateful email went out. What content are you putting out there that is relevant and interesting and freaking hilarious instead of paying through the nose for expensive advertising?
The Crushing Rejection
Unfortunately Lizzy got shot down but hopefully her exposure helped in other ways! This is also a lesson for us in Sales. We hardly ever hear a response like Carter’s. It would literally save billions for companies if prospects actually did lay it on the line like this. Cruel? Yes. Helpful? Absolutely!
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