Justin Cohen‘s book, Pitch to Win: How to Present, Persuade and Close the Deal, offers a guide to South African entrepreneurs for selling both themselves and their businesses.
Cohen, who is considered an expert in pitching for business, is an international speaker who trains people in the fields of motivation, sales, customer service and leadership.
The book explores the fundamentals of pitching including the mindset of winners, the importance of non-verbal communication and the power of the storytelling. There are also step-by-step guidelines to follow for activities like drafting a script.
From the first chapter of the book, “Tune In”, here are Cohen’s top 10 Quotes to help you put together a winning pitch.
1. Know Your Potential Client’s Needs
“The pitch is generally won before the pitch. It’s won (based on) how well you understand what the people you’re pitching to really want and need, so that you can tailor your pitch accordingly.”
2. Find Out Their Pain Points
“I use the first part of the meeting to figure out the client’s objectives.”
3. Understand that Every Person You Pitch to is Different
“For some it may be more about the return; for others about disrupting an industry.”
4. Remember, it’s Not About You
“The businesses you pitch to don’t really care about you, your company or your list of features and benefits. They care about themselves. Where you and your offering can help them meet those needs, that’s where they’re interested.”
5. Do Your Research
Besides looking up on Google about the business or person you’re pitching to, Cohen suggest that “if you have any mutual connections, call them up to see what other information you can find.”
6. Ask Purposeful Questions
“The best way to do (highlight the problem of the client) that is to get them to discover the problem themselves by asking the right questions.”
7. Build a Connection
“The more they feel that you really understand who they are and what they want, the more likely you are to win.”
8. Practice Power Listening
“Paraphrase back what you’ve heard.”
9. Use Small Talk
“Small talk is a good steppingstone to big talk.”
10. Don’t Believe the Misconceptions about Salespeople
“Salespeople are not extroverts or introverts… (they can) listen as well as they can talk.”
See also: How to Come Back from a Failed Sales Pitch
- Pitch to Win: How to Present, Persuade and Close the Deal is available at book stores countrywide and on the Justin Cohen website.
