The Perfect Sales Pitch: Examples and Best Practices

Buyer’s today do their research. A recent study shows that 96% of prospects research companies and products before engaging with a sales rep. What does this mean for your sales pitch? It’s not enough to regurgitate key points from your website or speak to widely available data.

As a seller, you need to position your offering in a way that truly resonates with the buyer’s pain points. To do that, you need to understand their business, their needs, your competition, and a myriad of other factors. But it’s easier said than done. Forrester highlights a striking gap: 73% of sales reps don’t quite grasp their client’s business needs, and only 27% of buyers believe that sales reps have adequate knowledge of their business.

With so much of the buyer’s journey happening digitally, sellers are in a unique position to make their pitch as meaningful as possible, reducing purchasing regret and increasing customer retention.

Delivering a compelling sales pitch is both an art and a science. In this blog you’ll discover the most important components of an effective sales pitch, best practices, as well as sales pitch examples for different scenarios.

What Is a Sales Pitch?

A sales pitch is a quick, punchy presentation to showcase your product or service’s value, often done in under two minutes. You might pitch over a call, in a cold email, during a meeting, at networking events, or even in an elevator. Hence the term, elevator pitch.

Main Components of a Sales Pitch

What should you say in a sales pitch? A lot of this depends on the audience and your research. Regardless of channel and exact words, every successful sales pitch has six main components.

• Hook: Start strong by capturing attention. This could be a provocative question, an intriguing fact, a mention of a mutual interest, or a straightforward assertion that respects their time. Try these samples on your next sales call:
  • Curious about boosting your revenue?
  • Did you know that 60% of CEOs feel…?
  • I noticed you’re also into [shared interest]—small world!
  • Here’s the scoop—no time wasted.
  • Great seeing you at [event]!
• Problem: Identify and articulate the key challenges your prospect is facing. Make it relatable. For example, “Are your sales enablement processes inconsistent?”
• Value proposition: Clarify the unique benefits of your product or service. Say something like, “Our solution gets new employees onboarded in half the time, boosting your team’s productivity.”
• Solutions: Detail how your product solves the identified problems. “Imagine this—our solution integrates into your existing system, making your workflow a breeze.”
• Social proof: Back up your claims with evidence. David Hoffeld, in The Science of Selling: Proven Strategies to Make Your Pitch, Influence Decisions, and Close the Deal, explains that using social proof assures prospects that buying your product is safe. For example, consider mentioning something like: “I have a client in your industry that has revolutionized its sales training and onboarding processes. How about I send you their case study?”
• Clear call-to-action: Conclude with a clear next step, such as suggesting a meeting time or asking for a response, to maintain momentum and encourage further sales engagement.
  • “Would you be interested in exploring ways to boost your revenue together?”
  • “How about a quick chat to dive deeper into this?”
  • “I’d love to connect and discuss this further. What does your schedule look like next week?”
  • “Got a minute to explore some exciting opportunities?”
  • “Could we grab a quick call next Tuesday to talk about this?”

How to Craft the Best Sales Pitch?

Create a great sales pitch with solid research, focusing on the customer, weave in storytelling, and add value. This will make all the difference in your sales process. With proper preparation, your sales pitch will hit the mark, truly resonate, and set you apart from the competition.

Here’s how to build a compelling pitch that speaks to your prospects:

1. Do Your Homework and Research

Many buyers feel that salespeople don’t understand their needs. Take the time to research their company, and check LinkedIn or other social media platforms for common interests and current challenges. You must find the problems and then solve them. Dig into how they make purchase decisions, who is involved, the obstacles they face, and your role in the entire process.

2. Frame It Around the Customer’s Needs

Center your pitch around what matters most to the customer and demonstrate how your solution addresses these needs. Make it all about them rather than your product.

Consider using a solution selling or consultative selling approach, which focuses on building customer relationships and providing value.

3. Tell a Story

“Stories are remembered up to 22 times more than facts alone,” Stanford professor Jennifer Aaker said. Use storytelling to capture attention early and make your pitch memorable. Start with a compelling hook, weave in a narrative highlighting the problem and solution, and use visual aids to enhance your story.

4. Personalize Your Sales Pitch

Don’t use a generic sales pitch because 71% of consumers expect companies to deliver personalized interactions, while 76% get frustrated when this doesn’t happen. While most reps use CRM or automation tools or work off a base pitch template, that template should change based on how you are delivering your pitch and who it’s going to, whether it’s a CMO, VP, or head of legal. This will show that you care and have done your homework.

5. Connect Your Pitch to Stats and Data

We did say that buyers like stories but try to weave credibility in using supporting data, stats, customer stories, and testimonials. Use these stats to back up how your company is an expert in an area that provides value. This is a great way to gain credibility and build trust.

6. Switch Up Your Sales Pitch

Keep your pitch dynamic using different styles, such as beginning with a question, using one word, or catchy subject lines. This variation helps maintain the prospect’s interest and can make your message more engaging. You might find one style that works best after testing them out.

7. Appeal to Emotions

Understand your prospects’ motivations and concerns. Craft your pitch to resonate with what you find by using buyer psychology and appeal to buyer personas using psychological triggers like social proof, authority, scarcity, and reciprocity.

8. Keep Pitch Length in Mind

Adapt the length of your pitch to fit the communication method, whether it’s a quick email, a cold call, or a more extended sales presentation. Sales email pitches should be concise, typically under 200 words, while calls should only be a few minutes of engaging dialogue—as short as an elevator ride—to maintain attention without overwhelming prospective clients.

A study by Constant Contact found that emails with around 20 lines of text and three or fewer images achieve the highest click-through rates. Similarly, TED Talks limit presentations to 18 minutes to keep audiences engaged. You can convey your message without compromising time and interest by tailoring your pitch length to the channel and audience.

9. Practice Your Delivery

Regular practice is key to a smooth, confident delivery. Incorporate pitch practice into onboarding and ongoing training to help sales teams refine their approach and stay sharp.

It’s important to organize regular pitch practice sessions where reps can present to their peers or supervisors acting as potential buyers. Try using different scenarios and customer personas to make the experience more realistic. Record these sessions for later analysis and provide structured feedback on language use, persuasion techniques, and handling objections.

10. Anticipate Questions and Objections

Be ready to handle need, urgency, trust, and money objections. In complex sales, this requires building a case to overcome the objections rather than quickly plowing through them without listening and understanding. When it comes to competitive questions or objections, have battle cards or SWOT analyses available as quick reference points.

11. Follow-Up

Keep the momentum going after your pitch. Contact your prospect to address any questions, provide additional information based on new learnings, and reinforce value. Timing is key. Don’t rush it, and don’t wait too long, either.

Digital sales rooms can play a key role in your follow-up strategy. These refer to highly personalized virtual spaces tailored to each prospect. It packages all relevant content—from your sales deck and product pitch to case studies and whitepapers. Prospects can explore the provided content at their own pace, revisit important information, and even share it with other decision-makers within their organization. This makes the sales process more efficient, leading to quicker decision-making.

Sales Pitch Examples That Capture Customer Attention

What does blending all these components into one sales pitch look like? Sales pitches come in various flavors, such as phone calls, emails, follow-up outreach, or full-blown presentations. Regardless of the format, the goal remains: grab your prospect’s attention and guide them through the sales funnel. Here are some sales pitch templates you can use:

Phone Sales Pitch

A phone sales pitch is a quick and direct approach to engage prospects via phone. The goal is to capture interest with a hook, focus on the prospect’s needs, and schedule a follow-up meeting or call.
For example, “Hi [Prospect’s Name], this is [Your Name] from [Your Company]. I noticed that [Prospect’s Company] is focusing on [specific area], and we’ve helped companies like yours achieve [specific benefit]. Can we schedule a call next week to discuss how we can help you achieve similar results?”

Email Sales Pitch

Did you know that 80% of buyers prefer email communications? Use that to your advantage by crafting a great email pitch. Focus on developing a catchy subject, personalizing the opening line, highlighting differentiators, and finishing with a CTA. Below is an example that might get them to respond or set up a meeting.

Elevator Pitch

An elevator pitch is a concise summary of your business or product, typically delivered in 30-60 seconds, like an elevator ride. During the pitch, you want to quickly convey the value of your offering to spark interest and create a strong first impression. For example, you might say, “Did you know 75% of businesses struggle with unorganized workflow, wasting a lot of time and resources? Our product eliminates this chaos. It simplifies workflow management, enhances productivity, and reduces overhead costs. Unlike other solutions, ours boosts efficiency by 40%, proven by our customer success stories.”

Sales Presentation Pitch

A sales presentation pitch, which also includes your sales deck, shows the value you bring to the customer. It should answer “why buy,” “why buy from us,” and “why buy now.” Tailor your pitch deck to meet your audience’s needs and avoid sharing unnecessary details to fill time.

• Introduction (1-2 minutes): Greet and introduce yourself and your company and share a compelling fact or statistic.
• Problem statement (2-3 minutes): Using data or anecdotes, define the main challenges your prospect faces.
• Solution overview (3-4 minutes): Present your product/service as the solution, highlighting unique selling points.
• Unique selling proposition (3-4 minutes): Detail key features and benefits, and explain what differentiates you from competitors.
• Case studies and social proof (2-3 minutes): Share success stories from similar clients.
• Demonstration (optional) (3-4 minutes): Provide a brief demo if applicable.
• Q&A session (2-3 minutes): Address questions and objections.
• Call to action (1-2 minutes): State the next steps clearly and provide contact information.
• Conclusion (1 minute): Recap key points and thank the prospect for their time.

Website Sales Pitch

This type of sales pitch involves content on your website designed to attract and convert visitors using a form to request a demo, call, or purchase the product. Use unique and valuable sales collaterals and calls to action. Include a variety of content that aligns with all sales funnel stages, including whitepapers, testimonials and case studies, and product documentation.

Follow-Up Pitch

Use a follow-up pitch after your initial interaction to maintain interest and move the prospect closer to a decision. You will remind the prospect of your offer and encourage them to engage further. Reference an anecdote from the previous interaction to show continuity and personal attention.

For example, “Hi [Prospect’s Name], I hope you’re having a great week. I ran across this case study from [Client], who achieved [result] using our solution. Do you have time this week to discuss the next steps? Best, [Your Name]”

Crafting Better Sales Pitches With Highspot

Sales pitches don’t need to feel uncomfortable. Armed with these creative sales pitch ideas and techniques, you can design a pitch that resonates perfectly with your target audience. This ensures your approach is flawless, captivating your buyers and consistently moving them to the next stage of the sales process.

Highspot’s AI-powered buyer engagement software helps sales reps confidently create sales pitches that build meaningful relationships with potential customers. By understanding the key components of a good sales pitch, reps can effortlessly hook prospects and close deals faster.

Request a Highspot demo today.