How to Write a Sales Speech
The purpose of a sales speech (often called a sales pitch) is to convince the audience to buy what you are selling. Sales speeches are given in one-on-one and group settings. A sales speech may be 30 seconds long (sometimes called an elevator speech) or more than an hour. The speaker uses slides, samples or other presentation materials to emphasize his points.
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Instructions
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Consider your audience. Are you speaking to a small or large group? Are they individual consumers or corporate representatives? What are their motivations for buying your product or service?
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Consider your product or service. What are you selling? Who would use it? Is the person who buys the product the one who will use it (as in the case of a parent buying a child's toy)? What benefits does it provide to buyers? What makes it different from other similar products on the market?
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Determine how much time you have to talk. Will you have 20 minutes or an hour? Do you need a question-and-answer period? If so, how long should that period be?
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Write your introduction. State your name and company. State your mission instead of your product. "I help people plan so their loved ones have less to do in times of grief" is preferable to "I sell prepaid funeral services."
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Create a hook. A hook is an attention-grabbing statement, story or question that makes your audience want to hear more. An example: "What would you do with an extra $100 in your monthly food budget?"
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Explain your product. Tell your audience what it does and how it works. Explain who needs it and how buyers will benefit. Consider your audience's motivations. Quantify benefits when possible. If your product reduces the labor needed to accomplish a project, state exactly how many labor hours the company will save. Estimate the dollars saved.
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Anticipate objections. If buyers are likely to think your product is too good to be true, is too expensive or doesn't fit their needs, make positive statements that counteract those opinions. If your product is 50 percent more expensive than a similar product but will last three times as long, say so.
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Offer proof. If an independent research group gave your service a positive review or your product received an honor or award, say so. Be sure to use the full, correct name of the reviewing or awarding entity and state when the award or review was given.
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Close your speech. Summarize the main points. Include the top benefit of your product. Thank the audience for the opportunity to speak to them. If you plan to hold a question-and-answer period, do so now.
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Ask for the business. If you are speaking to a group of final decision makers, ask what you can do to earn their business. If you are speaking to a large group, issue a "call to action," a statement that encourages buyers to purchase. Calls to action often offer an incentive for buying immediately, such as "buy your super-duper mega broom today and receive 20 percent off the purchase price."
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Tips & Warnings
Speak at your audience's level. Technical jargon is OK when speaking to an IT department, but a group of end-users may not understand a word you say.
Respect the audience's time. If you've been given 30 minutes, take 30 minutes--no more!
If you are speaking to a small group, ask questions throughout your presentation so you can bring up products or services of special interest to the buyer.
Assemble any needed props, samples or other presentation aids you plan to use.
Avoid slang and curse words when giving a sales speech.
Do not overuse words like "best," "greatest" and "amazing." After a while, the impact wears off.
Tell the truth. Exaggerations and untruths get you in legal hot water.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit business colleagues preparing for business meeting image by Vladimir Melnik from Fotolia.com
