Making a sales pitch

Marjorie Rosenberg

Aims Tasks
 determining what makes a good  discussing elements of a good sales pitch
sales pitch and potential problems and problems a salesperson might have
 being able to find answers in a talk  answering questions about a video
 deciding on vocabulary definitions  matching terms to their definitions and
 give a short summary using notes using them to give a short summary
 deciding on true and false  working in groups on objections and
statements based on a video reasons to buy a product
 coming up with objections and  carrying out a sales discussion and
reasons to buy a product dealing with objections
 being able to observe and give  observing sales pitches and giving
feedback feedback
This activity can be used as a stand-alone activity or used together with Business
Advantage Advanced, Martin Lisboa and Michael Handford, Unit 3.
Level
Advanced (C1–C2)
Timing
55 minutes without the follow-up activity
This should include the discussions, watching the two clips, checking answers,
setting up the sales talks and holding the conversations in front of the observers.
Lead-in (5 minutes)
Students work in groups to discuss sales pitches and the elements found in them as
well as the problems that can arise. They then present their ideas to the class.
Complex versus simple sales pitches
Discussion (5 minutes)
Students discuss questions before watching Norb Mayrhofer from Procter & Gamble
in Video 1 (length 1:55). They then check their answers to these questions.
Key
1 When the person making the decision needs a lot of convincing.
2 Don’t waste time on him or her.
3 Try to find out how the person will make his or her decision so that you can tailor
your presentation to suit the situation.
4 You can waste a lot of time and energy and something you never considered
comes up and you lose the sale.
Vocabulary (5 minutes)
Students work together to match words to their definitions.
Key
1E, 2C, 3G, 4A, 5D, 6B, 7C

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Giving a summary (10 minutes)
Students use the vocabulary to make notes about the talk. They then give a one-
minute summary of the talk they have heard to their partner who determines if they
covered all the points and then switch roles.
Thoughts on selling and handling objections
Discussion (5 minutes)
Students talk to their partner about specific sales situations.
True or false (10 minutes)
Students watch the second talk by Norb Mayrhofer, Video 2 (duration 1:04) and mark
sentences true or false. They are asked to note down information about the false
ones to correct them. They may have to watch the clip twice.
Key
1 F (it begins when the customer says no)
2 T
3 F (let them continue till they stop giving objections)
4 F (pick out one or two that were the biggest)
5 T
6 F (do you think our customers know what we do well and recognize it?)
7 T
8 F (if the customer doesn’t recognize or award you for it, it doesn’t matter)
Handling objections (15 minutes)
Students are put into a group of at least four and decide on a product they would like
to sell. They are then divided into two smaller groups, one of which works on coming
up with objections and the other with reasons to buy the product without knowing
which specific objections the ‘buyers’ will have. They then carry out the sales
discussion using another group as observers who give them feedback. When they
have finished, the group which acted as observers then carry out their sales
discussion with the first group observing them. When the groups have finished, the
observers tell the class about their impressions and the class can hold a general
discussion on the topic.
Follow-up
Students are asked to search the internet for different elements of a sales pitch. They
should choose the model they think works best for a product they would be interested
in selling. They can bring their ideas to class and work out phrases for the different
parts of the sales pitch and try them out on a partner.
Video script
Video 1
Norb Mayrhofer: One of the keys to being a good salesperson is you have to master
the complex and the simple pitch. Sometimes the presentation is very long,
sometimes very short. Sometimes the purchaser or the person making the decision
needs a lot of convincing. Sometimes they will never be convinced. The trick is to
know that one early so you are not wasting a lot of time on them. My suggestion
would be that early on with these folks that you are working with you try to get as
close a handle on how they will make their decision well before you present any data.
What is the criteria that you are going to use before you make your decision, and
then try to tailor your work into that. The way we typically do that is we try to establish
a joint score card ahead of time, so that it will be mostly driven by the math. The
worst thing, hey, it happens to us. The worst thing you can do is you invest a lot of
time and energy into something and then for some reason that you never even
considered shows up as the reason not to go forward.

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Video 2
Norb Mayrhofer: When you are selling, you come to the close, you try to get the
order, and the customer says, No, I am not going to do that. What we teach our folks
is, is that when a customer says no, that’s when the selling begins. What you do then
we go through a model. We call it the handling objections model, and what you do is
you try to determine from the customer why not? How come? Well, it’s the wrong
size. Is there anything else? Well, it’s the wrong color. Is there anything else? Well,
it’s the wrong price. You can’t get it here on time. You go through that. You just let
them go until they stop giving you objections. You might get ten objections. If you
could pick out the one or two things that were the biggest issues, which ones would
they be, and then you try to deal with them. This is just the reverse of that. Get to
what do we do well here? Let’s build off of our strengths. What do we really do well?
What else do we do well? What are the top two or three things that we really do well?
Do you think our customers know that? Do they recognize that? Because if we’re
doing it well and it doesn’t matter to them, guess what? Think about what that means.
If we are doing something well, we are in business now. Does anything we do not
cost us money, anything? Flip on the light switch, buy pencils, drive cars, anything?
Everything we do the most successful businesses are the ones that are able to
identify target consumer and then focus as much resources as possible without
friction losses against that. If you’re doing something really well, it means you are
investing in it some way, shape, or form. If the customer doesn't recognize or award
you for it, it doesn’t matter. You can have a really good violin player in your clothing
store, and the consumer that comes in can’t hear. Unless they are getting the
vibrations, it doesn’t matter.

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Making a sales pitch
Marjorie Rosenberg

Aims Tasks
 determining what makes a good  discussing elements of a good sales pitch
sales pitch and potential problems and problems a salesperson might have
 being able to find answers in a talk  answering questions about a video
 deciding on vocabulary definitions  matching terms to their definitions and
 give a short summary using notes using them to give a short summary
 deciding on true and false  working in groups on objections and
statements based on a video reasons to buy a product
 coming up with objections and  carrying out a sales discussion and
reasons to buy a product dealing with objections
 being able to observe and give  observing sales pitches and giving
feedback feedback
Lead-in
Work in a small group and write down elements of what makes a good sales pitch as
well as the problems which could arise. Talk to your group and decide if there is a
difference depending on the product and the situation. Present your ideas to the
class and discuss them.
Complex versus simple sales pitches
Discussion
You are going to watch Norb Mayrhofer, General Manager, North American
Commercial Products, Procter & Gamble talking about sales pitches. Discuss the
questions with a partner and note down your answers. Then watch and see if your
answers match what he says.
1 In which situation do you need to give a longer presentation to a client?
2 What should you do if you realise that someone cannot be convinced?
3 What should you do in a sales pitch before you present any data and why?
4 What is the worst thing that can happen with a sales pitch?

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 Vocabulary
Work with a partner and match these words used in the talk to their definitions.
1 (to) master A to make something specially so that it is right for a particular
person, organisation or company
2 purchaser B to cause something to progress, develop or grow stronger
3 (to get a) handle (on something) C the person or company who buys something
4 (to) tailor D a written explanation of figures, finances, etc.
5 score card E to learn to do something well
6 (to be) driven by F to move to the next step
7 (to) go forward G to understand or be able to do something
Giving a summary
Use these words to make notes about the talk. Then use your notes to give a one-
minute summary of the talk to your partner. After each of you have given a summary,
check that you have both covered all the points.
Thoughts on selling and handling objections
Discussion
Talk to your partner about these situations.
 Have you tried to sell something to another person? Can you give an example of
this?
 What can you do if the buyer keeps saying ‘No’?
 What problem can you have if customers do not know your company well
enough?
True or false
Watch the second talk by Norb Mayrhofer, and mark the sentences on the next page
true or false. If they are false, note down the reasons why.

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1 The selling begins at the beginning of the sales pitch.
2 You need to find out exactly why a customer isn’t interested in a product down to
the last detail.
3 You should try to answer each of the objections as they come up.
4 Try to deal with each of the objections in one way or another.
5 Once you have heard the objections, point out what you do well.
6 Assume that customers know your strengths.
7 To be successful you have to find your target customer and put resources into
selling without incurring too many losses.
8 Customers will always notice when you do something extremely well.
Handling objections
Work in a group of at least four and choose a product you would like to sell. Divide
the group into two and have one half of the group come up with as many objections
to the product as possible while the other group tries to find reasons to buy the
product without hearing the objections. Then work with another group who take on
the role of observers and carry out a sales discussion letting the group with the
objections begin. The second group tries to handle the objections and stress the
strengths of the product and/or company. Ask the observers for their feedback. Then
switch roles so that you can observe the other group dong the same exercise. Those
that observed report what they noticed back to the class.
Follow-up
Check the internet for steps in a sales pitch. Choose the one you feel is most suitable
for a product you would be comfortable selling and bring your ideas to class. Try to
write out some phrases you could use for each step of the sales pitch and try them
out on your partner.

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