At Catalyst Brand Group, we are no stranger to Kevin Harrington of Shark Tank, As Seen on TV, and the pioneer of the infomercial. Jason Fleagle has worked alongside Kevin Harrington directly, learning from someone who wrote the book on becoming a key person of influence in your industry. One of the projects Jason and the team worked on closely with Kevin Harrington, is the Secrets of Closing the Sale Master Class.
Kevin is a powerhouse in terms of knowing how to create the perfect pitch. His product and service pitches have generated billions of dollars in sales – so he definitely knows what he’s talking about!
The 10 steps to pitch your product or service:
The “Tease” – Tease them with the problem
The “Please” – Offer the perfect solution (your product or service)
Visualization of the Product or Service – People buy with emotions, so make them see it and feel it with amazing demonstrations
But Wait! There’s More! – Showcase the unique features and benefits of your product or service
The Social Proof – Use the power of testimonials to your advantage
Show Data – Prove how your product or service beats anything they can find on Amazon or at Walmart
Magical Transformation – Give them the “wow” moment by showing the dramatic benefits provided by your product or service
Use of Proceeds – Explain how you are constantly working on improving your product or service
Outline Your Marketing Plan – Highlight the people making it all happen, your Dream Team
Show Me the Money! – Close the sale with an irresistible offer
1. The “Tease”
First we need to start with The Tease, which is the art of grabbing the attention of your audience. Don’t assume your audience is listening to what you have to say. You need to grab their attention.
The Tease is where you immediately and intentionally grab the attention of your ideal client/customer. Cut to the chase and explain their problem. Set up a scenario where only your product or service can solve the problem. If you don’t grab their attention, then your pitch will fall flat on its face.
2. The “Please”
The second step to craft the perfect pitch for your product or service is called The Please. After you’ve made the pain or problem clear, it is time to reveal how your product or service is the exact solution needed for your ideal client/customer.
Kevin Harrington refers to this as the step where you reveal some of the benefits of your product or service. How does it solve the problem? What does it do? Maybe tease some of the added benefits the audience hasn’t thought of just yet. It’s important to break your product or service down into features, benefits, and what they means to your ideal customer/client.
To craft the perfect pitch for your product or service, you need to follow up your enticing Tease with a laser-focused Please.
3. Visualization of the Product or Service
The third step to craft the perfect pitch for your product or service is to help your audience visualize the solution to their problem. You have made their problem painfully obvious, you have won them over with the possibility of the perfect solution, and now you need to prove it to them.
Your audience wants more than an idea, they want to see the proof. They want to see it in action. Demonstrations are the best way to help your audience visualize the product or service, but providing charts, graphs, visual data and representation are all great, too.
As you craft the perfect pitch for your product or service you need to win the clients or customers over and then wow them by helping them visualize what it would look like for them to own or purchase your product or service. People buy with emotion, so ensure you have the features, benefits, and meanings communicated to their specific pain points.
4. But Wait! There’s More!
The next step to craft the perfect pitch for your product or service is to move your audience from “okay, I think I like it” to “Yes! I am in!” Your audience needs to see the multifunctionality of your product or service.
If you have demonstrated how you can solve their problem, now it’s time to sweeten the deal! Showing more functions of your product or service in addition to solving the main challenge or meeting a need, builds perceived value in the mind of a buyer. The higher the perceived value the greater the chances of them purchasing something.
Kevin Harrington helped to pioneer the phrase, “But wait, there’s more!”
When you document the value of your product or service in your features and benefits, being able to share the total value in a “but wait, there’s more” delivery is a perfect way to sweeten any deal.
By taking the time to craft the perfect pitch for your product or service you are moving them from cold to warm in just a few steps.
5. The Social Proof
Step five to craft the perfect pitch for your product or service is building social proof, primarily through testimonials. Your audience wants to know what other customers have used the product or service and what they thought about it.
You may be thinking that you only need to find a few people to “test” your product or service, but, according to Kevin Harrington, there are actually five types of testimonials:
Consumer testimonials
Professional testimonials (doctors, lawyers, industry experts, etc.)
Celebrity testimonials
Editorial testimonials (New York Times, Wall Street Journal, local newspaper, etc.)
Clinical testimonials (Universities, testing labs, etc.)
When you craft the perfect pitch for your product or service, you have to include the social proof to get them even closer to wanting to purchase your product or service.
6. Show Data
By this point, your audience may begin to think or ask questions about competition. Who else does this? Is there someone doing this, but cheaper or more effectively?
The sixth step to craft the perfect pitch for your product or service is to show them data. Your audience needs to know what separates your product or service from anything else they might find on Amazon. This ties into your benefits you mentioned before, but now it is displaying the success of your product or service over competing products or services.
Putting these questions and fears to rest is an important step to craft the perfect pitch for your product or service. For example, a common way to do this is to have a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section.
7. Magical Transformation
Step seven is all about demonstrating a magical transformation that was only possible through your product or service. This is the moment when you reveal how much time, money, energy, etc., is saved by using your product or service. These are the big, dramatic changes your product or service can do that you briefly mentioned back in The Tease part of the pitch.
Magical transformations are what tip people over the edge and make them a customer right away. People love to see drastic changes, and they want to experience that change.
While you craft the perfect pitch for your product or service, make sure to look for ways you can display a magical transformation that will sell them right there.
For example, Kevin Harrington used before and after images when he was 15 years old selling driveway sealing businesses to homeowners door-to-door in Cincinnati, Ohio. He was failing left and right without any proof of work to show his potential customers that he and his team could transform their driveway. As soon as he created a booklet around with before and after photos, he began to close so many deals to do driveway sealing.
There’s a lot of power in the magical transformation! So make sure it’s something that people need and it leaves your prospects with a “wow” feeling.
8. Use of Proceeds
Another important part of a perfect pitch is to explain how the sales from the product/service is used, where it is going, and how it is being funneled back into improving the product or service for potential, current, and future customers. Or it may be going to a social cause, which is another good incentive to push people to purchase a product or service. Kevin Harrington calls this step the use of proceeds.
This step is crucial when you are pitching to investors, but it is still an important step if it makes sense for your product or service. For example, Wreckage Sports, a fight performance company, donates a percentage of all revenue to help fight child abuse through their company.
For use of proceeds, think through this series of questions and be prepared to answer them:
How are you planning on using revenue?
Are you expanding or increasing inventory?
Will you be increasing your staff?
What are the future improvements being made to the product or service?
While this is a step that may not seem relevant, when you work through the use of proceeds you will feel more confident if your audience decides to ask the question.
9. Outline Your Marketing Plan
Whether you are pitching to customers or clients, or pitching to investors, you will need to keep your marketing plan in mind. The most important part of your marketing plan for your product or service should always be centered around building your Dream Team.
Sharing who is on your Dream Team may not seem like much, but when your audience sees you brought the best people for the job, then it makes them feel more secure about making a purchase.
The right team with the right plan is an important piece in crafting the pitch for your business or product or service.
10. Show Me the Money!
The tenth and final step to crafting a perfect pitch is called show me the money! This is the closing of your pitch.
This is the time to ask your potential client, customer, or even investor for their money or their purchase!
The best way to help solidify your chance of closing a sale is to finish up with an irresistible offer. Maybe you have your product or service steeply discounted if they purchase or sign up right now. You might even offer a secondary product or service for little-to-no charge for a limited time. Be creative. Think outside the box. Package an irresistible offer to clinch your deal.
For example, here are some irresistible offers:
“We’ll build your new home in just 30 weeks or give you $5,000 in cash!”
“Guaranteed Google rankings in 90 days or we work for free!”
“Your pizza will be delivered in 30 minutes… or it’s FREE!”
Your irresistible offer should leave people with the feeling of, “wow this must be good or they wouldn’t be making any money!”
If you have done your absolute best at every step of this process to craft the perfect pitch for your product or service, then you will undoubtedly keep yourself busy closing sales!
Looking For Extra Help On How to Craft the Perfect Pitch For Your Product or Service?
Where do you struggle the most with these steps? Which one has you stumped? Also, did we miss anything or overlook something important? We would love to hear your thoughts and offer any tips or advice as we are able. At Catalyst Brand Group we focus on implementing proven growth strategies in brand, platform, and growth that will help your business grow by 2x-3x per year. If you are looking for help with crafting the perfect pitch, then Contact Us to start a conversation about how we can help.