April Dunford
Review
'Sales Pitch' is the follow-up to April Dunford's influential positioning book 'Obviously Awesome'. Its a practical step-by-step guide for crafting effective B2B sales pitches. Building upon the positioning framework established in 'Obviously Awesome', it shows you how to transform your positioning strategy into a compelling sales narrative that resonates with potential customers.
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Key Takeaways
The 20% that gave me 80% of the value.
Buying enterprise technology is daunting. Buyers face significant risks, multiple stakeholders, and fear making costly mistakes. They're knowledgeable about their pain but often overwhelmed by unfamiliar solutions, resulting in decision paralysis. Thus, sales professionals must shift from merely selling products to actively helping customers buy. This means guiding buyers through complex choices, educating them about the market, and clearly articulating why your solution uniquely addresses their needs.
A compelling sales pitch addresses buyer inertia by emphasising the high cost of inaction or the risks associated with maintaining the status quo. Buyers are frequently tempted by the seemingly safe choice of doing nothing, making it essential for sellers to clearly demonstrate why change is necessary. Effective positioning against the status quo is critical. Sellers must create urgency by highlighting the hidden costs and risks of sticking with outdated solutions, making it easier for buyers to justify taking action.
The emotional factor is crucial: fear dominates purchasing decisions involving substantial investment. Fear of failure or the consequences of choosing incorrectly can paralyse buyers. Effective sellers understand this fear and address it by fostering trust, clarity, and confidence. Trust is built by reducing uncertainty, clearly defining what matters most for buyers, and guiding them through the evaluation process transparently.
Positioning your solution clearly is foundational. It answers why your product is uniquely suited to a particular buyer. Effective positioning is specific about how your product uniquely solves problems for particular types of customers. However, good positioning alone is insufficient and it must translate into a compelling pitch. Sellers must use their positioning to craft narratives that clearly differentiate their product from alternatives and show why choosing their solution is logical and low-risk.
Successful pitches follow structured principles, starting with effective qualification. Qualification ensures resources aren't wasted pitching to unsuitable prospects. After qualification, discovery occurs, a deep, two-way exchange where sellers understand buyer problems and simultaneously educate buyers about solutions. Discovery sets the foundation for customised demonstrations, clearly focused on showing how unique product features solve identified problems.
Differentiated value lies at the heart of effective pitches. Generic benefits like "time savings" aren't enough. Sellers must emphasise unique capabilities their competitors lack, clearly demonstrating how these features translate into concrete, meaningful business outcomes. Addressing alternatives explicitly positions your solution as the superior choice.
Effective storytelling approaches in pitches vary:
- Product Walkthrough: Focuses on detailed features; effective if buyers already understand value translation but ineffective at highlighting differentiation.
- Problem/Solution: Clearly defines problems and positions your product as the solution; best against the status quo but weak against direct competition.
- Vision Narrative: Suited to investor presentations, highlighting future potential but risking buyer hesitation in the short term.
- Hero's Journey: Casts buyers as heroes, sellers as guides; strong for branding but weaker in helping buyers differentiate between competing solutions.
The recommended pitch structure includes two main phases: Setup and Follow-through.
Setup Phase:
- Insight: Provide expertise-based context about buyer problems and the market, reframing their understanding to appreciate the importance of your differentiated value.
- Alternatives: Clearly outline other market solutions, objectively discussing their pros and cons. This phase simultaneously educates buyers and enables sellers to conduct deeper discovery.
- Perfect World: Summarise attributes of an ideal solution, setting clear criteria that align buyer expectations and readiness for your product.
Follow-through Phase:
- Introduction: Concisely introduce your product and company, placing your solution clearly within its market category.
- Differentiated Value: Emphasise unique product capabilities and their direct business outcomes. Use targeted demonstrations to show how features deliver these outcomes.
- Proof: Provide evidence, such as case studies, measurable results, testimonials, or third-party validations to reinforce credibility and mitigate buyer risk.
- Objections (Optional): Address common concerns proactively and pricing, integration complexity, and adoption challenges and to minimise lingering buyer hesitations.
- The Ask: End with a clear next step, guiding buyers toward concrete actions that continue the buying journey, such as deeper technical evaluations or stakeholder meetings.
Effective pitches begin with solid positioning based on clearly identified competitive alternatives, unique capabilities, differentiated value, best-fit customers, and defined market categories. These elements naturally integrate into a compelling narrative that builds confidence and reduces purchase anxiety.
Pitch effectiveness is enhanced through testing and iteration. Initially trial the pitch with experienced sellers, refine based on feedback, and then broaden training across teams. Common pitfalls like generic insights, neglected discovery, irrelevant proof points, or outdated information should be actively avoided.
Beyond sales calls, the pitch structure effectively translates into explainer videos and buyer guides, using visual aids to reinforce differentiation and demonstrate strategic fit within customer ecosystems.
Ultimately, the hallmark of an effective sales pitch is its ability to help buyers confidently navigate complex decisions. The winning pitch is always one that shifts from simply selling to genuinely helping customers make informed, confident buying decisions.
Deep Summary
Longer form notes, typically condensed, reworded and de-duplicated.
Do You Sell or Do You Help Customers Buy?
Buyers of business technology often face high stakes, multiple stakeholders, and the fear of making a wrong choice. Considered purchases (like those for enterprise software) can be intimidating.
The key to overcoming buyer inertia is recognising that buyers want a knowledgeable guide. They are experts in their own pain but not necessarily in all the possible solutions. A world-class sales experience helps them understand the market, potential pitfalls, and how to evaluate and compare solutions.
For any considered purchase, we can create a pitch, in the form of a story or narrative, that teaches customers how to buy. Not only that, but I also believe that we can create a narrative that helps our best-fit customers easily understand why they should choose us and feel very confident in making that decision.
A buyer might be overwhelmed by unfamiliar features and an endless array of possible options. In such situations, "do nothing" becomes a safe, tempting choice, even when the current solution isn't ideal. Most vendors forget the toughest competitor is often the buyer's status quo. "As a vendor, you always need to position against the buyer's status quo, even if there are other vendors to worry about on the customer's shortlist. Part of positioning against the status quo is making the case for change." Demonstrating the cost of inaction, or the risks of sticking with an outdated tool, makes it easier for the buyer to justify switching and to feel more confident in doing so.
The easiest, safest purchase decision is often no decision.
Fear is the prominent emotion for buyers of considered purchases. Fear of failure, fear of looking stupid, fear of the repercussions of making a poor decision. Invoking feelings like trust and confidence can go a long way toward helping buyers overcome their fear. Vendors who understand these pressures can build trust by reducing uncertainty and helping the buyer make a defensible decision.
A strong market narrative clarifies why your solution is the best choice for specific types of buyers. "Positioning defines how your product is the best in the world at delivering something a certain type of customer really cares about. Positioning is the answer to the question, 'Why pick us over the alternatives?'" Yet clear positioning isn't enough by itself. Positioning is worthless if it can't be turned into a pitch that the sales team can use to close business.
Ultimately, your job as a vendor is to help buyers navigate a complex, risky decision. Show them how to differentiate options, address potential pitfalls, and understand key considerations. If a prospect is unsure how to judge features, explain what truly matters for their unique situation. By hearing the buyer's perspective and teaching them what they need to know, you build their confidence and reduce their fear of making a mistake. That's how you move from simply "selling" to genuinely "helping customers buy."
Sales Pitch Principles
- Qualification ensures only viable prospects move to a first sales call. As one quote states, "Qualification is important because you don't want to waste critical sales resources (not to mention the customer's time!) pitching a product to a company that isn't a fit for what you do." This step often includes confirming company size, budget, or other criteria before a sales meeting.
- Discovery goes beyond basic questions. "Discovery is a conversation during which the buyer teaches the seller about their pain, problems, and situation, but the seller is also teaching the buyer about their point of view on problems and solutions in the space." This two-way exchange helps both sides clarify needs and align on what an ideal solution should deliver.
- Product demonstrations should show the most important capabilities of a solution. Consider a tailoured demo on the second call, once the seller has a clear understanding of the buyer's pain points. Skip the demo if the customer has already tried the product or if showing it in isolation adds little value.
- Differentiated value focuses on what your offering does that no alternative can match. "You win deals based on your differentiated value: the value you can deliver that no other alternative can." Sellers can't simply rely on general benefits like time savings when competitors provide the same. They must show how their unique features solve critical problems for specific buyers. Addressing alternative solutions in the market is essential to highlight differentiated value. By helping prospects compare options, sellers not only guide them more effectively but also show why their unique strengths matter. This is how a sales pitch evolves from a feature-focused walkthrough into a compelling narrative that answers, "Why pick us over anyone else?"
Four Common Approaches to Story Telling in a Sales Pitch
The product walkthrough focuses on features. It works best when the buyer is already knowledgeable enough to translate features into value (or if they're switching from a very similar product). The downside is that it often devotes time to non-differentiating capabilities, leaves little room for discovery, and doesn't address why you're better than the alternatives.
The problem/solution pitch starts with describing "the problem" and then positions your product as "the solution." This approach also works best when the buyer already understands the space and when the only real competitor is the status quo. Its weakness is that it tends to ignore other solutions that may solve the same problem, so it fails to highlight truly differentiated value.
The vision narrative is ideal for investor pitches. It describes the "old way" of doing things versus a "new way" that you're building. While this can excite investors, in a sales context it may push buyers to wait until the future vision is a reality. It also glosses over existing competitors who may already have proven features or a competing vision of their own.
The hero's journey casts the buyer as the hero and you as the guide, which can be compelling for case studies or brand storytelling. However, it doesn't focus on how the buyer can decide among multiple options. It emphasises the buyer's journey to success but minimises the step of choosing the right solution, a critical part of any B2B purchase decision.
The Sales Pitch Structure
A great sales pitch helps customers understand all their choices, the trade-offs between each, and when to pick your solution. It should:
- Help prospects understand the market, common alternatives beyond your product and the pros and cons of those mapped to their particular situation.
- Accommodate the salesperson's need to do some discovery to understand the prospect.
- Help prospects understand your differentiated value versus other alternatives (and why that unique value is critically important).
- Accommodate a product demonstration at a natural point in the narrative flow.
- Include a clear call to action for what the prospect should do next.
The author suggests a sales pitch structure of two distinct phases
- The setup: focuses on offering your insights about the market, competitive alternatives, and discovery.
- The follow-through: focuses on your solution and the unique value only you can provide the customer, including a demo and ending with a call to action.
The Setup
Have a conversation with the prospect about the market. Teach them the context needed to understand the importance of the value only you can deliver. Do this before you talk about your differentiated value. Three components of the setup:
- Insight: What your experience has taught you about the customer's situation, problems, and the solutions in the market. Point the customer toward what they need to know to understand why your differentiated value is important to them.
- Alternatives: Discuss the alternative solutions that exist today, and their relative pros and cons (for various customers). Simultaneously get a better understanding of the prospect's current situation.
- The Perfect World: Outline the characteristics of a perfect solution for your target customer. Draw on the alternatives and the insight introduced in the first step.
The Follow-Through
Transition to primarily focusing on exposing the value only your product can deliver to the prospect. Five components of the Follow-Through:
- The Introduction: Introduce the company and the product. Introduce your definition of the market category you position yourself in.
- Differentiated Value: The value that only your product can deliver for that type of customer. The features that enable that value + demo the features. Spend most of your time here during a first call with a prospect.
- Proof: Show how you can deliver the value you say you can. Case studies, awards, third-party validation, and other proof points.
- Objections (optional): Explicitly handle common objections. E.g. concerns about adopting the solution, integration or pricing.
- The Ask: Finish by recommending a clear next step.
Sort Positioning before Pitching
A solid sales pitch starts with strong positioning. If your positioning is weak, the sales pitch will inevitably suffer. "An effective sales pitch tells the story of the business value only you can deliver." Documenting that unique value upfront is crucial because it clarifies why a prospect should choose you over all other options.
Positioning consists of five interrelated components:
- Competitive alternatives define the status quo and any direct rivals your customers already consider.
- Unique capabilities are the features or offerings that set you apart.
- Differentiated value explains why those capabilities matter for a customer's business, which resonates most in B2B purchasing.
- Best-fit customers are the types of organisations that care the most about that unique value, determined by factors such as size, technology environment, or specific challenges. Finally,
- Market category anchors the product in a recognisable space, so potential buyers quickly understand what you do.
Once these components are documented, they map naturally to a sales pitch. Insights you share at the beginning draw on your differentiated value and your understanding of best-fit customers. Referencing competitive alternatives ensures you address the status quo and other vendors. Explaining the "perfect world" brings your unique value to the forefront, establishing core purchase criteria. Introducing your product in the context of its market category helps clarify what it is. Showcasing your differentiated value connects those unique capabilities to real customer impact, and then providing proof and handling objections rounds out the pitch. This approach keeps the champion, the person tasked with researching and recommending a solution, engaged, helping them see why your offering is the most logical choice.
Create a Storyboard for Your Sales Pitch
A conversation often begins by highlighting an insight that reframes the buyer's understanding of their own problem. This approach orients the prospect toward the unique value you provide and positions you as a credible guide. It underscores that the issue isn't always what it seems on the surface.
- Emphasise the deeper "problem behind the problem" that your offering addresses
- Reveal a new perspective on the market or challenge that other vendors haven't recognised
- Keep it brief, just enough to spark curiosity and pave the way for further discussion
Exploring alternatives means helping the buyer see the full landscape of approaches rather than comparing individual vendors. By grouping competitor solutions with a shared philosophy, it becomes easier to highlight strengths and weaknesses.
- Look at status quo options, direct competitors, and emerging possibilities
- Position these approaches according to objective pros and cons that matter to the buyer
- Use this phase to do discovery while also educating the customer on how the market really works
Painting a perfect world summarises the key traits a solution should ideally deliver. This outline is based on the previous conversation about shortcomings in existing approaches. It confirms what the buyer truly needs and helps them see that you alone can provide it.
- Distil the core attributes that would make a solution "just right" for them
- Check for agreement: if the buyer aligns with your list, they're already halfway to a "yes"
- Keep this short so momentum builds toward revealing how your offering meets those criteria
Introducing your solution provides context on who you are and how you fit into the buyer's ecosystem. For a single-product company, a simple "what we do" can suffice, while larger portfolios might need a quick overview of multiple offerings.
- Use clear diagrams or visuals to explain how each element works together
- Show how the solution fits with the tools or processes they already have
- Avoid rambling, orient the buyer quickly, then move on to the compelling details of how you help
Focusing on differentiated value is crucial. It links your unique capabilities to tangible business outcomes, rather than diving into every feature. This step cements why you're not just another option but the best option.
- Organise the conversation around distinct value themes that no competitor can match
- Show relevant features that prove how those themes are realised
- Remember that features alone don't sell, buyers care about the results you deliver
Proof reassures the buyer that your claims are credible. It can be empirical data, customer testimonials, or third-party validations. Present evidence that's directly relevant to their circumstances, and make sure it's easy to grasp.
- Use measurable statistics when possible
- Reference use cases from similar industries or company sizes
- Offer brief anecdotes or quotes that support the specific value themes you introduced earlier
Addressing objections, whether voiced or unspoken, prevents prospects from walking away with lingering doubts. The aim is to reduce fear of change and show that you can handle the logistical, financial, or technical obstacles they may anticipate.
- Tackle typical questions on pricing, deployment, compliance, or integrations
- Provide reassurance with clear statements on how you've successfully navigated these concerns for others
- Skip this step if the conversation has already resolved such issues, but never avoid a major deal-breaker
Concluding with a clear ask ensures everyone knows what comes next. Guide the prospect toward a defined action, perhaps a proof of concept, a deeper technical review, or a meeting with other stakeholders. Doing so positions you as a trusted partner rather than just another vendor.
- Suggest a logical next step that reflects how deals typically move forward in your domain
- Clarify who needs to be involved, and outline the resources you'll provide
- If the buyer isn't a fit, gracefully end the process so you can both invest energy elsewhere
Testing and Launching the Sales Pitch
Start by testing your pitch with one trusted, experienced salesperson. After they've used it several times and provided feedback, make minor adjustments without changing the core structure.
The rep's confidence and continued use of the pitch can be an early success metric in a long sales cycle. If it's not working, you may need to revisit your positioning or team involvement.
For wider rollout, provide recorded demos, training sessions, and assign a product marketer to maintain consistency. Common pitfalls include using generic insights, skipping discovery, mismatched proof points, or letting the pitch become outdated over time.
Beyond Sales Calls
Beyond the sales pitch itself, you can use the same structure in explainer videos and buyer guides. A well thought out graphic can be used to communicate your differentiation, position in the market, how you can fit into the prospect’s infrastructure and a workflow graphic that shows how where your unique value comes into play.
Conclusion
Selling is hard but building a good sales pitch doesn't have to be. Focus on helping the buyer make a confident decision, you will end up with a pitch that works.
The key lessons to take away:
- Buying is hard. Have empathy for prospects making purchase decisions.
- "Do nothing" is the most fearsome competitor you have.
- Tell different stories for different audiences and for different purposes.
- Start with your company's unique insight into the market and move onto your unique differentiated value
- Help customers understand their options.
- Differentiated value is the star of the show.
- Customers don't care about features.