Improve Your Sales Pitch #6: Use Imagery

Having studied and created art all my life, I tend to talk in way that illustrates ideas using mental imagery. Painting a picture using metaphor, idioms or comparisons is like a concise poetry that can speak a thousand words so you don't have to. 

Sales people usually carry promotional literature and use slide projectors in their presentations, but even better is a mental that speaks meaningfully to your prospect.

If you already know a little about a prospect or have built up prior knowledge of their interests, you can tailor this approach to great effect.



Recently (in a conversation unrelated to business) I was talking to a stranger who explained to me the difference between Windows Vista and Windows 7. He described Vista as a half finished system designed to be finalised at a later date. The Windows 7 system was like the keystone placed amidst the organised chaos of Vista, giving us the best functioning product Microsoft has released to date. His passion for technology was evident. Sensing he was a science fiction fan, I chimed, “So, it’s like the Death Star, but complete?”

10 Ideas for a Better Sales Pitch

#1: Be in the Business of Selling Ideas  
#2: It’s Not What You Say, It’s How You Act
#3: Use Mirroring
#4: Make Each Word Count
#5: Ask Questions
#6: Use Imagery
#7: Understand Cultural Differences
#8: Create a Personal Brand
#9: Realise Salespeople are Made and Not Born
#10: Never Stop Learning

Well, how that resonated with him!

“Yes!” he cried thumping the table, grinning.

“The Death Star but complete. Yes…”

Quickly assess a person’s personality and deploy language that helps align to their thinking. Me and the bloke in question swapped numbers and have stayed in touch ever since, providing one another with business leads to complement one another's different skills in I.T. It’s been fruitful and we’ve both benefited.

By the way; what he told me about Windows Vista and Windows 7, I already knew. But I let him tell me anyway so I could find a decent visual analogy to drop in the conversation to get the level of rapport.

Tips

• Imagery, mental pictures, relevant comparisons and references communicate in language other people instinctively understand. Do not talk in terms only you would understand; communicate in a way the other person can recognise. 
• Reference points are key to a person's personality.
• Don't try too hard to please others. Being something you're not can sometimes be very obvious.