Types of Pitches

This is a collection of the six types of pitches we have learned about in sales, along with some examples:

One Word pitch

• Can you boil down your entire business into one word? “When anybody thinks of you, they utter that word. When anybody utters that word, they think of you” (Daniel Pink). This is your ultimate branding statement.
•  Examples:
  • “Search” – Google
  • “Social” – Facebook
  • “Ride” – Uber

Question pitch

• If a prospect is convinced of the value of your offering, you can reformulate your pitch statement as a question. This works because it gets people to come up with their own reasons for believing in something… which in turn will lead to them feeling more strongly and likely to act on that belief.
• Example:
  • “Are you better off now that you were 4 years ago?” – Ronald Reagan

Rhyming pitch

• We all remember Dr. Seuss and his rhymes, and rhymes boost “processing fluency,” or the ability of our minds to slice, dice, and make sense of stimuli. Studies have even shown that rhyming statements are perceived as more accurate than non-rhyming even when conveying the same message.
• Example:
  • “If it doesn’t fit, you must acquit.” – Johnnie Cochran

Subject Line pitch

• A strong email subject line follows three principles: utility, curiosity, and specificity. This does not mean that you should include all three in a single subject line, but rather “Your email subject line should be either obviously useful or mysteriously intriguing, but probably not both,” (Daniel Pink). The takeaway is that you should create two separate sales pitches: one useful, and one intriguing.
• Examples:
  • “10 Ways to Stay Motivated When Starting a New Business” – Useful
  • “The Killer Problem with Killing Time” – Intriguing

Twitter pitch

• Consider what your sales pitch would sound like if you only had 140 characters to work with. It forces you to think critically and creatively about your core offering while avoiding fillers. This is not a place for you to simply drop a list of your features… but rather a place for you to condense your offering in an easy to understand way for your prospects!
• Examples:
  • “The Entrepreneurs Behind the Entrepreneurs” – Sequoia Capital
  • “We Network Networks” – Cisco

Pixar pitch

• Pixar is a master in creating films with stories that resonate with both children and adults. All of their movies have a similar story structure at their core, and former story artist Emma Coats released the following narrative template that can be applied to all of Pixar’s films:
  • Once upon a time _____. Every day, _____. One day _____. Because of that, _____. Because of that, _____. Until finally, _____.
• Making your sales pitch into a story using this template helps you to communicate your message while making it easy for your prospects to be front and center, and the hero of the sales story. Take time to practice developing your story and get the advice of friends and colleagues as you craft your pitch!
• Example:
  • Once upon a time, companies struggled to find a way to host virtual conferences when COVID-19 hit the nation.
  • Every day, they checked the internet for a solution that would allow them to have attendees network with each other.
  • One day, a new type of software was invented that made it simple for companies to host their own online events including virtual networking.
  • Because of that, companies are able to host their virtual events.
  • Because of that, they were able to expand to new target markets.
  • Until finally, the companies vastly increased their customer base and revenue!