There is an opening pitch which works every single time, I mean every time like yesterday worked!
The right opening pitch is probably the most difficult thing for sales people to create and implement. A lot of time, effort, strategy, and unfortunately, in many cases, dishonesty and lying go into the opening pitch. To grab the attention of prospects is really a challenge.
Here are three elements of an opening pitch which always works – every single time. These elements all come from the foundation of giving honest information about your business.
#1. “HONESTY” – Be honest about yourself and your business. A question I hear all the time from new sales people is, “David, I’m brand new to the industry. What do I say to people?” My response, “Say you are brand new to the industry.” They fear this would make them appear ignorant or not legitimate. My response to that fear is to assure new sales people they ARE ignorant; they WON’T know what they’re talking about. Don’t try to trick merchants. Tell them you are just starting a business. At one time they started a business! Merchants can relate to someone being honest about that.
Your goal the first few days should be to walk into twenty or thirty businesses per day. Say to merchants, “Hi. My name is ______ _______. I just started a business here in town. My office is located _______. The reason I’m stopping by today is to do some market research. I’m interested in offering several products and services in the payment space. I’m curious who you currently use for your credit card processing. I’d like to know a little more about the market I’m getting into. I’m sure you had a struggle when you started your business deciding what to do first. I’m in that research stage right now. If you don’t mind, I’d really like to know a little bit more about payment processing and what you are doing right now.” Merchants understand that; they are going to share information with you. That’s an honest pitch – honesty about your business.
Perhaps you are like me in that you’ve been part of the payment processing industry “forever.” Here is my opening when I walk into a business, “Hi. My name is David Matney. I’ve got a business here in town. I’m closing in on 15 years I’ve been doing credit card processing in this area. I’m really excited to meet you. I’ve never been here before and appreciate your time to meet with me. Tell me about your processing; who are you using today?” Using an honest pitch is the first point. Be honest about your business and yourself.
#2. “HONEST INFORMATION.” Share information about how long you’ve been in business and who else you take care of in the area. Say, “Hey, I wanted to stop by today. I do the credit card processing for so and so.” Here is a tip to help jumpstart your business: get the keystone accounts in your area.
If there are two or three businesses in your area which are well known, visit and be totally honest with them. I did this early in my business. You could say, “I’m going to be really honest with you. I just got into this business. I do have an experienced processor on whom I’m leaning heavily to make sure I do everything correctly. Here is the bottom line.
I will be willing to do your processing at almost cost because I want to be able to tell everybody in the area that you process with me. This is your opportunity to take advantage of someone to save you money!” You may think merchants would never go for that, but they will ask you to tell them more. Then you say, “The key is you can’t tell anybody else what you pay. I’ll prepare a proposal for you and guarantee to save you tons of money. I literally am not trying to make money on this account. I need the reputation. I’m not putting you in a bad spot or giving you any risk. There is a huge processor behind me. [Give your processor’s name and a contact.] Since I’m new, they’re helping me every step to make sure this is a smooth process. You’ll be getting an amazing deal in credit card processing because I want to tell everybody I process for you.” That’s a great pitch which might give you $50 or $100 a month even if you give them a really good price. It’s an honest pitch. Give honest information!
#3. YOUR BUSINESS. Treat your business like a business. When you talk about your business, don’t talk about you. You are not the business. Someone who owns a pizza shop doesn’t say, “I’m a pizza shop company.” No, the owner says, “I have a pizza shop company called Isbey’s Pizza over on 5th Avenue.” Likewise, you should say, “I just started a business. My office is located ______.” [Either get an office or have a home office.] Talk about your business. Have a vision. Expect to grow and hire people. You are a business. Talking about your business will connect with other small business owners.
Pitch this way and I promise you it will work!
Happy Selling,
David
