Whether your a freelance graphic designer or a leading, cutting-edge interactive studio, learning how to pitch your services to potential clients, also known as prospects, is a skill we must master in order to generate more business and become successful. But don’t be fooled – A sales pitch, which is nothing more than knowing how to talk about your services, is often easier said than done. It must be well thought out before hand and executed properly while engaged.

In this post I’ll demonstrate some practices and techniques that have worked for me in the past to better prepare yourself and deliver on that all-so-important question of “What is it that you do?!”

Prepare your opening statement

Before attempting to engage in a conversation with a prospect regarding your services, plan ahead. Grab a pen and paper and jot down notes which answer the question, “What exactly do I do?” Be specific and provide as much detail into your services as possible. Do not respond with such an answer as “I’m a web designer and build websites.” You want to articulate the listener with a responses such as “I’m a web designer and I develop smart and effective web solutions for heathcare and technology companies.” This answer not only sounds more interesting, but it provides an understanding of what you do, how you do it and who you do it for.

If you offer multiple services or target a more general market, it’s a good idea to have a variety of responses prepared.

Research

If you are targeting a specific market or industry, do your homework. Try to surround yourself with their market as much as possible. Look into the latest trends of that industry or investigate the needs of their customers. It’s also important to research your market and competition as well. This will help in differentiating your services from your competitors and provides reasoning for them to choose you over the next guys.

This step will also help in providing you with the information you need and tactics to draw upon to keep the conversation going, keep your listener engaged and label you as a professional.

Listen

While the first two steps are great starting points, you don’t want to get into habit of saying the same stuff over and over again because you “prepared” it that way. It’s important to note that when you talk to someone you should not sound like a robot.

Hear your prospects out and listen closely to what they are saying. Tailor your pitch to fit their needs. The longer you are engaged the better chance you have of them remembering you.

“The first objective of any marketing effort is to gain the opportunity to have a conversation with someone about the work you do, and to find out what they need. [...] It’s about sensing what the person is open to hearing at that moment, and then providing the right kind and amount of detail.” - The Designer’s Guide to Marketing and Pricing

Focus on their goals

If you’ve applied the above techniques, by this point you should have set a solid ground work and captured at least some of your prospect’s interest. So what now? Focus on the outcome and drill them with what the result of your services would be.

Designers are typically the only ones who recognize good design for “designs sake”, so what do clients want with your designs (or additional services)? Or more importantly, what do they expect?

Flat out, they want results! They want your work to problem solve and generate more work for them. At some point during your conversation mention how applying your experience and creativity can benefit them in the end, both long term and short.