How to Write a Sales Pitch That Sells

This article is a reprint of Wise Bread's contribution to OPEN Forum from American Express -- where small business owners can get advice from experts and share tips with each other.

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When crafting a written sales pitch, your objective is the same as it is when you make a verbal sales pitch — to close a sale.

But the written pitch is different from the verbal pitch in that you don't have the benefit of your appearance, your tone of voice, your facial expressions, and your firm handshake. You only have words to make a sales pitch that is professional yet personal, brief but compelling.

So how do you do that?

Do Your Homework

Before you even think about writing or sending your sales pitch, make sure you know the person and company you're pitching by doing a bit of research first. Inform yourself about their latest news, key executives, and sales figures. You can do this easily by using Google, Google Alerts, by visiting their company website, and even by checking out their social media profiles.

Oh, and nothing screams "blind pitch" like "To whom it may concern," so be sure to find out the full name of the person you're pitching and spell it correctly in your pitch.

Hi, My Name is…

After addressing the proper person, you should introduce yourself in one short sentence that gives your name and highlights the most important fact about who you are.

For example, "My name is Heather Allard and I'm the founder of TheMogulMom.com, a website for mom entrepreneurs."

Once you've done that, you're ready to move onto the body of your sales pitch.

Opening Statements

A sales pitch is no time to be wishy-washy.

State your purpose for writing with confidence and be sure to include personalized details that show your reader that this is not a cold call.

You might say, "I saw your recent press release about expanding into application development and I'm writing because I am the perfect person to head up your team."

Give a Summary

Support your opening statement by summarizing your experience, success, and achievements in one to two paragraphs.

This may take some editing to get it down to a brief yet informative description. Work on it for a few days if necessary and get it right before you send it. As a bonus, you'll be able to reuse this bit of bio in other places, such as your website or sales brochures. If you need help, consider hiring a copywriter who has experience writing sales pitches.

Short and Sweet

Do not make the mistake that many small business owners make by writing a longwinded sales pitch.

I know it's hard to rein yourself in. Your business is so personal to you and like a proud parent, you want to share every little detail about it. But don't do that.

Instead, be brief. By doing so, you will hold your reader's attention from beginning to end, which will increase your chances of landing the sale. A good guideline for the perfect length for a sales pitch is one typed sheet or one computer screen if you're using email.

Ask for It

At the end of your sales pitch, ask for what you want. It's as simple as that.

Check Your Spelling and Grammar

Wait! Don't hit that send button. Check your email or document for spelling and grammar errors. Then check it again. And again. When you're sure your pitch is error free, read it aloud and check it again. Nothing says "unprofessional" as loudly as spelling and grammar errors do. Most word processing programs will help you trap errors, too, but don't rely on them solely.

Deliver

Once you've completed the steps above, go ahead and send that sales pitch.

Follow Up

It sounds simple, doesn't it? Yet the majority of people don't do it.

You can stand out from the crowd and maximize your chance of landing the sale by simply following up. How?

For starters, close your sales pitch with a promise to follow up. "I will follow up with you in a few days to discuss working together," or something along those lines will work just fine. Then, mark down your follow up date in your calendar or to-do list.

Finally, DO IT.

Lather, Rinse, Repeat

Once you've made a few successful sales pitches, take your basic pitch outline or template and save it to your desktop. That way, the next time you need to write a sales pitch, you won't have to start from scratch. You can simply fill in the template with the appropriate names and details and send it along.