"Come on then - give me your pitch."

What do most salespeople do?

They jump into their elevator pitch.

The buyer is firmly in control.

They are the one calling the shots.

Most of what the salesperson says next will be irrelevant.

As a result they'll 'Get back to you."

"Jump salesperson!"

"Sure! How high?"

In their mind you've proven them right - that you're just another salesperson with a solution they don't need.

So they've swept you to one side by giving you an invitation to 'pitch'.

Salesperson gets excited as it's an 'in'...'genuine interest!'

When in reality it's a ruse from the prospect to prove themselves correct.

...that you're just another salesperson desperate to pitch your product and don't care about them. You have commission breath.

*There is another response though.

And it's what top performers do.

They push back.

They don't fall into this trap.

Next time try responding with something like this:

"I'd have nothing to pitch at this point Mr. prospect...I don't yet know enough about your situation to understand if what I have is even relevant. So let me ask you..."

Take back control.

And back to questioning.

This is not a trick or some kind of hack - it comes from a genuine place of not knowing enough about them.

It's an honest search for the truth to see if you can help them as a potential partner.

Salespeople should never be subservient or on the back foot.

This is how they get locked into transactional selling and price reductions.

Seller-buyer relationships should be one of mutual respect.

A collaborative partnership

Not a combative duel.