The best sales pitch example in 10 minutes

The Sales Pitch in 10 Minutes

Not just any old sales pitch example.

These 10 minutes have given me a better life.

This is a personal story, but it's not about me.

It's safe to keep reading. Really!

However, the sample sales pitch I received is fantastic.

An eye problem

After all these years, I've finally figured it out.

I was born with a congenital eye condition called "fourth nerve palsy."

Not life-threatening, but quite bothersome.

I should have known something was wrong when I was much younger, but I ignored it for years.

I often had double vision—for example, it was harder to look to the left than to the right—and yes, I was the first to go home at my bachelor party in 2007, but that can happen, right?

There was also an anecdote about me that I should have interpreted better.

Let me explain.

“What would I wake you up for in the middle of the night?”—do you remember that TV show?

What would it take to wake you up?

So, without being asked, I say, “You can wake me up for a game of indoor soccer.”

"Wrong answer," I hear right away. We can only wake you up for a nap.

And I always thought it was normal to take a siesta because of my “Mediterranean mañana” background.

Wrong again.

My former teammates always told me that I played soccer as if it were an individual sport.

Of course, this wasn't my fault; my vision was always blurry, so I figured it was better to keep the ball than to pass it.

That was also congenital, by the way, but it probably isn't related to my eye problem.

What phone addiction?

Something literally snapped in October 2014.

For months, I had to sleep more than 10 hours a day.

I couldn't work on a laptop for more than two consecutive hours.

It was impossible to look at my phone for more than 30 seconds.

If I did that, the punishment was relentless. I had to keepmy eyes closedfor 20 minutesor avoid making eye contact with a screen, a person, or anything else.

Cell Phone Addiction... What Cell Phone Addiction?

MRI

About 2.5 years ago, I saw an optometrist for the first time to have some eye exams done.

She told me that one or more of my eye muscles aren't working properly and that they'd also like to rule out MS—so she asked if I'd be willing to have an MRI.

Several times a day, my eyes danced together to find the right frequency.

The only solution was to close my eyes, relax, and see if they were willing to work together again.

To put my eye problem into perspective.

Do you know that feeling when you've just woken up and are trying to focus so you can see clearly?

Now imagine you only have 30% of your day. And to play with Legos with my little son… it’s just not possible.

And the annoying thing is… I love Lego.

Uh… I mean, I love my son!

To the eye doctor

To summarize the ophthalmologist’s initial response: “You’ll just have to live with it, but you can try wearing glasses to relax your muscles; it’ll probably help a little.”

I tried wearing glasses, but it was nothing more than a placebo. Glasses are fine if they actually help you see better or give you some relief. Unfortunately, they did neither.

After more than a year of waiting and following up, I finally get an appointment with an ophthalmologist.

By then, I was also feeling very uncertain about my options. And let me tell you: when one of your senses isn't working properly, all your other senses become extra sensitive.

Eventually, I get to speak with one of the best Dutch eye surgeons, and he explains his approach to me.

It was a bit technical, and he was thinking about surgery on both eyes. Here’s a brief summary of what he said: “Here, I’m moving a muscle 2 mm, and on the left eye, another 3 mm or so.”

I was relieved because he said the risk of the surgery was relatively low.

I was at my wits' end and just wanted to go ahead and do it. He said something that I still remember to this day and that I appreciate.

He said, “Can I help you with this problem?” And I thought, “That’s great, because he really made me feel like he wanted to improve my quality of life.”

I called my wife and said, “I’m going to do this.” I have a surgery appointment and a plan, but a week before the surgery, I decided to back out after all.

Why, exactly?

Hyenas would devour me alive

I couldn't stop thinking about those six students whom this surgeon had also invited to assess my condition.

Cool, of course... uh, not really.

They were staring at me like hungry hyenas.

This didn't feel good at all! And the technical approach did scare me a little.

I was torn. I thought, “Would the surgeon place more importance on helping six students or on me as a patient?”

From a moral standpoint, maybe it wasn't even wrong?

But come on, we're talking about my eyes here. I sensed a bit of a conflict of interest. “I'm out.”

Sales pitch example in progress

I went to a private clinic with my wife to get a second opinion.

We were sitting in the waiting room surrounded by lots of toys—many of her patients are children, so she created a safe environment.

After waiting for 5 minutes, the doctor introduces himself in a modest yet confident manner.

And she asks us how she can help us.

I'll briefly explain my situation.

Eventually, she gently takes the lead in the conversation and tells us about her professional background.

She also mentions her years at one of the best eye hospitals in Boston. Yeah, yeah... good references—that really sticks with you.

At the same time, I see my wife staring at the wall, checking all her diplomas and references.

The doctor examines my eye, we do a few eye exercises, and everything she says is straightforward.

No technical jargon, just simple language that everyone can understand.

She said something special that sounded like poetry to me.

“After the surgery, you’ll go back 20 years in time.” At that very moment, I thought back to how I felt when I was 21. And I couldn’t help but smile. There was a little voice inside me screaming… you were in top shape, man, when you were 21.

The Action Plan

I asked, “So how do you plan to do this?”

She said, “I don’t think we need to reposition any muscles or perform surgery on both eyes.”

Too risky, and I think unnecessary.

I only want to perform surgery on your right eye.

The main muscle in your right eye is too weak to work in coordination with the opposing muscle in the same eye.

I want to cut through this opposing muscle and then let nature take its course.

What you can compensate for with your eyes, a healthy person couldn't do, but you've been doing it for over 40 years.

What I heard was: “I believe you’re capable of doing this with the help of your brain. You, of all people, can do this.”

(Just to be clear, anyone with my condition could do this.)

I looked at my wife and felt my confidence grow. She was just as convinced as I was.

“When can we schedule the surgery, I asked?”

She said, “Take some time to think it over. When you’re ready, we can schedule surgery within 2 or 3 weeks.”

As we walked out, my wife said, “Did you see all those diplomas on the wall? :-)”.

The sales pitch clearly had an impact.

Why is this a great sales pitch?

First and foremost, she's an excellent doctor, but that's not what I want to emphasize.

The point is that she markets her expertise in a way that we can all appreciate.

The best salespeople aren't stereotypes, but authentic people who empathize and understand how a human touch can give others the confidence to buy with peace of mind.

And this is what I would also call“social selling”because of her empathetic approach. But what exactly is so special about her sales pitch? She wasn’t wearing a white lab coat or any other stigmatizing clothing, but rather elegant attire that suited her personality.

2 – She understands the power of language.

If you can explain it in simple terms, then explain it in simple terms.

Use technical language only if there is no other way to explain something clearly.

By the way, it’s hard to avoid jargon when you’ve been trained for years to focus on doing “that.” Sounds familiar, right?

3- By saying, “I’m sending you back 20 years in time,” she gave me the real result using a vivid metaphor. Amazing.

This is what sales is really all about in the end. Tell the story.

It's memorable, and it creates an emotional connection.

4 – She helped me as best she could, but when I was ready to take the plunge, she “pushed” me away. She really wanted to help me, but she made it clear that she didn’t need me as a patient.

This made me feel safe, which made me trust her even more.

A good salesperson is priceless

In a nutshell.

It took me 7 to 10 appointments with eye specialists, two visits to the neurology outpatient clinic, an MRI scan, and more than two years of utter confusion before I met this wonderful doctor.

A doctor with a sense of purpose, conviction, and, above all, the self-confidence to take full responsibility.

It took her only 10 minutes to convince me.

It was the best example of a “sales pitch” because the stakes had never been higher for me.

Thank you, and long live the professional sales pitch!