The 5-minute pitch meeting

Even before COVID made video meetings the norm, sellers were already getting less and less time with buyers.

As a result, you must perfect time management selling whether you’re on Zoom or face-to-face with your prospects.

Think of it, crudely, as parking-meter pitching.

For every minute you bring value to your buyer, you’ll be rewarded with more time.

Say something smart or ask a strategic question that interests the buyer…another quarter gets dropped into the slot, offering more time in the exchange.

Practice running a pitch meeting in five minutes. (If you can run a power-packed FIVE minute meeting, you certainly can do it in 10 or 15!)

And because you’ll be judged more by the questions you ask versus the pitching you do, focus on researching your prospect’s business to ask the most relevant questions.

"What is keeping you up at night?" should be replaced by, "I’ve studied the Whatever initiative your company launched and learned XYZ….how do you assess your progress so far?"

Follow that up with, "What do you need help with from partners like us?" and you’ll earn a few more minutes in the meeting.

So you got your customer to commit to a 5-minute "catch-up." Great.

Now what?

Now is when you flash your expert conversation skills.

If you grant Charles Duhigg 12 minutes in his great TED Talk titled, "The Science Behind Dramatically Better Conversations," you’ll be better prepared for your 5-minute meetings.