The Perfect Sales Pitch: What Would Aristotle Do?

As a Rhetoric and Media Studies major, Aristotle’s teachings are the foundation of my approach to many aspects of business. What can we learn from his methods of presentation, persuasion and appeal to help boost Sales in a downturn?

My Sales approach builds upon Aristotle’s three elements needed to move an audience—logos (logic,) pathos (emotion,) and ethos (credibility or character).  If your presentation skills are lacking, then use this as your starting point.

Logos: Greek for “word;” persuade with logic, reason, statistics, and facts

Nothing is more powerful than facts. You can’t change them and you can’t fight them, therefore you need to accept facts whether you like them or not.  All sales people should be competent with their products’ features, benefits, and specifications. Understand the relevant facts about your product or services, and then make your appeal more compelling.

• Provide quotes or testimonials from trusted people, the press, or thought-leaders to support your argument.
• Keep your appeal simple and to the point.
• Arrange your arguments from strongest to weakest.
• Tell a story, don’t just regurgitate facts. Use metaphors to explain concepts, use real world examples to breathe life into your presentation, and change your tone with the excitement or seriousness to match your presentation.
• Prepare rebuttals for questions that are often asked of your ideas or products.

The bottom line: Provide facts about your product or service to create the foundation for your presentation or pitch. This alone will not seal the deal, though, you’ll need finesse and color to motivate your audience to be just as passionate about your product as you are.

Pathos: Greek for “experience” or “suffering;” persuade by appealing to emotion and imagination

This is the most frequently forgotten element in presentations. We have been taught to be factual and concrete; make your client see the essential value of your product and the sale is as good as closed, right? No!  There is nothing like the power of connecting with an audience through the heart! Leverage pathos by using a passionate delivery and vivid language to tell stories and form a personal connection. We buy from people we share a personal connection with; those we like, know and trust.

Think about what emotions drive your audience’s purchasing decisions. How can you tap into that? The term “benefaction” here refers to the psychological benefits that determine a person’s actions. People purchase products that increase their happiness, self-esteem, wealth, or power, and they rationalize their emotionally-driven impulses with facts in order to feel in control. If you’ve laid a solid foundation of facts (logos,) then when you appeal to a prospect’s emotions they’ll use those facts to justify their decision.

For instance, Mommy May wants to buy a shiny new stroller that all the other moms have at the park, but knows it’s expensive. She rationalizes her decision to buy the stroller by thinking of the facts: the new stroller will be easier to transport thanks to its light frame and compact design. Mommy May doesn’t want the stroller because it’d be easier to transport – it was the approval of others that motivated her desire – but she leveraged facts about the product to justify her decision.

Whether you want to admit it or not, we all have a selfish ego to feed and an instinct for self-preservation. The pleasure of self-gratification is often the real motivator behind an impulse buy. Pain often is, too; when people are in pain they have a sense of urgency and tend to act without taking the time to think through the facts. Women are a great example; they tend to go shopping when they feel sad, angry, or hurt.

The bottom line: you want your audience to emotionally connect with the ideas in your presentation. They need to feel as though what you have to offer will fill a void, take away a problem, or enhance their stature.  Make your prospects believe that you are the only person who is going to act in their best interest.

Ethos: Greek for “character;” wisdom, virtue, and goodwill

Earning the customer’s trust is a must; present yourself as a trusted adviser. Don’t act fake, don’t beat around the bush, and don’t try to deceive. Be transparent; be perfectly frank about what you are presenting and show that you have a natural propensity to look out for your prospect’s interests.

Make it clear that what they see is what they get. Don’t throw out any smoke and mirrors to throw them off track, and don’t try to gloss over any of your product’s failures or weaknesses. Once they use the product they’ll learn about such things, and if you ever want them to buy from you again or serve as your word of mouth marketers, then be honest, responsible, empathetic, and true to your presentation.

The bottom line: Ethos necessitates that you employ charisma and clarify your credibility.

Put all three together and you have the perfect sales pitch

When presenting a product, it is your goal to capture your audience and persuade them to believe your message, understand your product’s value, and make the purchase. Aristotle said, “A speech has two parts. You must state your case, and you must prove it.” Not all speeches need to be explicitly persuasive, some focus on the transfer of one person’s understanding to a large group, but in the end you need to leave your prospect with the information and motivation required to make a decision in your favor.

We all have a tendency to become complacent with our presentation methods and the ideas and products we sell. Refocus on the basics; the elements behind every decision. Each day, make an assessment of your presentation and tighten it up.

The bottom line: Provide the necessary facts, appeal to your prospect’s emotions and establish credibility as one who should be trusted. Then leverage all three to close the deal.

With that, I will leave you with my favorite Aristotle quote:  “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.”

Happy Selling!

- Rebecca

Tagged as: Aristotle, Sales Strategy, Sales tips