How to write a sales pitch that fits in a two-minute visit

A purchase manager gives a stranger about two minutes at the door, often standing. In that time you have room for three moves. Say the problem the buyer already has. Offer one piece of proof you can put in their hand. Ask for one small next step. The company history, the product range and the price list belong to the second meeting, if you get one.

Why does a long pitch lose the room?

Many visits go wrong in the first half minute, when the visitor talks about the firm. "We have been in business for twenty years and supply many kinds of thread." The buyer has heard that line from a dozen suppliers and is already thinking about the next call.

The buyer cares about their own problem. A cone that runs out mid-order. A shade that does not match last season. A supplier who goes quiet in the festival rush. A pitch that starts there gets a nod. One that starts with your history gets a polite request to leave a card.

What are the three moves?

The problem, in their words. One sentence about something this kind of buyer is likely to face. You are guessing, so phrase it as a guess: "In my experience shade mismatch between two lots is what causes returns."

One proof. A single item they can hold or check. A sample, or a short note on a job for a similar firm, with permission. Or a test you can run on their own material. Avoid a list of five claims, because the buyer will remember none.

One ask. A small step with a date. "May I leave two cones with your floor supervisor and ring you on Monday to hear what they thought?" Never "May we do business?"

For example: a thread supplier at a home-textile unit in Karur

Imagine an invented supplier of stitching and overlock thread who visits the purchase manager of a unit that makes bed linen and curtains for export orders. The first visit goes like this. The supplier opens with the range, ten weights and sixty shades, and leaves a catalogue. The manager says they buy from a regular dealer, and the catalogue goes into a drawer.

For the second visit the supplier prepares the three moves on the back of a card.

"Good morning. I am [name] from [firm]. In my experience the trouble is shade difference between one lot of thread and the next, which shows up after washing. Is that true for you? I have brought two cones from the same dye lot as the sample cone, and a swatch I stitched with it. If your floor supervisor will try them on one order, I can ring you on Monday to hear how it ran."

Read it aloud: under thirty seconds. The manager asks which lot the cones came from, and whether the supplier can hold stock from one lot for a full order. That question is the real meeting. The supplier did not win that day. The trial was small, two cones that cost about ₹900 to give away, and on Monday the supervisor reports one cone ran well and the other snapped twice, so the second meeting is about the dye lot, not the price. Still, the visit left with a trial and a Monday call, and that was what it was for.

The first visit's mistake was opening with the catalogue. The repair was a smaller start that gave the buyer something to do.

What if the buyer cuts in halfway?

Let them. A buyer who interrupts is already in the meeting you wanted. Stop reading your card, answer the question in a sentence, and return to the ask only if there is a natural gap. If the buyer looks at the clock, skip straight to the ask and leave. Ending on time earns the next visit.

What should I leave out?

• The company history. Put it in a leave-behind.
• The full range. One product, the one that fits this buyer.
• Comparisons with named rivals. They start an argument you cannot win in two minutes.
• Price, unless asked. Price before need makes you the cheapest or the dearest, never the right one.

Put the history and the range on a one-page leave-behind, so the pitch can stay short.

How do I fill in the card before each visit?

Do this before every visit, not once for the year.

If you cannot fill the problem box, you do not know the buyer well enough. Spend ten minutes on their website, or ask someone who works there, before you go. For help choosing which buyer to prepare for, how to build an ideal customer profile is the place to start.

When should I not use a short pitch?

Not when the buyer has asked for a full presentation, not in a tender meeting, and not with a decision maker who has set aside an hour. There, listen first and pitch to what you hear. It also fails when the proof is weak. A two-minute visit with nothing to show is a pleasant chat and no more.

Writing your own card this afternoon

Write the three lines on a card for your next visit and read them aloud to someone who has never heard of your firm. If they cannot say back what you want from the buyer, the ask needs work. The sales process section has related reading. If you want a written pitch for your whole team, see sales playbook development and tell us what you need.