Selling a product to a buyer, unlike selling a service, is a waiting game, and it privileges skilled players. Experienced salespeople make pitching look easy because they’ve been practising the dance, and they know the moves – for the rest of us (and when training new salespeople), it’s crucial to know what the buyer is looking for, and how to deliver it, in order to make the sale.

Get the most from your sales calls with these four steps for honing in on your customer’s needs and demonstrating how your products address them:

1. Be Prepared

Lord Baden-Powell’s motto applies to sales as much as it did for boy scouts; when pitching new products, do your due diligence. Know the market; know who you’re selling to. Know the product and its manufacturing inside and out. That way, when buyers ask about timelines and volumes you’ll have the answers you need to realistically address their questions and provide the information they need.

You should also understand the sales process in your buyer’s area; in many industries, pitching is completely different across the pond than it is here at home. Should you be talking directly with retailers, or through an agency? Know the routes to market before you venture in.

2. Stand Out

In order to really differentiate the products from competitors, you need to have a strong USP and communicate it in a persuasive way. It’s not enough to have a unique product –the buyer also needs to know how offering that product benefits their business and will help them achieve their sales mission.

3. Show What You Know

Any sales person worth their salt has done their due diligence and knows the product’s USP relative to other items on the market. To really convince a buyer, you need to show them you know what you’re doing, and demonstrate a solid history of proven success.

Pitching a product that’s new to retailers, but established with direct-to-customer sales? Talk about online sales, great reviews, powerful endorsements, web traffic conversion, and positive press. The goal is to build confidence and you can do that by pointing to indicators that the product has traction.

4. Listen, Help & Build

A successful order is not the end of the road, if you made the sale by misleading the customer, they’ll remember, your relationship will go downhill, and they won’t order from you again. The same could happen if you were completely honest but the product was poor; either the buyer will ask you to take it back, or they’ll just never call you again.

Since your goal is to build long-term relationships and to encourage re-ordering, it’s important to listen to buyers. Go into the sale with two ears and one mouth – listen more than you speak. Learn what they’re trying to achieve, so you can make a strong case for why selling your product will help them do that.

Trying to see things from your customer’s perspective is really helpful for developing a persuasive sales pitch. That’s why these four steps emphasize their needs, so you provide the information they want before they even think to ask. And if you do that before you get to know them, just think of the rapport you’ll have down the road!