8 Tips for Your Augmented Reality or Virtual Reality Sales Pitch

I’m an art director for an augmented reality(AR) and virtual reality(VR) company. During our sales pitch, in order for us to move further with our conversation about our product and services, I find myself educating our clients in an effort to have a shared understanding.

Ken Pyle, president/managing editor at Viodi, LLC and owner, interviews Nate Fender, VP, product at Ario, at Consumer Electronics Tradeshow (CES) January 9, 2018 in the Sands Expo, Las Vegas. (photo by Jacob D. Galito)

I get that there’s a learning curve. I’m certain that it’s even more so realized, for those that aren’t digital natives; which, naturally, our main audience is.

We’ve developed pilots and demos for companies such as: Daqri, Emerson, Dominion Energy, Ferguson, and W.M. Jordan, etc., and recently we had a booth at CES 2018. In order for our clients to have a firm understanding of what we do and what we can offer, we have found that these tips can improve your sales pitch:

• Read your audience — Gauge their understanding of AR and VR. In that way, you aren’t wasting their time because you won’t be starting from square one. Basically, you are catering to your audience, which adds more of a personalized interaction.
• Enhancement — Highlighting key features of your product can bring them to a better understanding of AR and VR technology without it being confusing. Think of parallels of your product or service with currently existing platforms or ideas to find that common understanding for your audience.
• Focus —Have a definite target audience in mind (narrow or broad) because, in all likelihood, they might not have anything in mind. A lot of companies that we’ve worked with, or spoke with, struggle to see what AR and VR can do for their business; just because they understand the technology, doesn’t mean they have a solid plan for what they will be using it for.
• Don’t oversell or promise anything that you can’t fulfill — If there are any questions that come up that seem to be out of scope for your team, or honestly not possible, let them know that. You aren’t doing your business or your audience any good to promise something that you have no intention, or way, of meeting.

At the end of the day, both AR and VR are a tool and we are the problem solvers and evangelists of our industry.

• Let your work speak for itself —If you are showing a live demo or a video that showcases your product or service, don’t state the obvious because that could feel like you’re beating a dead horse.
• Pauses are good —If there’s any silent moments in your pitch, great. This will allow your audience to think and it’ll provide them the opportunity to ask questions.
• Leave on a good note —If you feel that you have said everything that needs to be said, go ahead and thank them for the opportunity and end the meeting; This will save you, and them, from you inadvertently repeating yourself.
• Follow up —If you pitch it, they will come. Let your leads and potential clients take some time to digest your meeting. But, be sure to email them a formal thank you for their time and consideration.

In order for our clients to have a firm understanding of what we do and what we can offer, we have found that these tips can improve your pitch…

At the end of the day, both AR and VR are a tool and we are the problem solvers and evangelists of our industry. If you find that using the term AR and VR is causing your audience’s eyes to glaze over, don’t keep using them. They are industry terms. Rather, craft your pitch to your audience. If you know that they’ll struggle with keeping up with technical terms, stick to what they understand. Because, nobody wants to feel talked down to.