I'm sure you already Googled and found many articles on how to pitch, what to do, what not to do during a sales meeting, however nothing will ever prepare you enough for what is going to come up during the meeting; every company or organization you're gonna pitch to is different, every single one of them will have different questions, doubts and objections. So with this encouraging thought in mind, let's begin.

No matter which the questions, doubts and objections there will arise, to go through any sales meeting or networking conversation successfully, you should prepare yourself by making sure that these 3 things are ready:

1. You are in the mental capacity to engage into a conversation (you can try the exercise from above)

2. Hardcore knowledge of AIESEC & our products

3. Understanding the business of your potential customer

Mastering the art of pitching

Once you have these things sorted, to prepare your sales meeting or networking event pitch, make sure you:

• IDENTIFY YOUR GOAL. Are you going to get a business card and later going to set a meeting or are you gonna make sale on the spot?

• CAN DESCRIBE IN YOUR WORDS THE CUSTOMER’S BUSINESS. Ask a lot of questions while talking to them or have previously read about the company’s reports, vision, mission, values, strategy etc.

• HAVE AN IDEA ON HOW OUR PRODUCT SOLVES THEIR "PROBLEM". Use clear statements and statistics and communicate what makes our organization, or your idea a unique solution for them

• CONNECT THE DOTS. What are the exact features of the product/solution? How will the potential partner connect with the issue they have and how will our product will solve it? If they say yes: what’s next? How will you be taking it forward?

Bonus

#1: Is All About Your Attitude If you are excited and confident about it, they will be as well!

#2: Reinforce Your Message Bring with you flyers, PPTs (just have one sent to you in your email, so you have it no matter the situation), branded items (pens, notebooks etc.) to leave behind.

#3: Customize Not all businesses care about the same thing, so make sure to adapt your message accordingly.

How to pitch AIESEC externally

Tailoring the message to private sector, public sector and third (NGO) sector

We recommend to start the conversation by asking if they have heard or know anything about AIESEC before and in case they have ask what do they know about us. Next you will find a bullet point like guide to everything you need to know to pitch AIESEC.

Why do we exist?

We have been operating since 1948 and we've collaborating with global private, public and third sector organizations (currently with over 1,000 organizations worldwide). Try giving them a brief on the history of the organization, as it will both peak their interest about AIESEC and will give them a deeper understanding about our exchange products.

How do we collaborate with other organisations?

The main two reasons why we believe companies or organizations would collaborate with us are:

• contributing to the youth leadership development;

• access to our global leaders (that means you as well).

Think on how you can communicate our unique value proposition incorporating the items mentioned above.

Who are we as an organisation?

We are one of the world’s largest youth run organization with over 40000 Volunteers placed in 120 countries and territories with offices in over 1000 universities. We are an organization with clearly defined values and principles; you share what they are through a personal story (which I'm sure you have), and don't forget to point out that we are an global, independent, non-political, non-for-profit, and youth-run organisation.

What do we do and what do we offer?

I'm sure that you know by now what AIESEC is and what we do, but to refresh your memory and to put it into an easy and clear statement:

You should connect this information either with concrete call to action like: “you can acquire global talent through us” or “we can help you to build your global brand through employer branding activities (both physical and digital)”. Of course you can and should come up with call to actions that suit your situation and potential partner.

Pitch AIESEC to the Private Sector

1. Return of investment by ensuring and increasing retention rates of employment after the GT

2. Access to native speakers of languages that are harder to hire in your local market

3. Access to international talent with (potential) skills in: IT, management, finance, teaching etc.

4. University campus access to our local entities and members

Pitch AIESEC to the Development Sector

1. AIESEC’s commitment together with UN HQs: AIESEC was the first NGO to commit on United Nations SDG initiative, and we signed the collaboration contract in headquarters in NY back in 2015

2. GV alignment to SDGs: Over 40000 people yearly are (well, were, before the pandemic hit) mobilized across the globe through GV contributing to SDGs

Pitch AIESEC to the Third (NGO) Sector

1. Youth4GlobalGoals: the AIESEC initiative to activate youth towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals

2. GV Stats: Every year we run over 6500 social projects across the world, mobilizing more than 40k young people last year alone. In the past five years over 170k people volunteered abroad with us

3. Global Partners: Plan International, UNIDO, World Merit, Chen Yidan Foundation (please google them before you mention them to our partners, so you have a general idea what they do) among other like-minded organizations collaborate globally with us

The dos and don'ts when pitching AIESEC

The 5 DOs while pitching AIESEC

1. Engage Into a Dialogue and Avoid Monologues

Trust and buy in from your partner won’t come from the quantity of information you provide, but actually from how capable you will be to create a dialogue and engage them into a conversation where they can envision themselves winning from being part of the partnership.

2. Build Up on the Golden Circle

Using Simon Sinek’s "Golden Circle: Why, How and What" will guide you to better explain and organise your pitch, don’t forget to add the “who” component from the AIESEC Way.

3. Data, Data and More Data

Data is power, and in this context, data will add the power of validating and confirming our results, our reach and the huge power of our network. Pitching to organizations the number of experiences we deliver globally and our access to more than 1000 universities are stats that will never stop astonishing partners of the big potential and capacity we have as a network.

4. Trust isn’t Given, It is Earned

There’s no better way to earn trust from potential new partners than getting a sense of security that your current (or past) partners have had a good experience. Make sure you always have prepared 1 to 3 examples of successful projects delivered with other companies or organizations.

5. Keep It #Real

One of the reasons why organisations choose to partner with us is precisely because we bring the youth component. Find a way to balance “formality” without losing the young spirit of the organization and the young spirit in you, you are the product of what you are pitching! Be honest & have fun with it!

The 5 DON'Ts while pitching AIESEC

1. Don’t Get Boxed or Scripted

Even though is very important to have key points to highlight and a clear flow to communicate properly the messages you want to deliver, allow the conversation to flow where it emerges and be flexible enough to build upon it to achieve your goal.

2. Don’t Over-complicate AIESEC

Less is more, don’t try to explain the TM processes, Finance Standards, Roadmap, The BlueBook , the OD Model etc. to a partner. Internal information isn’t relevant and can generate more confusion.

3. Don’t Underestimate The Value Of Our Organization

Being an NGO or being a youth run organization doesn’t makes us less than the other organization we are sitting with; having a partnership implies we are both equal and we are both adding something unique to each other. Therefore no matter these differences, don’t under-price or underestimate during your speech the achievements and stats the organization can bring to the table.

4. Don’t Use AIESEC Terms

Acronyms are super useful inside the organization, however for externals are hard to comprehend.

5. Don’t Fall Into The Fluffy Trap

We can get quite passionate and inspired about what we do as an organization, but still don’t forget that to keep it highly professional. You should be capable to translate our passion and mainly our impact into business language.

Quiz

A product proposal is simply a written plan meant to convince another party of the viability of the product you plan to sell. Writing a selling product proposal requires a significant amount of time, research and planning. You also have to learn about the person or company you want to pitch, whether it is a distributor or a retailer.

You may wonder why you’d need a proposal when wooing a potential client. Isn’t a quick email with just the pricing included enough? Sometimes your sales proposal is the only thing that differentiates you from the competition, so it’s important to create a professional proposal. You want to show that you’ve done your research on your potential client and that you have solutions that will benefit him or her. A proposal is all about standing out!

The creation process:

The key towards proposal creation is asking and answering the right questions.

You should start with understanding the client:

• What do I know about the project?

• Why are they outsourcing these services?

• What is their plan?

• What do they want/need?

Then ask yourself:

• Can I solve that problem? What makes us qualified to create a solution for them?

• How can AIESEC provide a solution to their needs?

• How can I make AIESEC valuable by creating a solution to their problem?

• How can I specifically present what we offer as a solution to their problem?

Check below some good advice on creating an outstanding proposal

1st TIP

Write succinctly - there are some individuals who thrive on writing as much verbiage as they can fit in on the paper. This is a no-no in proposal writing. Basically, you need to be to-the-point because readers have little time and patience for fluff. Minimize the use of jargon and run-on sentences as well, even if you’re writing a creative design proposal.

2nd TIP

Start with the big picture: when someone takes your proposal into their hands, they don’t know what to expect. It is highly recommended for you to start with the big picture. Give them an overview of your ideas to get them interested and then drill down from there. Also, keep in mind that if you want to create proposals that will be read from start to finish, the content should flow smoothly. Everything should logically move forward.

3rd TIP

Counter possible arguments: The proposal, at its core, is a refined and personalized brochure. When you create proposals, it should put you and/or your company at the best possible light. Think of the reasons why the client might decline your pitch. Is your service too expensive? Are there better-placed competitors? Assess these obstacles and come up with reasons why choosing you is still the best option for them.

4th TIP

Display your personal style: in today’s competitive landscape, customization can go a long way. Research consistently shows that hiring managers are choosing contractors that show great potential and personality. When they see your enthusiasm for the task, they are more inclined to hire you over others. Never be boring. This is a rule of thumb you should adopt when you create proposals from now on.

5th TIP

Start using graphics: images can be meaningful. As they say, “a picture can paint a thousand words” and this saying is true in the case of business proposals. Instead of giving clients boring facts and statistics, you can say the same message in the form of images and even infographics. Be smart in using graphics though and don’t overdo it.

Some kickass samples:

Now, you are ready to get those raises!

Quiz

Employer branding is simply how companies market their brand to desired job seekers. They do this by showcasing their organization’s unique cultural differentiators, and then working to amplify them so they can position themselves as a top place to work. An employer brand includes the market’s perception of the company as an employer, but also describes the promise (or employee value proposition) to employees in exchange for their experience, talents, contacts, or skills.

Why Employer Branding?

For Organizations

• Access to young, diverse talents with volunteering experience & leadership skills

• Positioning as social responsible employer who supports youth

• Brand Exposure

For AIESEC

• Revenue generator

• Supports employability of youth & enabling AIESECers to get interested in working in purposeful organizations

• Can be used as an “entry-product” to then move to exchange related products

• Associates AIESEC with strong brand

Employer Branding Products

Examples

Here you can see some examples of proposals for Employer Branding products:

Quiz

Account management is a partner-facing. Account managers typically work with a dedicated group of AIESEC partners to facilitate the achievement of the partnership’s goals.An account manager has to ensure the growth of the accounts through up-sells, understanding the partners’ needs, aligning with the core of the organization and keeping quality of work high so partners want to renew/expand contracts, ensuring growth in the AIESEC exchange products.

What are the main responsibilities of an Account Manager?

1. Manage the customer long-term relationship

• Clear understanding of the partnership’s scope

• Ensure to have a shared vision of the partnership with the different stakeholders involved

• Value the relationship aspect (partners are not only an income source)

2. Track account metrics

• Map out the main deliverables for the partnership’s activities included in the contract

• Ensure to define clear MoS

• Create reporting for the different partnership’s initiatives

3. Strategize to meet customer needs

• Remember that as account manager, you are the face of AIESEC

• Analyze if the current activities in the contract are beneficial to the achievements of the partnership scope

• Remember that our partners need to support our core

• Ensure that amplifier products can increase the exchange volume of your entity

4. Find up-sell opportunities

• Keep yourself updated about the company evolution

• Build a strong network inside the company

• Use different tools, like LinkedIn to explore possible AIESEC Alumni in the company

• Explore new business unit needs and possible opportunity to expand the partnership

6 Habits of highly effective strategic Account Managers

1. Conduct Research

2. Conduct a needs assessment

3. Create a rock-solid plan

4. Convert that plan into a strategic proposal

5. Establish a cadence for meeting and reporting

6. Keep the relationship crackling

TIPS & TRICKS for Account Managers

TOOLS you will want to use for account management

LINKEDIN

Use for staying informed about company and stakeholder as well as informal communication and showcasing.

CRM for SALES

Customer Relationship Management - Use for information management and keep overview over new proposals sent and contracts signed.

EMAIL TRACKER

Track if your emails get opened and use boomerang to remind yourself to follow up.

ALUMNI

Get direct access to decision makers’ contacts and understand more about a business.

EVENTS

Attendance of physical events give you direct contact with key decision makers and stakeholders.

GOOGLE ALERT

To keep yourself updated about news related to the company.

Quiz

As a concept, Business Development can be defined as the sum of ideas, initiatives and activities aimed towards making a business better. This includes increasing revenues, growth in terms of business expansion, building strategic partnerships, and making strategic business decisions.

Why do we need Business Development in AIESEC?

I’m so glad you asked! The role of BD inside AIESEC has historically linked to the idea of ensuring financial sustainability to our Global & National Offices, as a parallel source of incomes besides our regular operations. This department allows us to partner big and like-minded organization with resources to invest in our projects or initiatives. With this idea, we can avoid the perception of it as a source of incomes and, start seeing it as an Amplifier of Our Operations (Exchange Experiences) - in the end, it's all about the exchange.

There are three main components that form the base of business development: Markets - Customers - Relationships

In order to grow a business beyond its current state, it is important to focus on one or more of these areas. The type of business and the direction of growth determines where the focus is placed.

Attitude is the KEY!

Those involved in business development need to come up with creative, yet realistic ideas. All you need in order to succed are: a working concept, an open mindset, willingness for an honest self-assessment, and the ability to accept failures.

What should a Business Developer know?

Since business development involves high-level decision making, the business developer should remain informed about the following:

1. The current state of the business in terms of SWOT analysis:

• Strengths

• Weaknesses

• Opportunities

• Threats

2. Competitor developments - Assuming that you have competitors, you should be aware of who might come with similar proposals to the companies you intend to approach.

3. The customer profile - You don't want to make a partnership with anyone, in the same way as not any company would be interested in collaborating with you. You need to know certainly who is your target.

4. New domains/products/sectors eligible for business expansion - Surprisingly, Business Development involves Business Expansion.

5. The current state of the overall industry and growth projections - First things first, know where you come from and what you can offer. Then, be sure to inform yourself about the potential partners, what are their needs that you can cover or the problems you might have a solution for.

6. New and unexplored market opportunities

7. The long-term view, especially with the regards to the initiatives being proposed - Every partnership is a contribution to the future of the organization, therefore our long-term plan must be taken into consideration in order to maintain our trustworthiness.

Main Responsibilities of the BD department

• Acquiring new SALES

• Maintaining and Up-scaling alliances with existing partners

• Improving and Inventing new BD products

• Ensure REVENUE

The most important Measure of Success for us is the revenue recognized. For some entities this will mean either the amount of money on the bank account, for others the amount of money signed, or amount of money from services delivered.

Now you're almost ready to pursue your journey as a member of the BD department. Let's find out more about how do we do stuff in BD.

Quiz

Take the first quiz and see if you mastered the introduction chapter on BD knowledge.

But wait, there's MORE! This was just the beginning.

The Concept

In their book "Getting to Yes: Negotiating an Agreement without Giving In" (original edition 1981, 2nd ed. 1991, 3rd ed. 2011), Roger Fisher, William Ury, and Bruce Patton introduced the world to the possibilities of mutual-gains negotiation, or integrative negotiation. The authors of Getting to Yes explained that negotiators don’t have to choose between either waging a strictly competitive, win-lose negotiation battle or caving in to avoid conflict.

Rather, they argued, bargainers can and should look for negotiation strategies that can help both sides get more of what they want. By listening closely to each other, treating each other fairly, and jointly exploring options to increase value, negotiators can find ways of getting to yes that reduce the need to rely on hard-bargaining tactics and unnecessary concessions.

Fundamentals of Principled Negotiation

Separate the people from the problem

This first principle is broken down into three subcategories:

• perception

• emotion

• communications

Negotiators are people first—people who have values, cultural backgrounds, and emotions that vary by person. Getting to Yes teaches that this human aspect can be either helpful or disastrous. Negotiation can either build trust and understanding with a positive relationship established at the end, or lead to frustration or dissatisfaction.

Communication is the main aspect of negotiating. These are three common problems in communication:

1. Not clearly speaking with the other party, but instead attempting to impress those within one's constituency by taking a side instead of working toward a mutual agreement

2. Not actively listening to the other party, but instead only listening to rebut the other party's statements

3. Misunderstanding or misinterpreting what the other party has said.

Focus on interests, not positions

Identify what the buyer needs and understand the buyer’s business objectives.

Some key questions to ask before starting the negotiation:

• How can we ensure that you get everything you need from this deal?

• What is the impact of implementing <solution, product or initiative> in your company?

• What role could <AIESEC, GT or another initiative> play in the big picture for your organization?

• How does this fit in your priorities?

• What effect will this have on the people of your company or organization?

Invent options for mutual gain

Expand the pie before dividing it.

This means that you must invent solutions advantageous and beneficial to both sides. This principle aims to help the parties find an option that will impact each party in a positive way, making both sides feel like they did not get taken advantage of during the negotiation. It is important to listen to the other party and not make a decision until both parties feel that they have clearly explained their intentions and what they want out of the conversation.

The solutions to these obstacles:

• Separate the act of inventing options from the act of judging them. Before brainstorming clarify the ground rules, including the no-criticism rule.

• Broaden the options on the table rather than look for a single answer.

• Invent ways of making their decisions easy. Rather than making things difficult for the other side, you want to confront them with a choice that is as painless as possible.

Insist on using objective criteria

This principle is about making sure that the conversation stays on topic and that it is productive. The parties are making deals based on objective and practical criteria.

The three steps to using objective criteria are to:

1. Find out what the other party's intentions are.

2. Keep an open mind.

3. Never give in too pressure or threats.

Know your BATNA - Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement

No method can guarantee success if all the leverage lies on the other side.

There are two methods of going about negotiating from a position of power:

1. Each party should protect themselves first.

2. Each party should make the most of the power within their own assets to negotiate and win against the opposite party.

When negotiating, the parties must resist the urge to constantly compromise for fear of completely losing the negotiation. Establishing a "bottom line" can protect the negotiator's final offer, but may limit the ability to learn from the negotiation itself and may preclude further negotiation that possibly could result in a better advantage for all parties involved.

Conceptual Selling

Conceptual selling is founded on the idea that customers don’t buy a product or a service, they buy their concept of a solution that the offering represents. With that in mind, the creators urge salespeople to not lead with a pitch, but instead seek to uncover the prospect’s concept of their product and understand their decision process.

Why is it Useful?

• Allows the sales representative to get to know the customer at a deeper level and focus on achieving results.

• Draws attention away from pricing which in turn deters the customer from going to a lower-priced competitor.

• Offers a way to stand out from the competition.

Important Characteristics

Listening

The salesperson begins by listening to the prospect in order to fully understand the prospect’s concept of their problems and issues. The salesperson then relates the product or service directly to that concept.

Asking Questions

Bonus: Video Summary

Quiz

The Importance of a Sales Methodology

A good methodology is the backbone of successful sales in organizations or companies. It provides sales representatives (sales reps) and managers with a repeatable, scalable and predictable way of operating that ultimately determines the organization’s ability to achieve process maturity and improve win rates.

S.P.I.N. Selling

What is S.P.I.N. Selling?

It is a sales theory developed through a research study made by Huthwaite Inc. This research of about 35,000 sales calls, showed that the buyers tend to strongly believe in the product when they see it on their own as a solution for some problem they have.

Why is it Useful?

1. The seller makes the customer reflect and conclude by themselves that they need the product.

2. The customer is triggered to know more about the product and the chances to buy it increases.

Situation

Problem

Implication

Need-Pay Off

Bonus: Effective CRM

In order for S.P.I.N. Selling to be effective, it requires to follow an efficient CRM solution. For that you can do the following:

1. As you gather data throughout your questioning, you need to record it so that can be instantly retrieved, as you make your way through the sales cycle.

2. The answers to your S.P.I.N. questions fall into one of the steps of your sales process. Your CRM solution should exactly mirror your sales process so the answers fall into the same places, every time.

3. Your sales process stages should be mapped out as precisely as possible, with the S.P.I.N. questions that should be asked in each stage, the answers that need to be obtained in each stage, and the buyer and seller actions laid out that will result in the sale moving to the next stage.

N.E.A.T. Selling

What is N.E.A.T. Selling?

This is a framework that is focused on understanding the prospect, getting information in front of the right people and providing them with a compelling reason to buy your product by the time expected. N.E.A.T. stands for: core needs, economic impact, access to authority, and timeline (compelling event).

Why is it Useful?

• It is a very useful guide on what sales professionals should bear in mind when speaking with potential clients.

• The developers based it from their experience in the field and years of observing and working with inside sales professionals in all types of sales organizations.

Needs

What are your prospects core needs?

This is typically represented by focusing on features and benefits of the solution itself, aka surface pains. What our customers want is for us to understand their core pains. This means understanding why solving the pain matters to them both as individuals and as an organization.

We, as salespeople, should delve deeply into the prospect’s challenges. This will lead us to learn about the needs of the potential client and their pain points to find out whether they would benefit from our product or not.

Economics

What is the economic impact of your prospect’s needs?

The core objective of this methodology isn’t about proving your ROI to the prospect. Instead, it’s simply about helping the prospect understand the economic impact of their current situation combined with the economic opportunity based on implementing a solution. After all, everything has a price, and at some point, the economic pain will be great enough to tip the scales in your favor.

Therefore, your role should be to help the buyer understand the economic impact they’re currently on track to realize versus the impact they’ll see if they make a change.

Access to Authority

Who can give you access to authority?

According to the latest studies, the average purchasing decision actually involves five people, all of whom may be decision influencers and decision makers. This is often referred to as the "Consensus Buying Cycle".

In many cases, not one person can singularly say “yes”, but any one person can say "no". Furthermore, in an outbound sales cycle, many prospects don’t reach an ultimate decision until much later in the sales process. So your goal as a seller is to determine which of these five people can get you access to authority.

Timeline

How does the timeline shape the process?

This phase guides you towards learning about the time frame of the sale and putting together a timeline for when the sale can take place.

Quiz