With Betting on Sports week just around the corner, you may be thinking about how you can make the most of your time at all the conferences and networking events. You’ll want to perfect your sales pitch. These simple tips will help you cut through the noise, save time and maximise the return on investment you make attending these events.
Be Prepared and Do your Research
Proper planning is the first step to secure a success negotiation. Knowing your own product, as well as the operators will give you a clear pointer as to where you can hope to add value.
You want to stand out from all of the other affiliates they’ll be speaking to and get the deals that are right of your site and traffic. The best way to do that is to know where you can give the company something extra. If you take compliance seriously or publish regular news segments, then let them know! The more value you can add for an operator, to build trust , the better deal you’ll get when it comes to the negotiations.
This is a subtle art, to get these points across without throwing them all in the operator’s face. This can come with practice, as you don’t want to overwhelm them with your enthusiasm. It’s a good idea to do some research into their brand to understand their focus or pain points. They may have recently been fined or be wary of affiliate marketing, so think about how you can pitch your brand to solve this problem. A personalised pitch that shows your expertise and your professional background will always make a much larger impression than an aggressive sales pitch.
Know your Where, How, Why
Preparing for your pitch is one thing, but you also need to be prepared for the questions that you’ll get during the conversation as well. It’s only natural that your prospective new operator will want to understand the logistics of your operation, so they’ll have some where, how and why questions to ask. You have to be ready with the answers in order to give them the confidence to work with you.
Reaching for answers when you don’t have them – won’t work for your pitch, always be honest as your body language could also give you away. If you can’t show that you have all the answers and be in command of your business and your competitive landscape then you simply won’t be believable. Prepare an answer for the questions that you anticipate and for the ones that may come totally out of the left field. If you’re up to speed with the latest compliance and regulation issues facing operators, then this will give you a hint as to what they might ask.
If you have some questions that you’re sure that they will ask, then build them into your pitch. Save them the hassle of asking and show that the process of working with you is easy. This is your way of telling them what they can expect when they work with you, so create the best first impression that you can.
Give, Give, Ask
Before you ask for anything from the negotiations, you want to show that you’re willing to give too. No one wants to work with someone that only takes from the equation and never adds value. Show that you’re willing to give before you ask.
This doesn’t mean lowering your price, but you can give them a perk or concede an amount to add value in the deal. Feature spotlights for operators, news pieces social engagement or push notifications and alternative commission models can all make the pitch more enticing for the operator.
There’s a delicate balance within any successful negotiation, between each party. Give or take too much and you won’t be getting the best deal, or perhaps any deal. It’s a win for both parties when the right deal is struck, so work together to reach this conclusion.
Present like you’re Winning New Business
Now, this might seem like a no brainer for some affiliates, but the fact is that many don’t treat these negotiations like they’re winning new business. The result, a sloppy presentation filled with conjecture and a lack of confidence from the operator. You’re there to remove all doubts they have and sell yourself, just as much as they have to sell their brand to you.
Although these conversations can feel informal, especially in a conference environment, you still want to put the best foot forward for your brand. Come with a polished presentation, including facts and figures. Leave a pitch deck so they can refer back to the conversation and what you were offering – they speak to a lot of people and will likely forget most of the conversations they have unless there is a personal touch point that the person resonates with in the conversion alongside. Talk about interesting hobbies and make a personal connection with the person you are speaking to , ask questions about the person you are speaking to outside of just the pitch itself.
Affiliate managers don’t want to know what you think you can do for their brand, they want to see what you’ve done for others and how you’ll apply it to a new one. Give them a taste of the facts and figures that they need to make that decision, then follow through as you work together. No matter what the format of the pitch or the location, you have to be the consummate professional ready to win your brand new business.
Get to the Point
Conferences are hectic, as we’re all rushing around trying to meet with as many people as possible. For this reason, you have to be concise and get to the point. Weight your pitch so that there’s an introduction with the key points, then you can elaborate on these if your audience proves receptive. 3 slides printed in half A4 format so it can slot into a notebook for later reference is perfect.
Create a logical system for your pitch, moving from the big picture to the details. This allows your audience to understand where you’re going and get there with you.
If you need to set up another method of communication at a later date to discuss the details then this can be preferable to getting it all out at the one time. Read the room to tailor your pitch to the time that you have. If they’re in a rush, then you want to have a condensed version to breeze through quickly, with an aim to give them the full details another time.
Get the Right Mindset
Like most things in life, the mindset you have going into the pitch is key. You’ve got to be ready to be flexible and roll with the punches, and already have worked out what you want to get from the conversation.
News travels fast in the iGaming world, so don’t create a bad reputation for yourself. Always deliver on time and what you promised. Show what you can deliver and be prepared to start small, then when you’ve built up trust between both parties you can scale up your relationship. You have two ears and one mouth so use them in the right order. Listen to what the operator need is and provide a solution to plug that gap – its the only way that you can make a start together to build a long term relationship as an extension of their marketing team
