Focus Your Sales Pitch by Subtraction When preparing a sales pitch, you may be inclined to continually add elements to entice the customer. This can result in a cluttered, unfocused pitch, and prospective buyers may feel overwhelmed by choices. Don't give your audience a choose-your-own adventure. Instead, focus on the one thing you believe they will gain. So instead of adding more ideas, try subtracting. Take out three (or more) pitch points until you are down to one core idea. Remove anything that may feel peripheral. Structure your presentation around that one point and continue to return to it throughout. You don't want to attract customers with a long list of disparate options. Seduce them with a single, compelling idea. Adapted from "The Power of Subtraction" by Anthony K. Tjan.