From: Bizjournals
Yet another salesperson has come running into your office demanding a lower price to win the deal. You considered telling him to “sell the value,” which you’ve done in the past without success.
As much as it pains you to give in, you lower the price to get the account. However, you also tell yourself that this is the last time that you will sacrifice margin to win a deal.
In your heart of hearts, you feel there is tremendous value in what your company brings to bear. You and your management team colleagues are passionate that what you have to offer is worth every penny of the price tag you’ve put on it.
You see the value. Perhaps your salespeople say they see the value, but they are unable to lead buyers to see it. That leaves every deal coming down to a price game…a game that you lose any way you play it.
The time has come for your company to develop its sales differentiation strategy. The core purpose of this strategy is to help salespeople win more deals at desired prices. It provides salespeople with the tools needed to help buyers see value and remove their focus on price.
The sales differentiation strategy concept
The concept behind a sales differentiation strategy is to develop a deep understanding of a company’s differentiators and a means to effectively communicate with buyers. It’s great if value is recognized internally, but that internal recognition alone won’t help the company’s revenue and profits.
How does one start constructing a sales differentiation strategy? A meaningful conversation about sales differentiation cannot take place without understanding two foundation elements… the competition and the decision-influencers.
Starting with the competition, make a list of the competitors and ask yourself (and your colleagues) two questions.
- Why do we win?
- Why do they win?
Without clearly understanding the win/loss drivers, there can’t be a meaningful conversation about differentiation.
One unacceptable answer to either of those competition questions is “low price.” That’s a cop-out. Price is the ultimate decision factor in the absence of differentiation. If someone is buying low price, that means there wasn’t a differentiating factor presented that justifies spending more than the minimum. That circumstance is called being outsold by the competition, not losing based on price.
Considering decision influencers
Turning the analysis toward decision influencers, make a list of those people who influence the buying decision for your offering. For each one of those people, ask yourself (and your colleagues) two questions.
- As this person lies in bed at night thinking about the role’s responsibilities, what is keeping him awake?
- Given that person’s concerns, what solutions do you provide that address them?
Without a comprehensive understanding of decision influencers, the sales differentiation strategy could miss the mark of engaging buyers in a meaningful way.
Understanding the competition and decision influencers using these four questions sets the foundation for the development of a sales differentiation strategy….one that helps you win deals at the prices you want. These questions provide tremendous insight that cause you to revisit your ideal client profile, your elevator pitch, your prospect pursuit strategy, and the conversations you are having with buyers.
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