Day in and day out, business owners, executives and sales teams struggle to compete for new business. Constantly approaching new companies and consumers begging for a sale.
To assist in the search, marketing departments continual craft witty messages to attract buyers. But more times than not, the sales staff will never sell anything to these folks.
Beaten and depressed, most sales people move onto the next target. The entire time thinking that they lost the sale to their competition down the street. Never realizing that more likely, the prospect never bought from the competitor either.
Finding Your True Competition
B2B Example Scenario: I spent some time after college working as an account manager for a technology reseller. And in the beginning, the sales process was a shaky one. I would find myself with a sinking feeling in my gut every time I heard, “we decided to go another route, but thank you.” It was heart breaking, to say the least.
“What did I do wrong?” I’d ask myself. “I came in with faster shipping and better terms, but yet they ‘decided to go another route,’ come on!”
After a few weeks of constant daggers in my heart, I started probing into their reasoning further. “Why did you choose to abort this plan?” I’d say in one-way or another. And slowly I started seeing a pattern. It wasn’t my negotiation skills, shipping details or the price. But rather, the company needed to allocate the money in a different department.
This was mind blowing. As a tech reseller, I wasn’t truly competing with the Dell’s and Newegg’s of the world. In actuality, it was the company’s IT department competing with the HR department’s need for new desks, the janitorial staff’s requirement for a new worker, the security team’s constant requests for updated cameras, the CEO’s self-interests, the marketing department’s media buying… the list went on and on.
Realizing this, my entire sales process changed. I continually crafted my questioning process. Learning from each encounter, asking more precise questions and ultimately getting to the heart of the company’s current situation. For instance, did they need this new server configuration? And if so, how can I make this package more attractive to the COO than their admitted need for an updated CRM.
Once I began to understand this concept, my sales went from mediocre to stellar. And because I was able to get their bosses approval for new stuff, my account contacts loved me… I found if you make an ally with the contact at the company, they would share with you the happenings and gossip of the company. Perfect ammunition going into the sales presentation.
To Summarize
In essence, your biggest competition isn’t in your vertical. But rather, the endless other needs of the company or consumer will ultimately be the deciding factor in whether or not you receive the business.
Do you have any real life examples of this?
About the Author: Bradley Gauthier is co-founder of New Methods. And is passionate about helping big thinking entrepreneurs achieve their dreams. He has been a serial entrepreneur since the age of 12 when he created an online marketing firm. Connect with him on Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn & Facebook.
