Sales Differentiation

Lee B. Salz

• Publisher: AMACOM
• Year: 2018
• eBook ISBN: 9780814439913
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Sales
• Index: Business

"If we don't drop our price, we will lose the deal." That's the desperate cry from salespeople as they try to win deals in competitive marketplaces. While the easy answer is to lower the price, the company sacrifices margin--oftentimes unnecessarily. To win deals at the prices you want, the strategy needed is differentiation. Most executives think marketing is the sole source of differentiation. But what about the sales function of the company? This commonly neglected differentiation opportunity provides a multitude of ways to stand out from the competition. This groundbreaking book teaches you how to develop those strategies. In Sales Differentiation, sales management strategist, Lee B. Salz presents nineteen easy-to-implement concepts to help salespeople win deals while protecting margins. These concepts apply to any salesperson in any industry and are based on the foundation that "how you sell, not just what you sell, differentiates you." The strategies are presented in easy-to-understand stories and canquickly be put into practice. Divided into two sections, the "what you sell" chapters help salespeople:

• Recognize that the expression "we are the best" causes differentiation to backfire.
• Avoid the introspective question that frustrates salespeople and ask the right question to fire them up.
• Understand what their true differentiators are and how to effectively position them with buyers.
• Find differentiators in every nook and cranny of the company using the six components of the "Sales Differentiation Universe."
• Create strategies to position differentiators so buyers see value in them.

The "how you sell" section teaches salespeople how to provide meaningful value to buyers and differentiate themselves in every stage of the sales process. This section helps salespeople:

• Develop strategies to engage buyers and turn buyer objections into sales differentiation opportunities.
• Shape buyer decision criteria around differentiators.
• Turn a commoditized Request for Proposal (RFP) process into a differentiation opportunity.
• Use a buyer request for references as a way to stand out from the competition.
• Leverage the irrefutable, most powerful differentiator...themselves.

Whether you've been selling for twenty years or are new to sales, the tools you learn in Sales Differentiation will help you knock-out the competition, build profitable new relationships, and win deals at the prices you want.

I.

WHAT

YOU SELL

CHAPTER 1

THE BEST SALES CONSULTANT IN THE WORLD

I appreciate you buying my book to help you refine your selling strategy. If you are like most people who buy a sales book, you are probably asking yourself what makes this author different from all the other sales consultants out there. After all, there are thousands of us. I can easily answer that question for you as I get asked it frequently. Simply put . . .

I’m the best sales consultant in the world!

You read that right. I’m the best sales consultant in the world.

Love Me or Hate Me

As you read my differentiation statement, how do you feel about me? Are you excited to continue reading this book or have I just turned you off? If there was a video camera on you, I bet I would have seen you make the same face a child makes when eating Brussels sprouts for the first time. Eww!

If I asked you to describe me based on my differentiation statement, would you describe me positively with expressions like knowledgeable, helpful, and expert? Or would you use words like cocky, arrogant, and pompous? Most people would select the latter.

Yet, don’t you make the same misstep with your buyers? How do you think your buyers feel about you when you come marching into their offices preaching that your company and products are the best? Guess what? They feel the same way about you that you felt about me when I said I was the best.

When I introduced myself to you as the best sales consultant in the world, rather than endearing myself to you and exciting you to want to learn from me, I irritated you. I turned your eagerness to dive in and read my book into skepticism. You may have even wanted to return the book and get a refund. Given how you feel, consider how difficult your selling job becomes when you’ve annoyed your buyer.

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When salespeople say “best,” they think they are building relationships and endearing themselves to their buyers, but their engagement strategy backfires.

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When I present this “best” exercise to audiences, it’s a fascinating experience. As I’m welcomed to the stage, I see smiles throughout the audience and excitement fills the room. When I take them through this “best” story, the smiles immediately turn to shock. “Did he really just say that he is the best sales consultant in the world?” The smiles return to their faces and they become intrigued as I related my use of “best” to their use of it with buyers. From the stage, the audience dynamic, from excitement to frustration back to excitement, is cool to watch because, like you, they get it now.

Turning Buyers Off

During my programs, when I ask salespeople to share their goals for a first buyer meeting, they say that they want to be different from all the other salespeople calling on the buyer. Yet, right in the first few minutes of the meeting, they say their company and products are the best, making them sound like every other salesperson.

In the history of business, no salesperson has ever said to a prospective buyer, “Our service is pretty good. Our technology is so-so. Our quality is ok. How many would you like to buy?” All salespeople describe what they sell as the best of the best of the best.

When salespeople say “best,” they think they are building relationships and endearing themselves to their buyers, but their engagement strategy backfires—sometimes without them even knowing it. Instead of attracting buyers, they unintentionally repel them.

Why can’t we say “best?” Because we can’t prove it! I can’t prove to you that I’m the best sales consultant in the world. Unless an independent study was conducted that analyzed every aspect of your product, your company, and your industry, you can’t make a believable representation that WHAT you sell is the best. You may be able to say the word “best,” but your buyers aren’t buying it. What they are really thinking when you say “best” is, “Of course, she says her product is the best. She wants me to buy it, so she gets a commission check.”

I once asked the CEO of a technology staffing company why buyers select his firm for development projects. He smiled. “Our people,” he said. “We have the best people.” He noticed that I had a look of disbelief on my face in response. I asked how he could prove that his people are the best. The CEO was perplexed.

“Do you think your competitors’ salespeople say their people are the worst?” I asked further. At that moment, he realized his strategy to stand out in a very competitive market needed work. To win deals at the prices he wanted, he needed to flesh out a strategy such that buyers would perceive meaningful value.

Don’t misunderstand my point about the word “best.” Salespeople should be passionate about the companies they sell for and the products they represent. If, in your heart, you don’t believe WHAT you sell is the best, you may be selling for the wrong company. However, being passionate about your company is not the same as making claims with no proof. This is one of the big reasons why the sales profession struggles to earn trust with buyers. The long history of salespeople making unfounded claims has led buyers to be skeptical.

Think about times when you’ve been on the buying side of the table and heard a salesperson describe her product as “best.” Did you “buy” it? I’m guessing you didn’t. My bet is you rolled your eyes and thought, “Here we go.” You may have even challenged the salesperson on her “best” representation . . . while you do the same thing with your buyers.

The One Person Who Can Say “Best”

I’ve spent an extended amount of time researching the “best” issue. Over several years, I searched the entire planet and found the one person in the world who can say “best” and buyers listen to the word as gospel. That person is someone you know. Actually, you know that person very well: That person is your client.

When clients describe your company and its products as “the best,” buyers pay attention because it’s believable. That’s why you get referrals. That’s also why buyers invest the time to talk with your references.

Consider this: You and your client both say your product is the best. When you say it to a buyer, it’s meaningless. It’s met with skepticism. When your client says it about you, it’s meaningful and gives a buyer confidence in buying from you.

Stranger Influences

We’ve all bought from Amazon. Every item on the Amazon website has a glowing product description from the manufacturer. Yet, almost none of us put the product in our virtual shopping cart based on the product description. Before we buy, we read purchaser reviews. Reviews from complete strangers influence our decision of whether or not to buy.

My teenage sons play high school baseball. Every fall, they search online for their next bat for the upcoming season. Every bat, as described by the manufacturer, is the most durable, has the most “pop,” and feels the lightest in your hands. Even at their young ages, they read the manufacturers’ descriptions with a jaded eye. They read the reviews and those reviews affect their bat purchase decision. Great reviews lead them to say, “Dad, this is the best one!”

If you doubt that positioning “best” is a flawed sales strategy, try it with a procurement agent—a professional buyer—and watch the reaction. My prediction is that you will notice an eye roll, followed by a deep sigh of frustration, and a glance at her watch, setting this up to be a very short meeting.

Being Different

Given the goal of being different than all the other salespeople calling on this buyer, let’s do just that. Be different! Don’t refer to your product as “best” or say that it is better than the competition. Position “different” with your buyers in a meaningful way so they arrive at the conclusion that your solution is the best without you saying the word. For example . . .

“I’m not going to tell you that our product is the best because I’m sure every other salesperson tells you that. Today, I will share with you some differences in what w...

Table of contents

• Contents
• Foreword by Jeb Blount
• Part I. WHAT You Sell
• Part II. HOW You Sell
• Conclusion: Using Sales Differentiation to Get in the Door with Prospects
• Sales Differentiation Concepts
• Index
• About the Author