Sometimes, It Really is About Price

A few days ago, I said that “it isn’t really about price.” That is only partially true. I have never been in a position to buy a luxurious item “regardless of price.” (Maybe someday, but not yet.)

But, sometimes, it really is about price. If you are a completely commoditized product or service that anyone can provide at an equal level of quality, timeliness and satisfaction, it really is about price.

And, if this describes you, I am sorry. Get out and go find something fun to do.

Most every product and service in existence can differentiate itself one way or another. The trick is to find out which differentiation aspect will make the difference. Product, features, packaging, service level, people, timeliness, quality, brand recognition, reputation and many other value identifiers can be modified, tweaked or emphasized to show an advantage over the competition.

The trick is to figure out which one will matter.

CPG companies know. That’s why they can sell corn flakes and toothpaste at double the cost of generics and stay in business.

If they can figure it out and fight the battle on the store shelves, your product/technology/service/solution (ranging from hundreds of dollars to hundreds of millions) is ripe for differentiation.

Find out what the prospects value and give it to them. If you don’t, you’re in a race to the bottom on price. And, that’s a race you don’t want to win.

Good selling. Give me a call and let’s chat about identifying your value proposition. (801.838.9600 x5050, cdalley@primary-intel.com)

Why are Sales People so Stupid (or are they)?

I recently read a blog posting from last year by Scott Santucci where he talks to marketers about their perception of sales people in general. It starts like this:

"Come on, admit it.

"It’s what you think, isn’t it?

"If I had a dollar for every time I heard “our sales people lack the skills
or ability to (insert any of the following: cross-sell, sell higher, sell to
value, get ahead of the RFP)” I would be a very rich person. But is this really
the problem?"

Then, he goes on to point out how sales people don't live in the simple world that many marketers might assume. Just trying to manage sales messaging and collateral can be much more complex than might be assumed at first:

"Assuming your company has 10 products that all can be sold by your sales force, lets try to determine how much information a sales person must process and manage on any given account they are pursing.

•10 products
•5 key value propositions for each product (50 different value propositions)
•Messages must be delivered to 5 different client stakeholders (250 different messages)
•Each value propositions has a set of 5 questions to uncover and they are different from stakeholder to stakeholder (the degree of difference is not important) – 1250 different messages
•Each value proposition has one competitive knockoff per competitor and you have 4 key competitors (50 different value propositions x 4 competitors = 200 +1250 = 1,450 different messages)
•Each product has a minimum of 5 different collateral pieces that exist about various aspects of the product (5 collateral pieces X 10 products = 50 different collateral pieces to locate, which equals 1,500 different information elements to manage)
•Each stakeholder has a set of 5 personal goals and 5 business goals that must be matched with their corresponding value propositions (5 personal goals + 5 business goals X 5 stakeholders = 50 unique goals + 1,500 information elements = 1,550 information elements.

"So, in this scenario, a salesperson is asked to manage over 1,500 different forms of information for each account they deal with."

So, what is the takeaway? Mr. Santucci suggests that marketing needs to better understand what the sales team is up against. Marketing should produce tools that will help simplify (rather than complicate) the sales process.

Personally, I think that marketing and sales need tighter integration. Put some marketing people in the sales department for a couple of weeks. Let them attempt to use the tools and messages that sound so good in marketing's ivory towers. When they return, they will probably have a better appreciation for the needed materials. They might also want to return occasionally to sales as a source of inspiration.

And, don't let the sales team off the hook. Let them spend a little time in marketing. Some cross-pollination and discussion will do them good, too.

In the end, both teams have to work hand in hand. It's all about selling. And, if anyone in sales or marketing forgets that, big obstacles are looming on the horizon.

Happy selling, and let me know what you think. (cdalley@primary-intel.com, 801.838.9600 x5050, www.primary-intel.com)

Why Sales Professionals Don’t Use Competitive Intelligence

Every sales professional in the world may provide a different answer to the subject question. But, overall, sales professionals themselves may be mostly to blame for the lack of use of good competitive intelligence.

1-Sales Professionals already know everything – This is probably true. But, it isn’t necessarily good.

2-Intelligence programs are run by marketing – This doesn’t inherently make the data evil, but decontamination procedures are time-consuming and costly.

3-Current intelligence isn’t available in a convenient format – Who has time to hunt down info when we’re too busy selling

4-Sales Reps are creatures of habit, not learning – I’m not implying that sales professionals aren’t smart, but the general methodology of prospect, build relationships, present value, close contracts (lather, rinse, repeat) doesn’t include much in the way of intelligence gathering.

But, as you refine your craft, you have to look for better ways to differentiate yourself. To do so, competitive intelligence (the right info delivered at the right time) can give you the advantage.

Even if you don’t sell competitively, intelligence will show you the highest value propositions to create higher conversion rates. If you Value Sell, S.P.I.N Sell, VITO or Solution Sell (or whatever your methodology), some very simple feedback mechanisms will refine your message and increase your effectiveness.

I have some tips. You might be interested. Contact me.

The Stronger Company Loses? (Part 3)

Over the past couple of days, I have displayed charts of sales performance information. Up until now, I have shared the quantitative information. If you were paying attention, it looks like the battle in about 30 different performance areas was just about even, and even leaning away from the incumbent. But, in the end, the incumbent held onto the client.

The reason why should be fairly evident based on the comments below:

What features of Right Tech, Corp’ solution did you value the least and why?
“The solution was basically missing parts that we specified, or they were highly underestimated, and this was then sorted out until a week before the decision was made. Maybe it’s not a feature of the solution, but a feature of the process was a lack of curiosity from Right Tech, Corp about what was behind the specifications.”

Where could Right Tech, Corp have made improvements in Communication?
“Start to communicate early in the purchasing process and ask a lot more questions to really understand the requirements. Another point that I would like to add is not to look for one person to make the decision because that is what we saw from Right Tech, Corp, and it just doesn’t work that way. It might be US culture versus German culture, but within German companies, it is not that if you play golf with the CEO you get the job. It’s more teamwork. They recommend something and it’s a joint decision. There is one person responsible for the business unit, but that person usually will not influence the team during the decision-making process.”

What could Right Tech, Corp have done differently to win your business?
“Respect the procurement and decision-making process. Meet deadlines. Be more understanding of our specific business needs and provide a more cost-effective solution.”

Did you experience any significant problems or challenges during the evaluation and selection process for this solution?
“Deadlines, that’s it. It was strictly with Right Tech, Corp; it didn’t happen with any other vendors. We actually extended the deadline two times just for Right Tech, Corp. We extended the process to give them more time to work on their bid. We extended the deadline two times, and it still never worked out. They still came in late and we accepted it, but that was very annoying.”

Right Tech, Corp came into the deal as the new, fresh blood that was going to right all the wrongs of the incumbent. Instead, the sales team ignored the specs, didn't listen and assumed they would get the business anyway. These were costly mistakes that have to be corrected.

The funniest part is that the sales team at Right Tech, Corp is still sitting around the office, wondering where it all went wrong and blaming the potential client for not communicating. Hopefully, this feedback will help them avoid the same mistake next time.

BTW, Primary Intelligence does this stuff all of the time. We're the best at post-sales analysis, competitive intelligence in the trenches and predicting the improvements that will make the biggest difference in sales performance.

The Stronger Company Loses (Part 2)

Continuing the thought from yesterday, a German manufacturer of automobiles was re-evaluating its IT support provider. During the sales process, it evaluated two providers and rated the newcomer more favorably than the incumbent in company-related criteria.

Below, you will see the quantitative ratings for both teams as related to SOLUTION and SALES TEAM:

In the next post, I'll provide some of the comments that were the cruz of this deal. But, in the meantime, post a comment letting me know who you think won this deal based on the performance comparison in the charts above.

The Stronger Company Loses?

In a recent evaluation, a prominent German automobile manufacturer evaluated two technology vendors for support services. They had an existing vendor, but intentionally execute shorter contracts to force themselves to re-evaluate relationships regularly.

When the client invited Right Tech, Corp to the table, they were excited to introduce new blood. Their current vendor had grown stale and they made the following observations:

“SoftCommerce needs to bring more innovation, new services, and new technologies into their services. They need more innovations… That was why we brought Right Tech, Corp in. We thought there would be more innovation on their side.”

Based on a side-by-side evaluation of the companies’ performance, It appeared that the incumbent might be in trouble. Right Tech, Corp, stacked up nicely with SoftCommerce and had significant advantages in Size, Technology Reputation and Future Direction.



But, Right Tech, Corp never had the chance to show their innovative ability. Tomorrow, we’ll review the solution performance for clues.

An Enchilada of Information

Once when I was young, my family was set to leave on a three week family vacation. In a last-ditch effort to clean out the fridge, my Mom (who never threw any food away in her life) emptied all of the leftovers into tortillas and served us the most interesting enchiladas ever created on earth.

Normally, I'm a pretty good eater and I'll try most anything, but the combination of ham, beans and beets (among other stuff) has created a wonderful story that has lasted for dozens of years now.

When thinking about all of the information available within your organization, how do you want to receive and digest the good bits? And, how do you let the supporting departments in your company know your tastes and dislikes? Or, did you decide long ago that you don't want information because there were too many beets falling out the end?

Start today by:

1. Making a list of the types of intelligence you wish you had
2. Figure out how you want to receive that information
3. Decide whether you prefer to interpret information yourself or engage a 3rd party that can provide expertise.

Then, sell this idea up the organization. Odds are, the information exists somewhere already. If you make your needs known, you may even receive the data in the requested format. (Those marketing guys are secretly hoping that someone will pull a report, dust it off and use the data.

If you want some ideas, give me a call (Chris, 801-838-9600 x5050)

www.primary-intel.com