Your presentation requires two key components to win. The first is to show your prospect you can give him or her what s/he wants. The second is to describe how you can do it better than any alte
ative. Better in an area of importance to someone is worth more money. Keep in mind, doing nothing is an alte
ative and many times, your biggest competitor.
Showing you’re the best of the choices available is called differentiation. You separate yourself, your company and/or your solution from the others.
Many sales people struggle with differentiation. They feel their widget is basically like the competitors’. With services, they feel the customer can do it just as well themselves. But every company has uniqueness which should be used as differentiators.
For example your company has you. Yes, your competitors have their sales people, but they don’t have you. That’s unique. Your company has done 12 installations similar to this one. 3 have been in the same city, and 2 have been in the same industry. Your competitor may have done some, maybe more, maybe less, but does not have your numbers. The lesson from this example is to quantify. That sets you apart.
Quantifying is like painting a colorful picture. Numbers are vivid and believable. People relate to numbers. Numbers instill a feeling of competence. Feelings are how people eventually decide.
What sound better? “We’ve done 22 projects similar to yours.” or “We’ve done many of these projects.” The first has color, and the second is grey. People remember color and can visualize it. So when it comes to the final decision, the key decision maker will say, “I don’t know why, but I just feel better about the company that has done 22 installations.”
Therefore differentiating is easy. Just describe with numbers what you have. That’s all.
Now will your competitors’ quantify? Maybe, but even if they do, their numbers will be different and the level of detail they go into with their numbers will be different --the deeper the level, the more colorful and believable.
In any event your focus should be what you have, and not worry what competitors are going to present. Closing is all about winning over the final decision maker, not beating the competition. Selling is like an election - winning votes. It’s not a sporting event where you beat the other team. If you focus on winning votes, you’ll act differently than if you concentrate on beating competitors.
Quantifying works, but you must limit it to the features that the prospect wants to hear about. There is nothing worse than rambling on with numbers in an area the prospect doesn’t care about. And be careful. Just because you think s/he should care, it doesn’t mean s/he does. That’s why your interviewing has to be comprehensive. You’re prospects have to tell you all they care about and want. So, be detailed and specific – only about the features and benefits s/he values. Your value proposition has to be quantitative and focus on what your prospect values.
Common Situation
One Presentation Fits All
Sales people tend to go into their canned presentations. Sometimes they don’t find out what’s important to this person, and sometimes, no matter what the person has said, they still do the standard script. These same sales people also try to impose what they feel should be important to the other person.
Sales people tend not to quantify and fail to show how extremely capable their company is in areas of importance to the prospect. Actually many sales people get tired of their presentations because they do it so often and skim over the important details.
Many sales people really don’t know what the prospect wants because they haven’t had an in-depth interview, or they think everybody wants the same things. So they just present what they feel they should. The presentation becomes a commercial from a “sales person”, rather than an offering of problem solving options from an expert consultant.
Resulting Problem
The Stage Is Set for a Price Battle or for Your Competition to Win
You talk and sound like everyone else. If there is no difference, they buyer will buy based on price. If your information does not address each person’s personal issues, desires and/or conce
s your credibility dwindles quickly. The executive especially feels you don’t understand her situation so she excuses herself and seeks a competitive alte
ative.
Check Yourselfr
Score: 4=Always; 3=Most Times; 2=Usually; 1=Sometimes; 0=Never.
1. Do you check to see if you really understand what this individual wants before you present? ____
2. Do you tend to use general marketing materials and verbiage when describing your company, products and/or services? ____
3. Do you research your company to get specifics on everything you will present to your executive or how you’ve done something similar for others? ____
4. Do you try to set your presentation for groups of people? ____
Scoring: 2 + 4 – 1 – 3 = ??
Negative is good; Positive suggest learning to present differently
Differentiating: What to do, - How to do it, and - How to feel comfortable doing it.
5 pages of descriptions tactics and techniques to help you show you’re different, no matter what you sell; Plus 4 complete strategies and tactics to use while presenting; Plus a 2 “Tak’
It to the Streets” techniques; It’s all in this Problem Solving E-Book:
C-Level Selling Tip 21 – Differentiating
Bonus Tip: While you’re at this link, grab your free E-book “Getting Past Gatekeepers and Handling Blockers”