Sales Tip No. 29 - Who are you really competing against?

We frequently hear sales people saying "there's no competition on this deal".  When we dig deeper we find that there is competition after all, but not from where they think.  The "competition" is coming in the form of 1) lethargy, the easiest decision is no decision, do nothing or 2) competition for use of the funds earmarked for your deal - not a directly competing product, service of solution.
 
Lethargy is always a challenge - remind the prospect of why you are there in the first place - the need has not gone away, spell out the business drivers and compelling event that you are addressing and re-present your value / ROI case - proving how they can't afford to do nothing .
 
Competing for use of the funds - that's a bit trickier. In most organizations there is always someone with the power (the influence and/or the authority) to find budget where other people can't. The consequence?  If you have not made a strong case, if you don't have an ally or champion fighting for you, then you are exposed to the risk of having your budget stolen by that someone.
 
Make sure you have a good value based proposal with a strong ROI case with the prospect, coach your ally / champion on making your case on your behalf.  Ensure the budget owner is on your side and he/she wants to buy as much you want to sell and they will, as a result, be willing and able to defend their budget.

Posted in Weekly Sales Tips. Tagged as competition, Competitive Advantage, Power Base Selling, sales skills, the fox.

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