I was talking to a team of sales people about engaging their customers with insight and getting them to think about their businesses in different ways. They happened to sell supply chain management software. The software, like most other supply chain software solutions enabled their customers to better understand and manage inventory, orders, quality, scheduling […]
Value
What Problem is Your Customer Really Trying to Solve?
The majority of sales people, unfortunately are just peddlers—walking, talking brochures. Needless to say, customers are finding digital sources of information much more useful than talking to those sales people. The data consistently shows customers limit contact with these types of sales people to the very end of the buying process. Some few sales people […]
How to Increase the Value of Your Business Before a Sale
Countless entrepreneurs have worked tirelessly for years in order to turn their commercial dreams into a reality. Now that you’ve finally climbed to the top of the marketplace and enjoy your status as a profitable business, however, you may be itching to move on to new and greener pastures. For many entrepreneurs, selling their successful […]
5 Ways to Make Your Company Stand Out
There must be at least several companies out there right now positioning to compete with you. If you’re large enough, you may be the target, and if smaller, you are the minnow not the shark—and need to be agile and creative. The five strategies: Picking one to emphasize So, how do you position yourself to […]
Selling IS a Service
It seems the world is migrating to an “As A Service” model. Every day one hears a new (sometimes not so new) XaaS approach. The model, at least as a subscription payment approach, is not new. We’ve had various subscription, rent, lease capabilities for at least decades, if not centuries. The application of this model […]
Are You Selling Your Experience or Your Value?
Too often, we confuse our experience with creating value. While they are linked, they are distinctly different. Our experience focuses on us–perhaps reference customers that we have worked with in the past. “We’ve worked with Google, Microsoft, Siemens, General Motors…” These are supposed to demonstrate our customer base, implying we’ve done great things with them, […]
Are You Selling Your Experience or Your Value?
Too often, we confuse our experience with creating value. While they are linked, they are distinctly different. Our experience focuses on us–perhaps reference customers that we have worked with in the past. “We’ve worked with Google, Microsoft, Siemens, General Motors…” These are supposed to demonstrate our customer base, implying we’ve done great things with them, […]
Another Personal Story: Timing is Everything in a Sale
Almost anyone who has sold a company has a story to tell about their good deal, the problems with the buyer, a last-minute change of terms, or more. I have saved this next story until now because it is one of my favorites, and certainly illustrates the point about timing being a combination of luck and […]
Everything You Do Adds or Reduces Company Value
Each decision you make to commit resources—your money or your use of corporate or personal time—affects the future value of your business. Minor decisions, such as replacing employees who have left the company or replacing equipment needing updating, are usually considered operational in nature, and unless the business is changing direction, not relevant to this test. […]
On Differentiation
Differentiation is critical in helping customers select our solution over the alternatives. As important as it is, most sales people do a terrible job at differentiation. Ultimately, too many are unable to differentiate in meaningful ways, as a result they end up differentiating on price. Every time we win by taking pricing actions, we are […]
