Every product or solution has weaknesses and strengths. Every company has weaknesses and strengths. When I purchased my last vehicle a little over a year ago, I contacted several dealerships and compared 3 vehicles in the same class. Two of the three salespeople I spoke to went to great lengths to compare how their vehicle stacked up to the others and in effect sold me on their competitors. They compared feature for feature, MPG vs. MPG, how many awards their model received, and blah, blah, blah.
The other salesperson didn’t talk about anything except their vehicle and its strengths. I already liked the body style and the room inside was perfect for me. He was almost casual about selling me the car. I was pretty interested because they had one in my color (Black). We negotiated on the price, and he quickly saw things from my point of view on price and we had a deal. He never talked about the competition or their vehicles other than in a complimentary manner. So far I am pleased with the car.
I have been in many competitive sales situations in several industries and it has become clear to me that to position yourself in the best light, you should put yourself and your product in the same light as that car salesman. Here are a few keys that might help.
1. Talk to your strengths: Discover the needs of the prospect or client and connect how you can help them. Most of your questions and comments will revolve around this. You should be able to tell stories around how your product or service has impacted companies you have sold.
2. Avoid discussing weaknesses: Obviously you don’t want to be dishonest, so don’t. What I am saying here it that you discuss briefly when needed and move on. It may or may not be a big deal to the customer, but focusing on it at length will put you in a defensive position.
3. Frame the conversation around how this will benefit them: After customer stories, figure out a way to help win the business by painting a clear picture of them using your product. If there is a way to quantify the result, then show it to them in a way they can understand.
Lastly, people don’t but because you are an outstanding salesman, they buy because you understand what your product can do for them and are able to articulate it back to them. If you can get them to tell you in their own words how it will help them, that’s even better. By focusing mainly on your strengths and becoming clear on how you can help, it can help you position yourself as a trusted advisor, rather than an average salesman.
Ignite your passion.
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