Sales Differentiation (Book Summary)

Sales Differentiation: 19 Powerful Strategies to Win More Deals at the Prices You Want by Lee B. Salz

Quite probably the #1 sales book written this year.  Buy and study it.

High Level Summary of Book

• Situation: You claim your company and your products your customers’ outcomes are “the best.” For example, “We have the best (insert feature here)” or “We have the best implementation and customer success” or “We are the best positioned to help you achieve (insert benefit).”
• Complication: Your competitors also claim their companies and their products are “the best.”   As a result, prospects buyers disregard such claims, leaving price as the only perceived differentiator.
• Resolution –
  • Differentiate through WHAT you sell and HOW you sell.
  • Back every claim with PROOF – show don’t tell. When you state a differentiator, do not leave context to interpretation; feed the buyer the SO WHAT. For example, instead of saying, “We have the most revenue,” say, “Our size gives us strong buying power which reduces costs for our clients.”
  • Ask questions to disrupt complacency
  • Help people buy what you sell by shaping their decision criteria
  • Demonstrate that you (and your company) have the expertise to solve/achieve each buyer’s business problems/opportunities (even beyond what your solution entails)
  • Proactively address concerns (aka, objections) as follows: A question probably on your mind is ___.  I’d be wondering that as well. As you might imagine, that depends on several factors. Is it OK if I ask you a few questions so that I can provide you with the right answer?
  • Be responsive and anticipate needs
  • Six components of the sales differentiation universe:
    • THE COMPANY (ex: Financial strength; Key clients; handling of requests for references)
    • THE PEOPLE (ex: Expertise; Key employees and certifications)
    • THE PRODUCTS (ex: Attributes; Quality; Customization and configuration)
    • SERVICE (ex: Customer service; Performance metrics; Safety)
    • TECHNOLOGY (ex: Integrations; Security)
    • CONTRACT (ex: Flexible terms; Guarantees and warranties)
  • Regularly revisit your differentiation strategy to ensure it is still effective

FOREWORD BY JEB BLOUNT

• Differentiating by engaging prospects with more impactful questions about their business challenges
• Slow down the process and engage in meaningful conversations that created value for my customer.
• Become an expert who solves business problems rather than just another sales rep pushing a tired old commodity.
• People don’t know how to buy what you sell. It’s your job to help people buy. Buyers need an expert to guide their decision-making. You must provoke and help them gain awareness of the pain and frustration they feel, challenges that are holding them back, and opportunities they are missing. You must position yourself as a problem solver. This earns you a seat at the table from which you shape buyer decision criteria.

CHAPTER 1 THE BEST SALES CONSULTANT IN THE WORLD

• Salespeople should be passionate about the companies they sell for and the products they represent. However, being passionate about your company is not the same as making claims with no proof.
• When clients describe your company and its products as “the best,” buyers pay attention because it’s believable.
• “I’m not going to tell you that our product is the best because I’m sure every other salesperson tells you that. Today, I will share with you some differences in what we offer that our clients find beneficial, and you can decide for yourself if those are meaningful to you.”

CHAPTER 2 DIFFERENTIATION IS MARKETING’S RESPONSIBILITY, ISN’T IT?

• A sales differentiation strategy has two components. The first addresses WHAT you sell The second component deals with HOW you sell.
• According to Corporate Visions, 74 percent of buyers chose the first salesperson who adds value and insight.

CHAPTER 3 THE ROOT CAUSE OF A SALESPERSON’S FRUSTRATION

• Instead of searching for the one unique aspect that isn’t likely to be found, look for the aggregate, differentiated story you can position.

CHAPTER 4 WHAT WOULD YOU PAY FOR SOMETHING YOU COULD GET FOR FREE?

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CHAPTER 5 FINDING YOUR DIFFERENTIATORS

• Six components of the Sales Differentiation Universe:
  • THE COMPANY (ex: Financial strength; Key clients)
  • THE PEOPLE (ex: Expertise; Key employees and certifications)
  • THE PRODUCTS (ex: Attributes; Quality; Customization and configuration)
  • SERVICE (ex: Customer service; Performance metrics; Safety)
  • TECHNOLOGY (ex: Integrations; Security)
  • CONTRACT (ex: Flexible terms; Guarantees and warranties)
• Select your ten biggest competitors for the exercise. For each one, ask yourself two questions:
  • Why do you win?
  • Why do they win?

CHAPTER 6 WHO CARES ABOUT YOUR DIFFERENTIATORS?

• No salesperson should ever have an elevator story (i.e. a single story you tell to every prospect). Position your solution for each buyer.
• Know how you and your solution addresses buyers’ individual concerns and objectives?

CHAPTER 7 ARE YOU LEAVING DIFFERENTIATION OPEN TO BUYER INTERPRETATION?

• Instead of saying, “We have the most revenue,” say, “Our size gives us strong buying power which reduces costs for our clients.”
• By giving context to the differentiator, its value has been positioned and “definition-risk” has been removed from the equation.
• Rather than simply stating that they were the biggest, they positioned the local economic impact of buying from them.
• Regardless of the differentiators you possess, never leave the context of those to buyer interpretation

CHAPTER 8 WHOSE FAULT IS IT WHEN A BUYER DOESN’T SEE YOUR DIFFERENTIATED VALUE?

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CHAPTER 9 DIFFERENTIATING THROUGH YOUR SELLING APPROACH

• People don’t know how to buy what you sell. The opportunity resides in your helping shape buyer decision criteria.
• While our competitors focused their buyer meetings on the price of the [background] checks, we taught our salespeople to analyze the entire hiring process in search of opportunities to reduce their time-to-hire cycle. Our salespeople were successful at identifying opportunities for improvement which gave executives the perception (and rightfully so) that we had expertise in hiring process management.
• We differentiated ourselves in how we presented our solution and pricing. Marketing fluff was absent

CHAPTER 10 ALIGNING YOUR SALES DIFFERENTIATION STRATEGY WITH DECISION INFLUENCERS

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CHAPTER 11 DEVELOPING A SALES CRIME THEORY

• Engage with a specific reason why you are contacting this buyer for a conversation right now.
• People no longer tolerate being the sales call of the day, nor do they allow you to come into their offices asking what it is they do, in search of a problem to solve. Their expectation is that before you call them, you’ve done your homework and have a reason why they should have a conversation with you today.
• If your solution has a strong business case and your buyer is telling you to wait until next year, consider that you may be talking to the wrong level in the account.

CHAPTER 12 THE MOST IMPORTANT SALES DIFFERENTIATION TOOL

• Expertise Differentiates. Buyers want to know about the mastery you’ve developed — your   expertise in helping people just like them achieve their goals.
• First, we listened to the calls of salespeople who were effective at scheduling appointments. They reached a point in the conversation where they said, “The way we begin the process with all of our prospective students is with a consultation.” Then we listened to salespeople who struggled to set these appointments. At the same point in the call, they said, “Typically, we have you come in for a consultation.”
• Two Words Guaranteed to Turn Buyers Off = “I want.”
• What Buyers want to know is:
  • Why should I meet with you?
  • Why should I tell you about my business?
  • Why should I learn about your products?
  • Why should I see a demo of your technology?
  • Why should I introduce you to my colleagues?
• Even during “demos” and presentations, buyers still desire two-way communication, not a lecture.
• A customer buys from a vendor. Neither party appreciates being referred to in these terms. A client buys from a partner.

CHAPTER 13 THE ART OF QUERY TO POSITION DIFFERENTIATORS

• Top salespeople and sales managers recognize that the number one, most critical skill leading to sales success is the art of query — asking buyers questions that help them think differently about the solutions they have or could have.
• Pre-call planning:
  • Few plan the questions they can ask to differentiate themselves during the sales call.
  • For this to have been a great first meeting, you learned…
  • For this to have been a great first meeting, you demonstrated… (esp. Expertise in your industry, in the solutions you offer, and Expertise in the buyer’s industry)
  • For this to have been a great first meeting, you also…  (esp. Scheduled another meeting)
• Question Types
  • Data collection
  • Challenge question (ex: If there were one area of the program that could be better, what would it be?)
  • Positioning question – open ended questions that align with your differentiators and expose areas that a buyer does not necessarily perceive could be better/different
• To disrupt complacency, questions need to be asked that help them to think differently about the solutions they have or could have. I often refer to positioning questions as status quo disrupters.
• Make sure that questions aren’t posed in such a way that they create the feeling of an interrogation.
• “Insulators “helps soften your questions and keeps the meeting conversational. They are used as buffers both before and / or after asking questions. Examples of insulators as introductions to questions: • I don’t know if this would make sense for you… • Just out of curiosity… • I’m not quite sure how to phrase this.
• As you end the meeting, ask your buyer one final question: “What did we talk about today that was different from what you expected we would talk about?”

CHAPTER 14 SHAPING BUYER DECISION CRITERIA

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CHAPTER 15 BUYERSRUPTING THE BUYING PROCESS THROUGH SALES DIFFERENTIATION

• After declining to submit an RFP, I explained that the RFP did not allow us to present the solution that he recognized his department needed
• If you aren’t the low-price provider, a buyer’s matrix is your enemy.
• Why not create an RFP template for your buyers to use for provider evaluation?
• Decline any RFP when the procurement agent won’t allow you to ask questions of him.
• Questions to consider asking include:
  • How did you get our name for inclusion in this process?
  • Why is this RFP being administered now?
  • Have you definitively decided to change providers?
  • What criteria will be used to evaluate the RFPs?
  • What departments will be involved in evaluating the RFPs?
  • How will the final selection decision be made?
  • What are the steps of the process after the RFP is submitted?
  • Will we have an opportunity to present to the stakeholders?

CHAPTER 16 BUYER OBJECTIONS

• Resolve concerns versus overcome objections
• Those who ask the questions control the conversation. When buyers raise concerns, they are in control of the deal, not you.
• Proactively address concerns before they arise.
  • For example, the most common burning question: “How much is it?”  Unless you are selling for the low-price provider and price is your differentiator, sharing the price prematurely is a surefire way to lose the deal. If the salesperson refuses to answer the price question, she also loses. The buyer becomes irritated
    • Ex. 1: “I know a big question on your mind is price. That question would be on my mind too. As you might imagine, there are several factors that affect pricing for what we offer. If I can ask you a few questions, that will allow me to provide the right pricing for you. Is that okay?”
    • Ex. 2: “I’ll tell you upfront that we are never the lowest price for this. Yet, we have over a thousand clients who see the value in what we have to offer. Today, I’ll share with you differences our clients appreciate and you can decide if it those differences are meaningful to you.”
  • “A question probably on your mind is, ‘ Who are we providing these services to? ’ I’d be wondering that as well.

CHAPTER 17 LAST CHANCE TO DIFFERENTIATE WITH YOUR BUYER

• The request for references is a common part of the buyer decision-making process.  Differentiate on the handling of the request for references.
• Salespeople can’t differentiate through reference selection unless they have a portfolio to search for the right ones to align with a specific deal.
• “So that I can provide you with the right clients to talk with, what are you hoping to learn during these conversations? Who will be contacting the references?”
• Since a buyer’s process of reference evaluation is often undefined, salespeople can differentiate themselves by providing a description for the requestor that explains what the reference can address.
• One cause of a poor reference experience is not managing the client reference side of the equation. A common misstep is not notifying the reference that a prospective client will be contacting him.
• References need a salesperson’s coaching to effectively serve in this deal-critical capacity.
• References play an important role in a buyer’s decision-making process so you will want to monitor performance.

CHAPTER 18 KEEPING THE STRATEGY FRESH

• The sales differentiation strategy you develop for your company is for now; it needs to be regularly revisited to make sure that it is still effective.

CHAPTER 19 THE IRREFUTABLE DIFFERENTIATOR

• The final part of your sales differentiation strategy is YOU!
• Coach your clients, when they serve as references, to talk about the involvement you have with accounts and the value you personally bring to them.
• Seven ways to incorporate personal value differentiation in HOW you sell as part of your overall sales differentiation strategy.
  •  Become a Knowledge Resource
  • Develop a Network Neighborhood (ex: Provide content to an email list of those who are currently buying from you and those who are still prospects. Those two groups comprise your “network neighborhood.”)
  • Provide Decision Guidance
  • Be Responsive and Anticipate Needs – An example of personal value differentiation in HOW you sell through account management comes in the form of providing actionable information
  • Develop Internal Relationships So You Can Solve Issues Fast
  • Be Genuine
• Whatever your Buyer’s goals are, own them.
• Help Them with Their Business

CONCLUSION Using Sales Differentiation to Get in the Door with Prospects

• With 90 percent of initial buyer interactions beginning with “we’re happy,” salespeople need an effective strategy to gain buyer interest or risk losing an incalculable number of deals.
• Six objectives for any sales interaction:
  • Engage the buyer in conversation.
  • Disrupt buyer complacency.
  • Position relevant differentiators.
  • Help a buyer think differently about the solutions he has or could have.
  • Challenge a buyer’s beliefs.
  • Evoke a specific call to action (that you set).
• Eight-step process that opens doors with so-called “happy buyers.”
  •  “I’m not surprised at all by your saying that you’re happy. Most of my initial conversations with our current clients began with them saying exactly the same thing. May I ask you one question?
  • “Are you happy or satisfied with your current provider? “Common response: “What’s the difference? ”
  • They reflect on their provider’s performance given the context you have given to the word “happy”
  • If HAPPY: “That’s wonderful to hear. May I ask what your current provider is doing for you that exceeds your expectations?“ Wait for a response.
  • “May I share with you why our clients, who felt the same way you did, decided to take a closer look at our company and what they found when they did?”
  • Share your three most compelling differentiators based on the Buyers role.
  •  “Given what I’ve just shared with you, do you feel you have the absolute best_______ solution you could have for the dollars you are willing to invest? “Most will say “no.”
  •  “Quite frankly, I don’t know if we have something better to offer you. But if you would be willing to________, perhaps, that will become evident to both of us.”