So I’ve had a chance to observe some of the worst sales processes of all times in the past few weeks!
What happened? Well, first I wrote a few small pieces on a challenge we had with a piece of software. And I was then inundated with emails, tweets, and LinkedIn posts from competitors telling me to look at their oh so wonderful product. Then right after the same time, a terrific company that produces software in the investment space emailed me almost a dozen times over the past weeks trying to steal the business from a competitor we currently use.
Both did represent opportunities to steal some business.
And yet, all the pitches were the same. And just plain terrible. “Have you heard of us? We’re better!” or “Have you looked at Vendor X? We’re better!” or “Can we do a call to tell you about us? Let’s switch!!”
Well, you know what? I don’t have the time. I don’t have time to figure out what “better” is, if anything at all. That’s your job.
Let’s walk through what works a lot better. Because you can steal deals from competitors. All the time. But you have to do it right:
- First, you need a hyper-tailored approach. You have to ABM it. Do the work. Figure out how they are likely using your competitor today, and outline 3-4 clear ways you can help them do better. 3-4 critical features, or integrations, or gaps you fill. Learn their business process as much as you can from the internet, or at least guess. Guess about 3-4 amazing attributes you have the competition doesn’t that this prospect would care about.
- Second, tell them you will do the work to switch them. If they switch vendors, who is going to rewire things? Will you do a free pilot to help? What’s involved in a switch?
- Third, have a great set of clear collateral on you vs. the competition. Make it crystal clear. A website and tear sheet that makes it clear not quite why you are cool, but why a switch is worth it. Switching has very high soft costs.
- Fourth, do buy-out deals. Do ’em. You have to do these to minimize friction. If the prospect has signed a 2 year deal with the competition, and they are 9 months is … you have to give them 18 months free if they sign with you for a year. Sales doesn’t always love buy-out deals. But Zoom does them all the time when folks want to switch from WebEx and GoToMeeting. Why? Because Zoom is obsessed with customer happiness. And not making a customer pay twice if they switch makes them happy. And dramatically reduces friction in a deal.
- Fifth, on commissions – pay up. This is more work that a normal deal, and can take longer. So incent the team to steal deals by paying up if they do.
Very few line-of-business owners have time for coffee just to talk about other vendors. Not unless they are so unhappy, they are already sourcing them on their own. In which case, maybe you can use a normal sales process.
But if you want to steal a customer, go the extra yard. Take the time and do the research to make the pitch perfectly tailored to what they need. If If you want to steal a deal from a competitor, you have to do as much of the work for the customer as you possibly can. And then if they are ready to move — don’t make them pay twice.
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Small Business
via https://www.aiupnow.com
Jason Lemkin, Khareem Sudlow
