Many of us are in seriously tough selling situations with massively ambitious competition. When the competition gets tough, the tough tend to go at it head on.
Yet, that rarely serves us.
Going head-to-head with the competition places you on the exact same playing field as your competition, which makes you a commodity and forces you to compete on price.
- Yes, we may be competing for the same customers.
- Yes, we may be offering similar solutions.
- Yes, it may even be difficult for our customers to differentiate us from our competition (no matter how good your offering may be)
No matter how similar we are to our competition, there is a place where we are different. And this is where we begin the game of Leap Frog. Leap Frog is where you jump over the competition and make the sale where no one else can play.
Here are three ways to play Leap Frog:
1. Find the things that you do that no one else can
Where to look:
- Level of service: Perhaps you have won an award for service that no one else can claim.
- Custom service: Are you custom-designed to service your customers in a tailored way that no one else offers?
- Geography: Maybe you are the only company in your industry that has global locations in the same areas as your customers do.
- Client list: Maybe you have the most prestigious client list in the business.
You will have to look. But, you do have them.
2. Find the characteristics you possess that no one else does
Where to look:
- Stand-out business: Perhaps you are a minority-owned business and your prospects require that their contractors are given preference if they meet this classification.
- Special connections: Maybe your CEO was in a fraternity in college and has access to a list of fraternal brothers that you can mine for great leads. Same goes for your CEO’s sorority sisters.
- Location: Are you located in the same geography as key prospects? Now you can provide a “local” experience with a deep understanding of your customer’s culture.
- Unique skills: Perhaps your team has a special set of skills and education - unmatched by your competition’s key talent.
3. Find the business model advantage that none of your competition offers
- Helping others: Have you provided financing to companies who have gone bankrupt in the past while your competition was unwilling to carry that risk?
- Flat fee: Maybe you offer a service at a flat fee when everyone else offers it at an hourly rate.
- Speed: Perhaps you are using a proprietary inventory system that allows you to deliver faster than anyone else.
Hint: You may want to ask your favorite current customers what they think sets you apart and why they do business with you.
Ask the Right Questions
Now that you are armed with the things that set you apart, it is time to focus on four questions.
- What prospective customers will care deeply about your Leap Frog qualities? Make a list. You now have a target market.
- How can you tailor your “grabber” message to quickly communicate what sets you apart? Use it in your subject lines of emails and snail mail. Use it in the voicemails you leave. Focus on that one thing. You now have an elevator pitch.
- Reach out to your list. You will quickly know if your Leap Frog qualities resonate with your audience because you will get immediate traction. Or you will be ignored. You now have market research.
- Start to talk about your Leap Frog qualities in your sales meetings and ask your prospects if they care – and why. You can even ask them who else they know who will care about them, too. You now have referrals and stories to share.
Stop slugging it out head-to-head
Do the thinking. Leap Frog yourself into fertile and untrodden marketplaces.And most of all…Love ‘em UP!
The Irreverent Sales Girl brings a Dash of Dignity, Adventure, and Poise to the Art of Selling, The Irreverent Sales Girl encourages her clients to seek new horizons and honor their own muse. She offers compelling messages that remind you of who you are and what is possible; a message of hope, challenge, and new thinking – just when you needed it most.
For more sales wisdom on everything from crafting the perfect voicemail to cold calling, download the free ebook below.
Many of us are in seriously tough selling situations with massively ambitious competition. When the competition gets tough, the tough tend to go at it head on.
