Get your FREE 30-day trial.
Please complete all fields.
As a sales professional, how do you describe your “value” or the value of your solutions?
When it comes to creating their organization's positioning statements, many sales and marketing executives either forget or fail to realize that the mind likes it simple. Take, for example, the following positioning statement, which may set a record for the number of benefit claims:
“[Company X] helps companies grow revenues, reduce costs and improve corporate performance by enabling collaborative decision making and unlocking actionable insights contained within their data.”
Company X apparently couldn’t decide which claim was most important and figured that if it threw enough you-know-what on the wall, something would stick. The problem with this approach is that if prospects listen—which is a big if—they will lock onto different claims. One might remember Company X as the organization that helps them grow revenues. Another might zero in on improved corporate performance, and yet another on cost reduction.
I didn’t think it was possible to outdo Company X. But I was wrong. I recently came across this gem:
“[Company Y] turns insights into knowledge with solutions that offer the highest ROI by providing effective decision making and precise and accurate information across the entire business to ensure peak performance.”
What makes this sentence even worse is that every claim Company Y is making is likely also being made by its competitors in the business intelligence market.
Sales executives should remember that most people's minds don't respond positively to having too many ideas thrown out in rapid-fire succession. We tend to latch on to one or two benefits, potentially ignoring a more important one, or dismiss the entire claim as too good to be true.
Ideally, sales executives should be working from a positioning statement that contains one benefit that addresses the target audience’s most pressing problem. Two benefits is OK, as long as they fit together logically and don’t compete for supremacy. Here’s why sales executives shouldn't make multiple claims to potential buyers:
So, if multi-claim positioning statements don't work, why do sales and marketing keep using them?
It's not entirely clear why some B2B technology companies can’t be decisive when positioning their product, solution, or company. Politics may have something to do with it: everyone has a favorite benefit, so in order to get buy-in, marketers go with multiple benefit claims.
Another reason may be a fear that a single benefit claim will miss the mark. Yet recent Forrester reports show that while B2B organizations are investing heavily into branding overhauls, they still fail to make the “value” connections with prospects where it matters most: at the point of sale.
Here's how to make sure your positioning connects with key buyers:
In addition to interviewing customers, get feedback from other sales executives in your channel, and anyone else in your company who has an opinion about what’s keeping your target audience awake at night. Also, make sure you “integrate” and “synthesize” all of the data that’s siloed within your organization. You want to get a complete picture of your prospects and clients so you are connected to reality and the real world.
Work with marketing to focus on the most pressing problems and to create an overall positioning statement that can be tweaked for different audiences. Focus on why the target market should care about your offering and address the No. 1 challenge your target audience is experiencing.
Differentiation is critical to claiming a position in your market. But too many competing B2B software and technology companies make the same claim. The more claims you make, the more likely you’ll be making similar claims that turn you into a “me too” sales and marketing machine. As a sales professional, you don’t want to be seen as a “me too” especially at the point of sale. Their decision will then be based on price instead of value.
It’s easy to figure out how your competitors are positioned because they do it in public. Evaluate their web sites, marketing materials, press releases and e-mail promotions. Competitors doing a good job of positioning will have a consistent theme throughout their marketing communications. Some may have no position because of the multiple claims they are making. Others may explain what they do, but fail to make a benefit claim that addresses the target audience’s No. 1 problem. Also expect to find several competitors making identical claims.
After you have determined how competitors are positioned, you’ll be able to see if any of your positioning statement options are unique.
Now, notice I said problem, not problems. Your positioning statement should not be like a Swiss Army knife, with a little something for everyone. Your single-minded purpose will reward you with more clients and less buyer inertia. In many cases, B2B decision makers do not invest in your solutions because they have a problem with your price. They do not move forward because they don’t see and understand your value. Forget the kitchen sink statements and focus on what your prospects value most.
Ready to grow your sales and marketing with Salesforce? Download our free e-book.
