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The problem was both the past and the present.
Because they have been dealing with the problem, they
know, all too well, what they want instead. They can tell you
exactly what the result should be, even though it is not
there yet. It is not real, but in their mind’s eye it is.
I believe this because, when we ask, “What is the
problem you are having?” we get the answer or solution,
not the problem.
The result is in the future.
Meet me at the “Gap”
The question for the salesperson and the delivery team is:
“How do we get from today to tomorrow?”
Your client wants results and will evaluate your proposal,
contingent on how you intend to give them the results they
already know they want.
Welcome to the gap.
The gap between the two is where you and your team will
spend your time mapping your answer.
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Problem
List your
clients
problem
Gap
What
Yes,
How
Yes,
No,
No,
Partial
Partial
Develop your worksheet with the following headings:
Your
The
Your
The
metric
your
client
will use
Your
score
results
your
client
expects
solution
score
Problem - List the specific problem and, since you will be
hearing it from multiple sources, it is important to complete
this analysis for each person or department or customer’s
customer.
Gap - This is where you list the service or product you
believe will meet your client’s needs.
What - This is what the client told you they wanted.
Yes, No, Partial - How did you score? Did you meet the
requirement? Did you not meet it? Or did you have a partial
answer?
How - This is where you will list “How” your client will
know this will be a success.
Yes, No, Partial - How did you score? Did you meet the
requirement? Did you not meet it? Or did you have a partial
answer?
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Now review your worksheet and you will have an honest
evaluation of the areas where you are strong and weak. The
analysis that takes place next can go in many directions, but
the objective is to satisfy the Sales Mapping formula P+R=S
(Problem plus Result equals Solution).
What will the competition do?
You must find out who else will be competing for the same
business and rank, by priority, whom you believe will be the
strongest. How do you do that? Prepare a gap analysis, as if
you were working for your competitor company.
The next step is to prepare a gap analysis summary sheet:
Ranking
Company
Strength
Weakness Comment
Ranking - Who best satisfies P+R=S for the client,
followed by a list of the next highest to the lowest.
Company - Name of the company, firm or, if
internal, the group name.
Strength - With what, and where, they are strong.
Weakness - With what, and where, they are weak.
Comment - List information that you think is
important to know and what they might do to
strengthen their weakness.
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The questions involved in this analysis are:
1. Can we compete?
2. How do we overcome our weakness?
3. How do we use the competition’s weakness in
our favor?
4. How do we bring our strengths to the attention
of the buyer?
5. How do we compete against our competitor’s
strengths?
The big question comes next: What will our strategy be?
Ask a salesperson: “What is your strategy to win?” And you
will get answers like:
➧ We must have the lowest price.
➧ They must need what we have.
➧ A meeting has been set up.
➧ We are the best fit.
My all-time favorite from a salesperson was: “We will win,
because they like me.” This may be true, but there are other
things to consider.
I recall working with a company that had lost a contract
and wanted to learn why they had failed. They provided
computer hardware as a reseller and had added value
services such as training, support and maintenance, and
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software applications. The company had been in business
for five years with annual revenues of $15 million and had
great customer references.
I reviewed their strategy, which emphasized their com-
mitment to customer satisfaction. I knew that getting new
hardware to their clients was important, especially getting
equipment repaired and back into the field quickly. They
talked up their two regional depots in the southeast and
stressed how the people there were all trained experts.
I reviewed the presentations and executive summary in
their proposal and picked up on a theme, which highlighted
their position as leaders in the computer hardware and
maintenance business. They pointed out that, with offices
throughout the United States, they were clearly qualified to
handle a national account .
So, who was their competition and who won? IBM did.
IBM had an office located in every city where the client had
an office, including remote areas. They presented the client
with a list of the IBM manager’s name and address at each
corresponding location.
IBM offered to pick up and deliver the broken hardware.
In fact, they supplied loaners, so the company could keep
downtime to a minimum. The company who lost the bid
had requested that the client ship the hardware. Once
repaired, they would return it via overnight delivery.
The list goes on, but this is clearly what happened: a
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$15-million-dollar regional company was going up against a
multi-billion-dollar international company, who clearly was
the leader. IBM satisfied the P+R=S formula. If you read the
regional company’s proposal, you never would have felt
they were a smaller player. In fact, you would have believed
they were the industry giant, not IBM.
This strategy is what I call:
Big, Bad and Bold
We are the Biggest, Baddest and Boldest in the land; we are
the market leader. The rest of you are trying to figure out
how to take business from us.
Most salespeople subscribe to this strategy, even when
they are not the leader. It is a head-to-head competition that
usually cannot be won.
This is exactly what happened to the regional company
I was working with, because they did not develop a tactic.
Instead, they portrayed themselves as the industry leader,
when they were not and IBM was.
I bet during the entire time they met with their
client, the client’s strategic plan was never brought out to
show the problem they were having. Let’s go back to the
formula, P+R=S. The problem is not strategic. It is specific
with a cause and effect. The result is tactical and, without it,
we lose a competitive advantage. Strategies maintain the
competitive advantage.
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It always amazes me to walk into a business convention
exhibition hall and see all the vendors with a sign with the
tag line, “THE INDUSTRY LEADER.” How can all of them be the
industry leader? Do people buy from companies other than
the real industry leader? Of course they do. Why? Because it
is the company that meets P+R=S in the best way.
Let’s talk strategy so we can understand how to use this
misunderstood buzzword.
At one time, if you were hungry in New York and did not
want to go out to dinner, but wanted a pizza delivered to
your home, this was not a problem. You would open the
phone book, look under pizza, and find several options for
take-out. So, you would call, order your pizza and ask, “How
long will it be before it is delivered?” They would answer,
“You will get it in about an hour or so.” This being, if you
were lucky. When it arrived, it might have been cold and
soggy, but this was the way it was.
Until one day, someone looked at this problem. They [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]