We all have competition. How do you stand out? Why would someone come to you over everyone else?
Research from Harvard Business Review revealed potential clients are 57% of the way through a typical purchase process prior to reaching out to a supplier for direct input. They’ve already decided what they want to buy.
Then it’s often becomes a case of choosing a supplier based on the lowest price.
So how do you stand out as the most viable choice? And with premium pricing?
Ultimately this comes down to your positioning in your market.
You must be perceived as an authoritative expert who brings commercial insights that help improve their operation and consequently their bottom line.
Your job is to help them focus on what matters. Stuff they may not even be aware of. Help them understand the cost implications of the status quo. Why they need to change. Show them why the cost of remaining where they are is greater than the costs and effort of change.
Connect the dots. Lead them. Show them why they need to choose you.
To accomplish this…
Step 1: Don’t be generic. Take a stand. Be contrarian. If conventional wisdom says do “X”, tell them why they should do “Y” instead.
Step 2: Set yourself up as the credible, trustworthy expert – an authority in your field.
Educate your market as to what they should be doing. What the real causes of their issues are (they may not be what they think). And what they should look for in a solution.
Tell them what questions they should be asking potential suppliers and what the answers should be.
Step 3: Elevate, elevate, elevate! Talk business outcomes – not technical details. If there’s one thing I hammer into every technical vendor client – it’s people don’t buy your technology for the sake of it. They buy business outcomes. Improving profitability – either by increasing productivity or reducing costs. Preferably both!
There are lots of moving parts to accomplishing this. We’ve been working with our clients over 2 decades to position themselves at the top so clients come to them predisposed to doing business.
Let’s have a talk about how we can make that happen for you.
