If You Cannot Differentiate, You Cannot Sell

In your prospect’s eyes, your marketplace is a sea of sameness. You’re not the only that provides a solution to the problem they’re stuck on. There are very few companies that have truly groundbreaking technology, and a lot of your competitors’ products look pretty similar to yours.

Avoid the race to the bottom

In the absence of real tangible differentiators, the decision usually comes down to price. It’s common for companies to find themselves in a race to the bottom, to see who can give the most amount of value for the least amount of money. All of your selling efforts then, are basically focused on earning the right to enter this race, only to turn around and give all the profit away.

The only think worse than winning the race to the bottom is finishing second. Not only did you reveal to your prospect what you really feel your product is worth (a lot less than what you had originally claimed), but you didn’t even win the business. You lost all of your credibility and your commission.

This is not where you want to be as a seller. It’s literally the opposite of what your job is. Anybody can lowball an offer to win business. Your company pays you to show a prospect why your solution is worth paying for. A real sales pro will help them feel really good about that decision too.

Start conversations, not arguments

What you sell is probably not identical to your competitors. Even if you sell the same thing, you sell it in a different way, with a different level of service, and a different level of expertise. If the whole experience were truly identical, there’d be no reason to separate your companies.

There are reasons you feel your product or service is better than those of your competitors. What are they? What makes you objectively different? How can you clearly separate yourself?

Objectively is the operative word here. There needs to be something black and white at the root of this differentiation. You can have a discussion about facts, but when you speak in terms of what’s better, you have a tendency to start an argument. That’s no way to sell a customer.

The goal here is to change the conversation, to get them to think differently about how to resolve their issue. You can help them see a different path forward and change their motive to buy. This doesn’t just help you win customers, your insights help you keep them.

You are the biggest differentiator

Don’t forget that you bring something substantial to the table: you. The way you sell is every bit as important as what you sell. The impression you make on your prospects, especially the way they feel when they hear from you is an intangible yet powerful element in the sales process. 

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