Categories: Sales Messaging | Sales Transformation | Competitors
Leading a sales organization that hits its number repeatedly is a difficult and complex task. You are probably living these intricacies right now – complex solutions, gaps in your sales team, multiple buyers, product/sales/services not on the same page – Sound familiar? We’ve seen it time and time again. Truth is, the challenges you’re dealing with are common and sometimes, taking the first steps to solving them isn't all that complex.
One of the most basic things you can do as a sales organization is ensure that you are aligned on the key value and differentiation of your solution. There are four essential questions every elite sales organization can answer and as a result, their sales teams are effectively equipped to execute repeatedly where it matters most – in front of the customer.
1. What problems do you solve for your customers?
Elite sales organizations are aligned across the company on the key problems they solve for their customers. As a result, marketing messages, sales messages and delivery messages are all aligned on the critical challenge that the solution solves. Defining and gaining agreement on those key problems enables your sales organization to effectively align your solution to the right problems and as a result, close high-value opportunities.
2. How do you specifically solve those problems?
As they build alignment on the key problems, elite sales organizations also gain agreement on the specifics. Saying we protect data throughout a customer lifecycle is good, but it is likely very similar to other messages being delivered by competing organizations. How specifically do you protect data? How do you do it in a way that has meaning to the customer? Alignment on how you deliver your solution ensures consistency in buyer messages and drives efficiency internally as you move opportunities forward.
3. How do you do it differently than your competition?
Most of us are dealing in industries where there is a lot of competition between similar solutions. Elite sales organizations have a keen understanding of what makes their product or service better and different than their competitors in a way that has meaning to the buyer. It’s one thing to say that you are better than the competition, but you need to align on how.
You can say you are different than your competitors because you have a global presence. If I’m a buyer and I only deal with the west coast, that differentiation means nothing to me. Your reps need to be equipped to articulate those differences in a way that’s relatable to the buyer’s business challenges. It is nearly impossible to do that if you as a company aren’t aligned on your key differentiation.
4. What’s your proof?
Elite sales organizations have a defined process around capturing the value they create for a customer. They have a system for measuring success and reporting on the results. The result is a bank of proof points that their sales team can use with their next customer. An organization that has third-party testimonials that prove they can deliver the value they promise is on it's way to becoming elite.
