Most initial contacts are information gatherers and have no buying authority. Here are attributes that make it in your best interest to work with them collaboratively:

• They are excellent sources of information regarding the basic needs of the prospect.
• They can become a strong ally if treated with courtesy and respect.
• As “gatekeepers,” they can help gain access to the  decision makers.

Since the prospect already recognizes a possible fit, you have a lot more latitude when it comes to asking for information. Here are seven questions that may help you get the information you need to establish a competitive advantage:

1. How did you hear about us? It’s always a good idea to keep tabs on where your leads are coming from.
2. What prompted you to contact us? This may provide you with the prospect’s buying motive – the primary reason for the action taken in contacting you. It’s a good idea to let the prospect talk and take notes.
3. What else can you tell me about what you are looking for? This may be the most important question of the initial interview. In most cases it will provide you with secondary data about the desired outcomes of the prospective account – details your competitors may miss.
4. What other options are you considering? This is a nonthreatening way of finding out who the competition is. If they provide names, ask about meetings with the competition. Have they already had any?
5. What were the positives and the negatives of your meetings? If the prospect seems hesitant, move on. But there’s really nothing wrong with the question and it may tell you how far along the prospect is in the decision process.
6. What is your role in the process? This may clarify the level of influence your initial contact has in the buying process. Usually your initial contacts are not decision makers, but fill an information gathering role.
7. What is your time frame for making a decision? This is a good question to establish the interest level of the prospect and the quality of the lead.

Dealing with tough questions

It’s not unusual for information gatherers to ask tough questions. A mistake some salespeople make is reacting too quickly. If the prospects are asking questions because they don’t understand your product or service, it’s a good idea to slow down. Understand that many of them have little knowledge of what you’re providing.

Try to find the main objective of what the prospect hopes to achieve. When you identify it, you may be able to align your proposal with their intent. If you become part of the plan, the prospects may close themselves.

(Adapted from Competitive Selling: Out-Plan, Out-Think, Out-Sell, by Landy Chase.)

Here are four good tips to handle that situation:

1. You have to respond to direct questions about competing products. Just make sure you have all of your facts straight. If you don’t know the answer to a specific question about a competitive product, simply say so. Avoid generalizations about the competition and its products. Your credibility will suffer if you make inaccurate statements.
2. Try to avoid criticizing the competition. If you’re asked to make direct comparisons with competing products, stick to the facts. Don’t make emotional comments regarding apparent or real weaknesses. Prospects tend to become suspicious of salespeople who are overly critical of the competition.
3. Recognize that questions about the competition can be turned into a plus. Prospects want to be assured that they’re making the best possible purchasing decisions. There’s no better way to convince them than to demonstrate how your product or service stands up against the competition.
4. Seize the opportunity to differentiate your product or service from the competition. Don’t just assume they see your uniqueness – ask them. If your prospects can’t easily and quickly explain why you’re different from the competition, you need to review your presentation.

1. Unique qualities. What can you offer that nobody else can? Give prospects whatever they need to understand the unique qualities of your product or service.
2. Advantages. What do you do better than your competition? Try to convert the value of your products or services into financial results.
3. Parity. Is there little or no difference between you and your competition? Look for even minor differences that may add up to a competitive advantage.
4. Disadvantages. Are there areas in which competitors have a definite edge? Do some of your advantages tend to offset these disadvantages?

Exploiting competitive weaknesses

Exploiting competitive weaknesses is a key to successful prospecting. Start with your competitor’s salespeople. Are they skilled, experienced salespeople or are they inexperienced or suffering from attitude problems?

Prospects don’t like to deal with incompetents or salespeople who take them for granted. Finding prospects who are dissatisfied with their current suppliers is a critical step in finding new customers.

Look for any gaps in your competitor’s product lines, especially when you offer a more complete package. What are the major strengths and weaknesses of your competition? How do their strengths and weaknesses compare with your own?

Common sources of competitive intelligence include:

• Competitors’ home pages on the Web
• Financial disclosures and reports for public companies
• Press releases, new product releases and advertising copy.
• Suppliers who are willing to share information about a mutual competitor.
• Trade shows and conferences.

Don’t overestimate or underestimate the competition

Some salespeople look at competitors as super powers, especially when they’re market leaders. They forget that even the best companies make mistakes or are susceptible to an innovative competitor.

While it’s a mistake to overestimate the competition, it can be equally dangers to underestimate them. Competitive products or services may be just as good as yours. Salespeople who underestimate the competition start to take their customers for granted. They forget that competitors are pursuing their customers actively.

Here are three pitfalls to avoid when going up against an established relationship:

1. Getting aggressive too quickly can backfire. It’s likely that any competitive argument you put forward will be reviewed by the prospect and the supplier you’re selling against.
2. Chasing every trivial objection. Selling this kind of account is less about answering objections and more about making the prospect feel comfortable doing business with you.
3. Giving up too easily. A well-established relationship takes time and patience to crack. Look for incremental victories, dig in for a long siege and keep at it.

Five selling strategies

Don’t expect prospects to drop long-term suppliers and switch to you overnight. These five tips can help:

1. Build your own relationship. Different prospects have different expectations as to what a buyer-seller relationship means. Emphasizing professionalism and product knowledge helps get this kind of relationship started.
2. Ask yourself whether the prospect is ambitious and looking for a relationship to help him or her get ahead. If you understand what motivation the prospect has for considering a new supplier, you may close that much quicker.
3. Monitor the relationship you’re selling against. Every business relationship goes through ups and downs. Even the tightest relationships are tested when things go wrong. If you know what the weak times are, ratchet up your activities. A counter-proposal always looks much better after the incumbent competitor has botched a job.
4. Sell objectivity. Acknowledge that the prospect has a relationship with a competitor, and then ask him or her to look objectively at your proposal.
5. Watch for the backlash of turnover. Sales based on relationships are the most volatile of all. If a competitor has established a relationship with a customer who’s retiring or moving to another company, the relationship leaves with him or her. This is the time to get an appointment with the successor.

Demonstrating credibility

It’s not enough to tell prospects you offer better service or quality than your competitor. Prospects want to hear specifics about why you’re better.

Here’s a formula that helps show the difference more effectively:

• Unique qualities. What can you offer that your competitor can’t? Try to convert the value of your products or services into financial results.
• Advantages. What do you do better than the competitor? Give prospects what they need to understand the unique qualities of your product or service.
• Parity. If there’s little difference between you and a competitor, look for minor ones that may add up to a competitive advantage.
• Disadvantages. Are there areas in your product or service in which competitors have a definite edge? Focus on the advantages you do have to offset these disadvantages.

Adapted from Lessons From 100,000 Cold Calls (Sourcebook, Naperville, IL) by Stewart Rogers. Mr. Rogers is a sales trainer and author.

Sales consultant and trainer Ted Barrows warns about the ones he sees most often:

1. Relying on gut instincts. Some salespeople seem to think that relying on information is a sign of weakness. They are more comfortable trying to guess correctly than they are in attempting to get the facts, accumulate the necessary information and doing the research necessary to help the prospect make an informed decision.
2. Always keeping an eye on the competition. Just because the competition is doing it doesn’t make it smart, effective or correct. Following the competition like a shadow only indicates a lack of conviction and self-confidence. Top salespeople see themselves as innovative, cutting-edge pacesetting leaders and not as second-hand followers. They embrace new ideas and suggestions for being “different” or “standing” out from the competition.
3. Worrying about just getting it done more than how it gets done. Top salespeople recognize that just getting it done isn’t nearly enough in today’s competitive market. They recognize that they can get everything right in terms of the product and price. But unless they complete the process with incredibly good customer service, they run the risk of losing business.
4. Going for the quick payoff. The extended slowdown may be creating serious panic among some salespeople. They may respond by making no investment in the future and no customer commitment. They concentrate only on making the sale today. Top salespeople recognize the importance of establishing long-term relationships. The know how to keep their sales up despite the economy or inceased competition.
5. Thinking the sale is made after the presentation. Top salespeople realize the sale is made – or lost – before the presentation. They don’t waste time looking for the magic formula for irresistible, totally bulletproofed presentations. It’s what goes before the presentation that determines whether the sale is made. How is the salesperson perceived by the prospects? What climate has been created to foster trust and communicate knowledge and expertise before the closing?
6. Taking rejection personally. It’s never easy to learn that you’ve lost a sale or a customer has switched to a competitor. Top salespeople never take rejection personally. They use it as a signal to review their selling techniques and to try to pinpoint areas for improvement.
7. Relying too heavily on relationships to sell in a tight economy. There was a time when one customer could influence decisions in a number of departments in a company. That’s fading. Today, department heads may expect autonomy. They want to make their own decisions and their company holds them responsible. Relying on relationships to overcome other objections can be dangerous today.

If they want more business, it’s probably going to come out of your sales. That’s why it’s a good idea to take steps now to protect yourself from competitors who may come after your accounts. Even though this concept seems obvious, some salespeople aren’t prepared when competitors go after their accounts.

Here are seven approaches that provide you with the strategies you need to fend off the competition:

1. Gather customer information continuously. We work hard getting acquainted with customers and identifying their needs. But sometimes our learning stops as soon as we get the business. It’s not a good idea to assume we know everything we need to know about our customers.

“What’s happening to them? What changes are taking place? What problems are they facing? What difficulties are they encountering in the marketplace? What are their opportunities?”

If you don’t have current, up-to-the-minute answers to these questions, you can’t meet your customers’ needs. It’s this simple: Without answers, all you’re doing is reacting and putting out fires.

2. Never stop selling your company to your customer. To create customer loyalty, your customers must “buy” your company before they buy your products or services. If they’re just buying what you sell, chances are they won’t be doing business with you very long.

If your customer hasn’t made a commitment to do business with your company, you don’t have a customer. The major task of sales is to do everything possible to cause the customer to want to do business with your company.

3. Never assume tomorrow is going to be better than today. Some of us have a tendency to view the future as highly unpredictable, to assume that trouble lies around the corner. This sense of uncertainty can be useful because it drives us to ask questions like:

“What should we be doing now to make it difficult for a competitor to get a foothold?”

“What would happen if we lost our key customer?”

“What should we be doing today to stimulate new business two years from now?”

It’s only when we assume that tomorrow will automatically be better that we ignore the future.

4. Never take your customers for granted. Some salespeople talk about “owning a customer” or having a territory “locked up.”

That’s yesterday’s thinking. It’s what we continue to do for the customer that counts, not what we did last week or last year.

In today’s marketplace, maintaining high quality standards and making on-time deliveries isn’t enough. It’s not how we sell that counts. It’s our ideas, information, guidance and insight into our customer’s operation that earns us the privilege of doing business with them.

5. Never think that you’ve got all the business you need. There are some salespeople and businesses that honestly believe they have a lock on the market. This type of thinking leads to a false comfort level.

It’s these salespeople and businesses that are tops on a competitor’s hit list. They’re vulnerable because complacency has seeped into everything they do. Their customers being to sense it too -– it comes across as arrogance.

6. Don’t develop a reputation for only having the lowest price. As some point, any price-driven business is a candidate for trouble. If the lowest price is all you can offer customers, you’re sending a message that there’s no other reason to buy from your company. You’re simply a conduit for delivering a product or service.

If a customer is left with price as the only criterion for making a decision, someone else will come along and undercut your price in order to get their business.

7. Never, never stop worrying. Salespeople who think they have it all figured out deserve the worst – and they’ll eventually get it. Companies that have been in business for 50, 75 or even 100 years close their doors every day. Others are acquired, which may mean starting the sales process all over again.

Staying on top demands a high level of awareness of new ideas and concepts. Salespeople who think they’ve reached the pinnacle are often already going down the other side.

Adapted from Break The Rules Selling by John R. Graham (SuperiorBooks.com) Mr. Graham is the president of Graham Communications, Quincy, MA.  

1. Bundle products and services. Whenever possible, see if you can help loyal buyers save on costs by bundling the products and services they’re already receiving into a package deal. Bundling allows buyers to consolidate their accounts. But it also decreases the odds a competitor will be able to wedge their way in by making a low-ball offer on one of the products or services you provide. If buyers count on you for everything, it decreases the chances they’ll look elsewhere for anything.
2. Strengthen the bond. It’s less likely customers will start to pursue other offers if they feel like part of your corporate family. That’s why a lot of salespeople make it a point to invite their customers to company events or business lunches.
3. Close any open doors. During tough times proactive salespeople minimize the odds of losing business to the competition by personally handling customer complaints before they evolve into major problems. They also follow up after the fact to ensure customers are satisfied with the way the situation was resolved and ask if there’s anything else they can do to help.

Source: “How to Protect Your Good Accounts From the Competition,” by Dave Kahle, www.davekahle.com

1. Assuming that prospects know about your company and its products. To gain separation from the competition, your product or service needs to stand for something — and prospects need to be told what that something is. If you can’t differentiate yourself from the competition, sales will be lost.
2. Not having an appropriate concept of value. It’s easy for salespeople talk about themselves too much and forget that prospects are focused on themselves, not the salesperson. The key to closing a sale is to determine what prospects value most. Is it quality, service, price or some combination of the three?

By answering these questions for prospects, you can separate yourself from the competition and give potential buyers the value they’re seeking.

Why are we in business?

One quick answer is to make money. While that’s important, it’s not necessarily correct. The major reason to be in business is to help customers. If a business doesn’t help customers, it won’t last.

A good way to develop loyal customers is to demonstrate a “we’re here to solve your problems” attitude.

Why should someone do business with us?

This question usually brings out a laundry list of wrong answers. “We have great people” usually tops the list. While there’s no denying the value of having bright, hard working employees, this answer won’t close sales.

The next most popular answer: “We have great products or services.” Well so do a lot of competitors.

Another answer: “Our service is the best.” While exemplary service is essential, it’s not the major reason people do business with you.

The real answer is because you deliver value to customers. But what you consider valuable may not be valuable to a buyer.

Try to find out what it is the prospect wants from you and do your best to deliver it to him or her. If you don’t take the steps necessary to find out what it is every individual customer wants, you’ll lose them to the competition.

Source: Ted Barrows, President of Barrows & Associates, Bristol, RI.

The best way to do that is to get prospects interested enough in your opening statement to give you time to make a presentation.

Characteristics of successful openings

A successful opening has four characteristics:

1. It’s provocative and opens a dialogue instead of delivering a simple selling message
2. It’s short and able to be understood in a matter of seconds
3. It’s credible because the salesperson believes in the message being delivered, and
4. It creates value by uncovering an unrecognized problem or revealing an unanticipated solution.

Tips that may help

Here are five tips that’ll help you open a cold call successfully:

1. Establish rapport immediately. Studies show that getting an appointment via a cold call depends 65% on the rapport the salesperson establishes with the prospect and only 35% on the product or service being sold. Unless you get the prospect’s attention quickly, having the best product or service won’t result in a sale.
2. Identify key problems. Prospects become customers when salespeople solve problems. The difficultly with problems is not in finding them but in getting prospects to admit to them. To overcome the initial barrier of resistance, try to find out exactly what’s important to the prospect and why.
3. Distinguish the prospect’s goals. A salesperson becomes invaluable to the prospect when the salesperson shows that he or she understands the prospect’s goals and has the ability to help the prospect reach them.
4. Develop the ability to persevere. Once problems are identified, back up your solutions with persistence and determination. Don’t consider the possibility of failure. The ability to persist is what it takes to overcome the most difficult obstacles in opening new accounts.
5. Understand the objectives and strategy of the prospect’s current supplier. It’s not enough to think about how to convert a prospect to a customer. You also have to think about winning the battle with the present supplier, your competitor. Evaluate the present supplier’s strengths, weaknesses, strategy and resources. Then figure out what your company can offer that the present supplier can’t.

Demonstrating credibility

It’s not enough to tell prospects you offer better service or quality than your competitors during a cold call. Prospects want to hear specifics about why you’re better.

Here’s a formula that helps show that difference more effectively:

• Show what makes you unique. What can you offer that nobody else can? Try to convert the value of your products or services into financial returns the prospect can expect get out of what you’re selling.
• Tout your competitive advantages. What do you do better than your competition? Help prospects understand the unique qualities of your product or service.
• Create parity. If there’s little major difference between you and a competitor, look for minor differences that can add up to a big competitive advantage for you.
• Speak frankly about disadvantages. Are there areas in which competitors have a definite edge? If so, make sure prospects know what they are, and explain what you offer that offsets these disadvantages.

Adapted from “Lessons from 100,000 Cold Calls” by Stewart Rogers

1. Develop your own competitive analysis: Today’s prospects have unprecedented access to lowball offers and online discounts. If they haven’t done their own research prior to meeting with one of your salespeople, they definitely will before making a final buying decision. Control the process by developing your own competitive breakdown of price, features, benefits and potential ROI. It’s a proactive approach that earns buyers’ trust, while highlighting all of the areas where you offer superior value. It also allows salespeople to see — at a glance — what they can offer that an incumbent supplier can’t.
2. Embrace new modes of communication: Cell phones, text messaging, Twitter, LinkedIn, e-mail, instant messaging, Web conferencing … these are just a few of the ways today’s prospects communicate. Salespeople who ask prospects how they prefer to communicate early on are in a better position to maintain contact. Train salespeople to use as many modes of communication as possible, and encourage them to master any new modes as soon as they become available.
3. Determine who your high-probability prospects are: The marketplace has changed dramatically over the past three years and so has the type of prospect who can benefit from your products the most. Perform an audit of your sales from the past year to determine what types of prospects are most likely to buy now (e.g., title, industry, size of company, region, etc.). Once you’ve developed a “prospect profile,” frontload your lead pipeline with those types of leads to give salespeople the best opportunity for success.
4. Update your marketing message: As a result of the economic downturn, most buyers’ needs and challenges have changed. Partner with Marketing to recast your e-mail copy and marketing collateral (as well as advertising slogans) to ensure they address what buyers are up against now.
5. Use your company’s Web site as a resource: Having visitors register on your site before they can access company blogs, online articles, or customer reviews is a great way to generate leads. And it also allows companies to track how often prospects visit the site and which product pages they’re clicking on the most. Work with IT to create a system where that info is immediately forwarded to a sales rep. That way the salesperson can follow up ASAP, answering any questions the prospect has before he/she buys from a competitor. Allowing buyers to post reviews of your products and services is also a great way to gain feedback and learn how prospects are benefiting from your products the most.

Source: “Smart Selling on the Phone and Online” by Josiane Feigon

Here are three best practices to give Sales an edge when it comes to landing corporate clients:

1. Get execs to reach out personally. If your company is sending low-level managers to lure in corporate clients, the wrong message is being sent.

Face time with an owner or C-level exec says you’re serious about starting a long-term relationship.

2. Partner with like-minded companies. Small businesses can increase their appeal by teaming up.

Example: Store in a Box Associates, Inc., was born when four Chicago firms banded together to create a “one-stop shop” for corporate clients looking to create retail shops.

The united front worked like magic on corporate companies that are used to dealing with up to 20 different vendors all trying to undercut competition from 10-20%. Result: Around 25 clients, including Old Navy, Jenny Craig and T-Mobile.

3. Bring in well-connected talent. Due to a recent wave of layoffs in all industries, small firms have a great opportunity to snatch up top talent the competition just let go.

What to do: Utilize the hiring process. Ask questions to get a feel if applicants have any connections to companies you’re trying to do business with.

Mobile coupons, as they’re called, usually include a code customers can use to receive discounts or other perks. In addition to the obvious benefits of using this type of technology, it also allows companies to capitalize on
last-second specials or limited-time offers without the cost of advertising.

Major retailers like K-Mart, Toys R Us and Zales (among others) are already using mobile coupons to boost revenues. In fact, during the first half of 2009, nearly 10 million digital coupons were redeemed, a 25% jump over the amount redeemed during the same six-month period in 2008, according to Inmar, a coupon-processing company.

Aggregate sites like 8coupons, Cellfire and Zavers, allow users to register and receive text coupons from several different companies based on their own specific needs. Cellfire claims its redemption rate for mobile coupons is currently between 15 and 20%, while redemption rates for paper coupons are generally less than 1%.

All of which begs the question: Are mobile coupons the wave of the future? And if so, how can your company use them to boost revenues? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.

Source: “Coupons You Don’t Clip, Sent to Your Cell Phone,” by Jenna Wortham, New York Times, 8/28/09.