The author of this book has written over 200 books on the subject of selling. Most of them discuss the same issue, that a buying and selling relationship has two sides: the buyer and the seller. And if you can establish a relationship with the buyer, discover what they need, and meet those needs, the seller will surely get the desired profit. In fact, in a selling relationship, there are three subjects: the buyer, the seller, and the current supplier. You not only need to be excellent at the art of building relationships, but you also need to be adept at breaking existing relationships.
The biggest drawback of traditional sales is that there is no specific strategy for the third party – the current supplier. If you do not have a specific strategy to get in between the buyer and the current supplier to eliminate the competition, then there is a great opportunity for them to leverage their current relationship with the customer (your potential customer) to get an overview and adjust their strategy to match the plan you have proposed. And so you are out of the game. But the question is how to do it? Eliminate Competitors without having to “play dirty” with them? Read on…
The Challenge of Most New Deals
This book is the result of over 10,000 hours of work by the author and his sales staff.
Perhaps like you, many of them are enthusiastic, quick-witted, hard-working, but easily discouraged. They are discouraged because they do not achieve the great goals they have set for themselves. For them, hard work does not always mean higher income.
They can do everything perfectly. They are great communicators and of course, great at building relationships. They listen to potential clients. They are friendly and helpful. They deliver great projects at a fair price. Yet, they often fail to close deals.
The author's experiences have helped many people achieve their goals of doubling or tripling their income, having more time for family and other close relationships, and realizing that they have long let professional success escape them.
How do these people do it? Do they work longer hours? Or find more clients? No, they actually stop paying attention to the numbers. Instead, they focus their limited time and energy on overcoming the biggest obstacle to most new businesses: competition.
NORMAL BUSINESS MEETINGS
When targeting their prospects, many salespeople are eager to make contact and build a relationship with them. After doing a little research, they contact the prospect and schedule an initial meeting. A typical telephone sales call typically goes through three stages:
Phase 1:
In the initial stage, the salesperson must have enough knowledge to ask the right questions. He must have done some research (maybe not much) before meeting the customer, and he wants to establish a rapport to get what he wants right from the start. The conversation might go something like this:
Seller: Hi Ray, It's nice to meet you today. How have you been?
Potential customers: Pretty good, Bill! And you?
Seller: Oh, that's great. Thanks for your interest. How about the business?
Potential customers: Everything is going great
Seller: Well, as you know, I work for Greater Smithville Community Bank. We have been in business since 1953 and we currently have about 12 branches throughout the Smithville metropolitan area, not counting other ATM locations. We are proud to represent three other companies in your industry. And we would certainly like to serve your company's banking needs. Which companies do you currently do business with?
Potential customers:We have been using Giant National Bank for almost 6 years now, since they merged with Smithville First – our previous bank.
Seller: What services does Giant National Bank currently provide?
Potential customers: Overall good.
Seller: Any problems with the service?
Potential customers: Nothing significant.
Seller: What is your total annual revenue, Ray?
Potential customers: Well, last year we did $30 million, and this year, I think it'll probably go up to $42 million.
Seller: Yes. So do you have to worry about the interest rate Giant National offers on loans, certificates of deposit or other financial products?
Potential customers: No, they did a great job. Their interest rates are similar to other banks.
Seller: What about your credit limit? Do they give you a reasonable amount?
Potential customers: I think they can do better.
Seller: What about costs and fees?
Potential customers: Nothing special. They do charge a bit high sometimes, but overall the fees are decent.
Seller: Great, Ray! I want to propose a plan to you. I'll outline specifically what we can do for you as a bank serving your business. If we can improve your credit limit, and save some money in other areas, is there any reason why we can't work together?
Potential customers: No, of course not, we are very happy to receive the above offer.
Bill took the information back to the main office and created a proposal template on his computer. He began to modify the proposal to fit Ray’s company, testing it against Ray’s situation, reviewing it over and over again. Bill also consulted Giant National’s marketing materials, studied Giant National’s typical interest rates, and studied Giant National’s official price lists for small businesses like Ray’s. And when Ruth, the company’s vice president of business development, asked how the business development strategy was going, Bill would explain that the prospect didn’t have many significant problems, except that they would be more interested in being offered a new line of credit from Smithville Community Bank, as well as some savings on fees and other costs. They would say yes.
Phase 2:
After completing the project, Bill put together a slick summary presentation, then called Ray to schedule a meeting.
Seller:Thank you for coming, Ray. I'm sure you'll be pleased with what we have to show you next.
Potential customers:Sounds interesting. Present it!
Seller: Basically we can extend your credit limit by $300,000, plus we will reduce or eliminate some of the annoying extra fees you pay for online payments, loan application fees, and statement fees. We will also actually reimburse you for all ATM transactions while you are traveling anywhere in the US. How does our offer sound?
Potential customers: Bill, that all sounds great. I really appreciate your suggestion. We'll definitely look into it. Let me go over the general outline of these suggestions and we can discuss them again next week.
Seller: Ray, this is a very competitive offer. Is there any reason why you should hesitate?
Potential customers: Bill, I'm really pleased with what you've suggested. I just need a few days to consider it all. Please call me back in a few days.
Seller: That's fine. I'll call you in a few days.
Bill returned to the company and ran into Ruth again. When asked about the progress of the work, Bill replied:
“Great. I would say we have a great opportunity. I'm getting along very well with Ray. He's very happy with what I'm suggesting. Hopefully we'll know the answer in the next few days.”
Phase 3:
Meanwhile, Ray calls his banker at Giant National to discuss business next year. He asks to know what Giant National offers him, based on his company's growth, and if there are any additional fees or charges he can save. The banker will immediately sense something is up, and they will ask Ray again. Ray will reply that he is considering changing banks, but he wants to know what Giant National can do for his company before making a decision. The banker will then ask to meet with Ray in person.
Current Bank: Ray, we were delighted to receive your call this morning. We also wanted to let you know how important your business is to us. As you know, we are always willing to go above and beyond to meet your business needs. I don't know who you have been in contact with, or what they have offered you, but we are confident that we can extend your financial limits, and at the same time offer you a fee and surcharge that is as competitive as any bank. If we can do that, then why can't we continue to work together? I am sure that we can always find a solution to whatever is troubling you.
Bill's potential customers: You have provided us with a very good service. If you have any solutions to the problems I mentioned, I am sure we can continue to cooperate.
Current Bank : I'm sure we can, Ray!
A few days later, Bill called Ray. He left a message on Ray's voicemail. The next day, Ray returned the call.
Seller: Hi Ray, How's it going?
Potential customers: You have been very thoughtful. We appreciate your offer. I don't think the credit limit, along with the fees and charges, are enough to warrant a change at this time.
Seller: Okay. I understand. Let me stay in touch. I'll probably get back to you later to see if we can work together.
Bill made a note to call Ray back in six months. When Ruth stopped by the office to check, Bill explained, “Maybe what they’re offering isn’t as strong as what Giant National can do. And maybe Ray’s so happy with the service right now that he’s not thinking about changing banks. I’ll get back to that later.”
Bill was just making himself feel good. This is a common scenario for many salespeople who are chasing the initial peak, and they are willing to make offers to save money for the prospect. However, Bill’s poor strategy was fundamental. Although he tried to find out what was causing the prospect’s dissatisfaction with Giant National, the process he followed did not make any real difference. Bill did not take into account that Giant National already had a relationship, an opportunity to demonstrate its superiority, improve the financing limit that Bill had given, or reduce or eliminate some of the additional fees when Ray called to compare. Bill also failed to differentiate Giant National from Smithville Community Bank. He talked about the advantages of local presence, industry experience, location, and Smithville’s customers—factors that all other banks had.
In short, Bill failed to differentiate his bank from the competition. He failed to outline anything that would motivate Ray to make a change. As a result, he had nothing to sell other than a different price and an expanded financial horizon—things that other banks could do. Like many traditional sales people, Bill convinced himself to be satisfied.
INSTANT TACTICS
In this book, I will show you how to overcome the existing advantages of your current supplier, how to gain an advantage over your competitors. These are proven strategies that you can apply to your customers to eliminate your competitors without having to shame them. These strategies and the tactics based on them, when combined, are called the Wedge strategy.
You’ve probably attended a lot of sales training and read a lot of books on the subject. I often tell myself when I attend a training like this, “It would be great if I had a good idea.” However, many of my good ideas are too theoretical, and it takes time to convert them into practical, everyday methods that can help me sell more and make more money. It’s like going to the supermarket to buy dinner instead of eating at a restaurant. At the supermarket, you have to buy the ingredients, take them home, prepare them yourself instead of just walking into a restaurant, ordering something from the menu, and then sitting there for 30 minutes to enjoy it.
Unlike traditional sales methods, The Wedge is a ready-made meal. This book will give you practical and simple techniques that work. I am not talking about ideas, concepts, or theories that you have to figure out how to apply on your own. I am talking about easy-to-understand but useful tactics that you can apply the next day and get results.
The Wedge is not a new way of selling. When discussing this sales strategy, I assume that you already know the basic theories of selling – how to build relationships, effective communication skills, and so on. It is inevitable that some of the elements we discuss here will sound familiar to you. However, you should note one major difference. The Wedge – which focuses on the relationship between the prospect and the competition – takes the sales process to a whole new level. It is like the 401 sales rule: Start with what you already know.
This strategy is based on a practical problem that traditional sales methods often ignore. Traditional sales knowledge holds that there are only two parties in a sale – the buyer and the seller. Traditional knowledge is completely wrong. Most sales opportunities consist of three parties: you, the prospect, and your competition. Unless you have a strategy in place to deal with your competition, you are unlikely to have a customer in your hands.
A salesperson who has a customer in his hands is in a dominant position. He already has a relationship with the customer, and he will do everything he can to keep the customer. So to create an opportunity to get that customer, you first have to get between the prospect and their supplier. Of course, this is the problem. You can’t just walk into the prospect’s office and start gossiping about the company that provides the service. That’s like saying, “Let me get this straight, Joe. Are these the people you hire?”
Your challenge is how to show your prospect that they are not being served well without criticizing them, and how to lead them to decide for themselves that they will get better service if they switch or start working with you.
Face the facts
Another reason I wrote this book is because other sales books (which I’ve read almost all of) fail to show the basic realities of sales. Almost always, someone has to lose for you to win. That’s the truth.
However, the practice of making others fail is often seen as a difficult (if good) and immoral (if bad) activity. Civilized people do not take food away from others. So we prefer to use the “one-man” method of selling, like figure skating. You glide out onto the stage. You smile and perform your performance, hoping that your technical skills and craftsmanship will impress the judges and win you the gold medal. You strike your balances and move to the music. When you finish, you bow and wait for the judges to raise their scorecards. You stand there confidently, thinking, “I know I’m going to get a perfect score.” You look hopefully and brightly at the crowd in the rows, who are also sharing this moment with you, and then…
BOOM!
Someone slips out of nowhere, knocks you down, and walks away with your medal. That’s what you’ll face in the real world, where sales is a team game, with your prospect and their supplier on the home team and you on the underdog.
