Why do you think you lose because of price?

by Mark Larson, February 25, 2008

Price, price price.

Ask almost any sales professional why they lose any deal and they will, almost without exception, say it was price. And like with any purchase explanation, price is such a constant issue, its easy to accept this as an answer. I, however, have a problem with this. This is an excuse, not a reason.

I am currently shopping for a new couch, and like most people, I know my general budget. I already know that a certain price range is way out of my league. I may browse this section of the store, but I never even consider chatting with the salesman about these couches. Why? Its a waste of my time. I dont want to spend my Saturday afternoon haggling over a couch I know I cannot afford. I will only spend my time on the couches that fit closely to my preconceived budget.

When a sales professional is involved in an opportunity, he knows quite soon the budget constraints of his prospect. If he doesnt, hes going to be flipping burgers before he knows it. He has to understand the budgetary limitations of his prospect. The prospect knows essentially what he wants from a product or service prior to an in-depth discussion with the sales rep, so quite soon both sides understand if this truly is a potential sale. If the deal is not close to the budget ballpark, why is the sale professional still talking? If he is not in range, he should bow out soon and spend his time on more worthy pursuits.

If his offering is close enough to the cost parameters, the biggest influence a salesperson has in a competitive environment is to balance his products value with the sale price. That is what the prospect is going to be doing from this point on: balancing each proposed products functionality with the cost.

At Primary Intelligence, we have found that most wins and losses are very close. It isnt common for one competitor to blow the doors of the others. It generally comes down to one or two criteria that tip the scales of value in favor of the winner.

Is it price? If it is, you stayed in the game too long. Understand where you stand on price early. If you do this, you can more effectively balance your solutions benefits against those of your competitors.

Competitive Intelligence Newsletter: Selling to your Sales Team

by Mark Larson, February 20, 2008

In this newsletter, we consider the sale that has to take place within the company before the sales team even attempts to sell to the outside world. Internal competitive intelligence is just as helpful as outward-facing CI.

Subscribe to our newsletter by visiting www.primary-intel.com/company/newsletters/ and use the subscribe form on the right side of the page.

Cover Story:
The First Sale Happens in the Heart of Your Sales Rep

When sales revenue fall short of expectation or growth is stalling, the sales organization is frequently the first suspect. As an executive, it is important to understand that the first sale does not happen when your sales reps pick up the telephone; it happens in the heart of your sales rep. There have been many studies that show there is a relationship between the salesperson confidence and attitude and sales outcomes

(For more, click here)

BlogCentral:
Using Win Loss to Produce Tactical Competitive Intelligence

To increase your effectiveness and win more business, you have to know where you compare on key decision-making criteria versus you strongest competitors. Your prospects watched you perform and compared your capabilities with other companies in the deals. Over time, your strengths rise to the top while your weaknesses become very apparent

(For more, click here)

The A-List Archive:
Pharmascience Selects Information Builders for Its Business Intelligence Reporting Needs

Originally Published in February 2005.

Pharmascience originally looked at business intelligence and reporting solutions from SAP, Cognos, Crystal Decisions (since acquired by Business Objects), and Information Builders. After evaluating these solutions and determining which one best fit its needs, Pharmascience selected Information Builders WebFOCUS solution. The Company plans to begin its implementation with the development of sales and marketing reporting, and then move onto the reporting requirements of other departments, including finance, manufacturing, and human resources

(For more, click here)

Why should I care about CI? Im in Sales!

by Mark Larson, February 13, 2008

Calls, pipelines, meetings, and more calls. This is what sales people do: make calls, make contacts, and build relationships. It seems simple, doesnt it? So, when a marketing person comes in with charts and diagnostics, what happens? The eyes roll, the hands go back behind the head, and you can almost hear the brain turning off.

Why do you think salespeople dont care about CI? What have you done to show them of their benefit? Salespeople work primarily in the business of relationships, and on the surface it doesnt seem as if Competitive Intelligence matters. Therefore, they believe that what they need is to get themselves in front of the right people, and their sales abilities will finish the deal.

Therefore, when someone outside of sales approaches them with statistics and magic quadrants, they dont see the correlation to their efforts at creating and maintaining their relationships with prospects.

Maybe a different tactic is needed. Maybe its time for the market research person to use a little salesmanship to promote CI to those who can use it most. Consider these questions before approaching the sales team:

1. What information can I share that matters in a sales scenario?
2. What can it tell them that impacts their ability to win more opportunities?
3. What can I leave out that isnt critical to their specific needs?
4. How can I present this information in a way that gets their attention?

Whether we realize it or not, we are all salespeople. We need to position our product in a way that attracts the attention of those we wish to influence. Remember that when you try to sell to the biggest skeptic: your own sales force.

Slight Changes

by Mark Larson, February 7, 2008

Hello, everyone. This is Mark Larson at Primary Intelligence wishing all of you a happy and productive day. I just wanted to update you on some changes that will be happening with the blog.

Chris Dalley has taken a new position here within our company and has passed the opportunity of managing this blog onto me. Chris is a more prolific writer than I, so I will be enlisting the help of my PI colleagues to continuously bring new and interesting content to these pages.

We hope to give you tidbits on the Competitive Intelligence community in general as well as exciting new developments we uncover while doing our own research.

A lot has changed in the intelligence and market research fields over the past 10 years in which we’ve been in business. Technology is playing a bigger role as companies want easier access to data as well as better targeted findings.

We hope to keep the information rolling that helps you in your understanding of what is available and what is on the horizon in regards to CI.

We also would love your comments as well. If you have an interesting viewpoint on a topic, or information that would be enlightening, send it to me and we’ll look at posting it.

Contact me at mlarson@primary-intel.com or by phone at 801-838-9600 x5046.