How to Get Prospects to Choose You Over the Competition

When we prospect with integrity, we will get customers who have integrity. Integrity is the foundation from which everything is built on. You better understand value. But at the end of the day, sales is a relationship business. It is a people business. It is emotional business. This is Saves Logic. All right. It is 7 a.m. Eastern. We are a little bit early this morning, and it is time for Sales Logic, the show where we dive into the strategies, everything that you need to know to sell effectively in today's marketplace. Hey, we got a lot of good stuff going on today. We're talking about how to get prospects to choose you over the competition. I think companies should be choosing us to speak at their sales kickoff meetings already. I think so because it is sales kickoff time, isn't it? It really is. But anyway, that's the topic. How to get prospects to choose you over the competition, lightning round, top 10 ways to increase your sales effectiveness. So, hey, talk to me. How do we get prospects to choose us over the competition? I think one of the most important things, I was just listening to, and I know you've ever read the book, but I was just listening to Rory Vaden's book, Wealthy and Well-known. I'm not very far into it. I'm only into about chapter 6 or 7, I think, and it's actually the second time I'm reading it. But we're right at the chapter where he's talking about David Averyn, and David Averyn really forcing him to stop selling the solution and to start selling the problem. So, I think that's really the place where we start with really getting the competition, getting the competition to choose us over our competitors, getting customers. There I go. It's early, right? Getting customers to choose us over the competition is, we have to understand their pain point and communicate that pain point. We have to be able to communicate back to them. I was on a call yesterday, and it really came down to what's the problem, and I was able to articulate the problem and actually expand on the problem for them, and had the customers thinking, okay, you are the solution, you are the reason. What this is, is this is kind of like the third stage of selling, because I think the early stage is selling the product, then you sell your solution, and then really what you do is you're selling your problem, and that's where we have to get to, because that's where the customer says, I have to work with you. I cannot afford to work with anyone other than you. Yeah, I mean, I think that that's the other thing. I think the other thing, too, is you get customers to choose you over the competition by customers having heard about you. I mean, you're famous for saying your reputation arise before you do, but you've got to build that reputation, right? I mean, you've really got to build it, you've got to nurture it, you've got to elevate it, and you've got to really clearly, daily, I think, work on building your visibility in the marketplace. Well, yeah, because nobody does business. Nobody even takes a sales call with somebody unless they've done research on you. Our friend, we were talking about him earlier, Rory Vaden says your reputation arrives before revenue, and I really do agree. Now, that doesn't mean that you immerse yourself 24/7 in just social media and doing all this marketing stuff, because you can make sales calls along the way, but it means that you've got to be doing both, and it means you have to listen to what is the marketplace saying about you, because again, that's the other piece. How to get prospects to choose you over the competition. What are your current customers saying about you? What are others saying about you? Because again, it's amazing how much business we may not know it comes to us by way of a referral, but it comes to us by way of somebody sharing something with somebody positive about us and what we do. So, it is absolutely critical. It's absolutely critically important. Yeah, I also think that, I also think if you want customers to choose you over the competition, you've got to really understand their industry better than they do. I mean, really, really going deep into that industry and intimately, they have to feel like they can't live without you. Choosing you would be detrimental to their organization. Now, that may sound a little bit dramatic, but in today's marketplace, if it comes down to Marker, it comes down to me, then pretty much on paper, we look the same. We've spoken for the same amount of clients. We've got the same keynotes. We've got the same accolades in our career. We've got a lot of similar background. So, what's going to make them choose us is that one of us has done a better job of communicating that we will provide so much value that they can't live without us. And that's creating that whole reputation. That's creating that level of expertise. And it also comes down to then you understand their business so well that you can express things in a simple manner. This is the other piece. A confused customer does not buy. A confused customer will say, "I'm not going to make any decision off. We're just going to wait. We are just going to wait and we're going to decide to make a decision later on." This is why we as salespeople have to look at everything that we do through the lens of the customer and say, "Is my offer, is how I'm going to help you solve your problem?" Simplistic enough for you to understand. And you know what? We can screw up a two car funeral pretty quickly. Dumb it down. Dumb it down. Well, you know, I think what you're saying is so incredibly important because you have to be able to answer the question. I mean, right now, can you answer the question why would somebody choose you over your competition? And if you can't spit that out in one word, then why should they know? If you don't know it, then they're not going to know it either. Well, that comes back to that whole thing that the first sale that's ever made is the sale you make to yourself because whether or not you believe in your solution. Now, that takes us down a little bit of a, that takes us down another path and that is this path of confidence because, again, if I have confidence that I can help you solve your problem, that's great. But you have to have confidence that I can help you solve your problem. And that's a different conversation. That's a different discussion. That is only going to come about by me asking you the customer questions that I'm going to get you to answer so that you can begin to articulate as to whether or not you are confident in me because, again, if the customer is not confident, they are either going to not make a decision. They're going to stay with status quo or they're going to go in a whole different direction. Yeah, so great. I also think, Mark, you know, if you want customers to choose you over the competition, you've got to take every single piece of friction out of the buying process. Like, I was talking with a prospect, I think it was a couple of days ago, somebody called me and it was a deal that had already landed and we're renewing another opportunity in there. And she said, "What I really love about you is you're so responsive." And I'm responsive, like, let's take the, you know, the service out of it. I'm responsive because I know if I am not responsive, they are going to move on to somebody who is, right? I mean, like, if, like, there's nothing I'm selling that is so life-altering that they can't find somebody else to do it. So, you know, so this is whole thing. I've done all the heavy lifting, like they like me, they're into me, they feel like I can solve their problem, they know I can deliver. But if I don't have that extra layer of removing any ounce of friction of doing business with me, then I stand a chance of losing the deal. That is so important. And removing friction means also speed. I'm amazed at the number of salespeople who get inquiries, however they may come. And, well, I'll follow up with them in the morning when I'm fresher or I'll follow up with them after this or after that. It is about speed and that's the whole simplicity because here's the problem that drives me crazy. Salespeople thinking about a prospect does not mean the prospect is thinking about you. You know, I see so many salespeople, well, I need to kind of think about it. I'm really thinking about them. Well, trust me, they're not thinking about you. They're thinking about their problem. And this is why when that inquiry comes in or you reach out and they're interested, if you don't follow up quickly, you have every right to lose that sale because the customer is going to move on to somewhere else. Yeah, so, so, so true. You know, I also think it's really interesting when it comes to getting the customer to choose you over the competition. You know, you need to bring your resume to the table. I mean, you need to come there with stories. You need to come there with facts and figures. It isn't enough to say we just help a lot of customers in your industry. You've got to go in there and you've got to say, look, we've helped these specific customers if you have their permission, you know, to use their names and the statistics. How much have you helped them buy? Have you increased their retention? Have you decreased their inefficiencies? Like, what have you done specifically to get them to choose you? Well, you are hitting the trifecta of selling because the trifecta of selling is where you're stating the problem to them. You are restating. Here's the problem. Here's what I see. You're having that conversation on it. You're sharing a story as to how you solve a similar problem with another company, and then you put the proposal on the table, the trifecta of how you close the deal. And when you do that, it is amazing at how the customer comes along with you. You notice I didn't say, oh, you walk through every step of what it is that you offer. No, because if the customer has confidence in you and you understand their problem and they see that you've been able to help them help other people in their industry solve the same problem, you're in. You're in. You're not going to have to walk through step A through double Z, explaining how you're going to solve the problem for them. Yeah, absolutely. I love it, Natalie. Natalie, thanks for getting up early and joining us this morning. When you solve the customer's challenges beyond the initial solution and make their lives better, you add value and create long-standing relationships. So true. I mean, in essence, what Natalie is saying here, if you want the customer to choose you over the competition, you better be there to do one thing. Serve. Period. Serve. The moment that this is about you, you become exactly like your competition. And this is about being different in the marketplace, right? Oh, it sure is. And when we talk about serving, there's no better way to serve than to help them solve their problem. That is, again, that is the sweet spot of where you want to be. I love Andy's comment. Try saying we've been selected by compared, you know, in other words, we've been selected by others. That word right there just, it gives you the confidence. And again, you're playing in a tight space. This comes back to what we've talked about on many, many shows. Don't try to deliver what it is that you do to everyone in the business world. No. No, your sweet spot. Stay in your industry. Stay in your lane and focus right there. That's how you become the person who people will select. Yeah, I love what Andy said here. He's basically enhancing and making far better my comment. He said, replace the word help with compared, with selected. So rather than we've helped companies just like you, we've been selected by companies. Oh, that is such a powerful shift. Andy, words are so incredibly powerful. You know, I want to go ahead. No, no, no, go. Well, I was going to change the topic. So go ahead. Yes, go right ahead. Go right ahead. Well, what I was going to say was, you know, when you think about, when you think about words, it makes me think about personalization. And it makes me think about the, if you want the competition, you know, if you want the customer to choose you over the competition, they have to feel like you've taken the time to really get to know them. And the solution that you're crafting for them is one that is personalized to their needs. It's not something that is just off the shelf. And that comes back to the whole problem. I mean, you know, what's interesting is, I don't think you can go deep enough into the customer's problem, because the customer's problem always has an upstream and a downstream. There's an upstream, you know, what caused the problem, and there's a downstream, what happens if it doesn't get solved? You know, what are the implications? And when you understand the full range of that problem, it is amazing at how they're going to see you as the person who they cannot afford to not work with. And you become, and what this also does is also removes price. Yeah, because now you know exactly what it is that they are looking for. Mark, what's the question today? The question today. Oh, well, you know, before we get to the question, we got, oh, I'm sorry, the question. Man, I'm losing it here today. It's early. The question comes and says, good morning, Meredith and Mark, as sales continues to shift from a traditional B2B supplier perspective product focus toward a more retail customer-centric focus. I'm very interested to know if it would be more effective for field sales teams to understand their business partners, buyers, or key decision makers, KPIs, excluding monetary incentives. I want to come back to that. By doing so, they could better collaborate and align their strategies to help those buyers or decision makers achieve their KPIs while driving sustained growth for all involved. Thank you, Peter, from wherever. Okay, so it's a long question. I got some thoughts on it, but you jump in. No, Mark, this is your question. When I heard the question, I thought he is speaking Mark's language. So I'm going to let you go first on this one. Okay, here's the other. This is a traditional distributor dealer model. And I'll tell you what, you have got to understand your distributors, your dealers, your brokers, however you want to call it. You've got to understand every component about their business, including their monetary rewards. You have to because, again, these people at the dealer distributor level are focused on the customer. They absolutely own the customer because, again, they don't move. You move. You, as a manufacturer, as a supplier, whatever, you're all over the place. So you've got to understand their KPIs, their focus. You've got to understand them. And you've got to understand their customer's customer. In other words, your dealer's customers. The same thing. Don't abdicate. Don't abdicate this responsibility. You have got to own it all the way through. It makes your work harder. But you know what? It's going to be well worth it because you're going to have people out there selling for you. Yeah, all day long. I mean, I think that I love this question. And what is so powerful about this question is not only the question, but it is thinking and responding differently to the marketplace, right? It is asking yourself, wow, we're in this sea of vanilla. I feel that way right now. I feel like I am doing exactly everything that my competitors are doing. And so I've got a meeting with my team on Monday and the question to my team is, guys, we got to throw a little different mud at the wall. We've got to do something different in today's marketplace to get noticed, to get out there, and to really add value. And I feel like what this question is doing is asking yourself, you know, gosh, this is what we have been doing. But do we need to shift lanes? And do we need to do something different? And the answer is yes. I mean, my gosh, understanding your customers, customers, KPI, huge, right? I mean, Mark says that all the time in here. You need to go, I forget what you, I think you call it going downstream, right, Mark? I mean, you talk about that all the time that because that is what they ultimately want. They don't want to buy your product. What they want is to get more tools that will help them land more deals. And the better you understand that, the better you're going to be able to position your tool to deliver what they ultimately want. A comparison I'll use is comparing this to AI. AI, what AI has done is it has democratized information. Virtually every information is available to everybody. Okay, this is kind of like, you know, customers have options. There's plenty of other companies they can buy products from. Your dealers, your distributors undoubtedly represent multiple lines, not just your line. The difference is in the application. This is what makes AI work. In other words, information is democratized. Our whole role is to help you apply the information. Same thing with a dealer. Same thing with a customer. They need to apply the product to help them solve their problem. To do that, I got to understand their business model. I've got to understand every element about them. I got to go all the way downstream. And you may be poking your nose under the tent of some tents that really don't want to be revealed, but you have to. You've got to, because this is the only way you're going to be able to stand out and be separate from everyone else out there. Yeah, I think, again, I just, I think it's such a great idea and such a great solution. I also think that the topic of this podcast today is something that you as a team should be asking yourselves on a regular basis, just because the reason that people chose me over the competition in 2025 will not necessarily be the reason that they choose me over the competition in 2026. And it's probably not going to be the same reason they choose me in first quarter versus fourth quarter, right? Oh, so spot on. Natalie is jumping in with a great comment. You know, what, what God is here won't take us there. Absolutely. And this is where AI comes in play. You know, AI can give us all kinds of this background information and so forth. But it does the same thing for everyone else. It's the application that we do for. And that's what's absolutely key. Hey, you're ready for the book? I am ready for the book. The book is from our friend, Marcus Sheridan, and it's in the third edition. Change the name, Endless Customers. Don't you love this book? I do. You know, to tell you the truth, I'm trying to think what the book was called before. You ask, we answer something. Okay, great. And so I just ordered the third edition of it. And I ordered the third edition because you told me to listen to a podcast where Rory Baden was interviewing Marcus Sheridan. And you know, we should put that in the show notes because it is such a good, a good episode. And it is, there are some really seriously good nuggets in there to get the, to really get the customer to choose you over the competition. Wouldn't you agree? Oh, I agree. And you know, what's interesting is we're talking about problems, we're talking about stories. He shares stories in the book about when he had his pool business. So in other words, you talk about verifying that this gentleman can make it happen. He certainly does. So the book is Endless Customers, Pick It Up, Get It, Great Greed. And Marcus is just a great guy. He is just a great guy. But Wicked Smart. And what I loved, Mark, when you sent me that podcast was that there were some really innovative things. I don't know that I had necessarily heard before. And it's hard in today's marketplace to get some cutting edge information. Unless you're listening to SalesLogic Podcasts. Exactly. Exactly. Okay. Are you ready for the Lightning Around? Dave? I am. Yeah, pop in with Dave's comment. Yes. Your future goals will determine your present actions. Oh yeah, you bet. I love that. I love that. Love that thinking. Lightning Around. Top 10 ways to increase your sales effectiveness. Go. Number one, you need to, you need to have a sales strategy. You need to have a sales plan. Number two, you got to own your time. Number three, you need to be consistent. I think it's the sexiest word in sales. And whatever you do, focus on the consistency of doing it. Number four, you got to make sure that every message you are sending out is bringing value to the customer. It's what is of importance to the customer. It's not what is of importance to you. Yeah. Number five, if you want to be more effective in sales, focus on the right prospect. I mean, that's so incredibly important. And I'm going to add to that. That means measuring the effectiveness. Not all prospects are created equal. There are some prospects that you do want to say, "You're out of here. Sorry. Exit." So I can spend more time on the better ones. Yeah. Number seven, you got to have a follow-up strategy. You got to realize that you better be in this to play the long game. Number eight, you have to be continually reinventing, reworking. What are the questions you're asking? What is the messaging that you're sending? Go back to what Mara said earlier. Sometimes you got to throw different mud on the wall to see what sticks. Yeah. Number nine is you need to build your network. You got to realize that the most effective cold call out there is the network. Number 10, I'm going to build on that because, again, it's realizing that the marketplace is talking about you. What is the marketplace saying? So you better be nurturing your network on a daily basis. Hey, with that, we want to say thank you for listening to SalesLogic this week. If you like what you hear, subscribe, rate, and review the show on your favorite podcast app. Something we've said has earned you a single dollar. Consider telling a friend about our show because it's how we grow when we help you grow. I'm Mark Hunter. And I'm Meredith Elliott Powell. Remember when you sell with confidence and integrity, all of this uncertainty suddenly becomes your competitive advantage. And the sale becomes logical. All right. Join us right back here next week for another episode of SalesLogic. Next week, we will be coming to you at 8 a.m. Eastern. And remember, if you have questions, if there's topics you want us to cover, just shoot us an email. We'll feature you right here on SalesLogic. Now go close the deal. Have a good week.