How can you take a commodity and turn it into a vital requirement for your client?

Exceptional Sales Performance Monday Motivational Minute

How can you take a commodity and turn it into a vital requirement for your client?

November 26th 2012

By Gregory Ferrett

“How can you take a commodity item and turn it into something critical to your clients' business?” is one of the most common questions I am asked.

To date I have never come across a product or service which can not be linked to something of value - even common things.It just takes a little effort and planning.

Here is an example of how disposable nappies and rubber gloves, in a mature market, turned two businesses into industry powerhouses.

Disposable Nappies / diapers

The first question territory reps of this company were always asked was "What is your best price". They were in a tight competitive aged care market where every dollar counted. The business was going nowhere fast.

With a bit of effort and market research they discovered one of the more significant costs an aged care facility has was laundry.

With a bit of smart thinking they were able to demonstrate by using their incontinence pads laundry costs were reduced significantly due to leakage reduction.

Instead of calling the purchasing manager they were now able to call the CFO and ask this question “If I could show you a way to reduce your laundry costs by 22% would that be something of interest?” The answer was always “How?” and of course the appointment was made.

Rubber Gloves

(Reported in ‘The Age’ – Monday April 15th 2002)

Ansell moved its stake in Ford’s occupational glove business form 25% to 100%, a deal that it sees as a template for future company arrangements.

The Ford contract is worth close to $20 million a year, and is an example of Ansell’s approach to large customers, in which it will enter a contract to assume responsibility for protecting the hands of it’s customer’s workers.

While Ansell has really interesting technology (knitted Kevlar gloves coated with a nitrile polymer) technology alone would never maintain a long term competitive business advantage and they would have easily been caught up by competitors.

Ford used to spend $20 million a year on gloves, however they also had medical costs of $40 million a year for hand injuries. With the use of the new gloves and a partnership with Ansell for ongoing development in the first full six months there was a 50% reduction in injuries.

Ansell were able to link a commodity produuct to a critical business issue and demonstrate the value of working with them alone.

Today's Questions and Actions

Here are some questions and actions to help you uncover how important your product or service might be to your client.

1. Ask yourself ,and others involved with your clients business, what the challenges they face? List the top few and keep going until you have twenty or more. Be creative and think about the issues their competitors face as well as they are likely to have the same challenges.
2. What is the press saying about their industry?
3. What are the opportunities opening up?

For each item list two or three ways your product or service makes it easier to deal with the challenge. From this list you should have at least one, if not more, compelling reasons why a client should talk to you and not just ask for a price.

Have a great week.

Exceptional Sales Performance

P.S. More inspiration on our BLOG here.

Reprint permission
Permission is granted to reprint this article with the condition it is republished unedited and in full with full attribution to the author and the authors bio. Please provide a link to the reprint to the following email; greg.ferrett@exceptionalsales.com.au

Selling to the Seven Emotional Buying Styles Discover how to link your product to buyers emotion. In this very practical book you will learn everyday tools to take advantage of proven scientific evidence linking emotion to every decision. You will meet; the Hustler the Artist the Normal the Engineer the Politician the Mover, and the Double Checker This is one book you will refer to time and again to help you plan sales calls and to close sales.

Buy your Kindle or Hard Copy version here

 

Can Taking the Road Less Travelled Make a Difference?

Exceptional Sales Performance Monday Motivational Minute

Can Taking the Road Less Travelled Make a Difference?

October 15th 2012
By Gregory Ferrett

Welcome to Monday

“I took the road less travelled and that has made all the difference” Robert Frost


In his poem ‘The Road Not Taken’ Robert Frost spends most of the day contemplating a fork in the road trying to decide which one to take. He observes most people take the well worn path, the sure way. This is the same in business and sales. We look to see what works and use this idea ourselves. Can taking the road less travelled, however, help establish a business or make better sales?

The Road Less Travelled

I was picking my parents up at the airport last week. On the way out we joined a very long line to pay for our parking. I was interested in this as there were two machines where you could pay for parking, but for some reason there was no one lined up at the other machine.

The second machine looked to be working so, being a bit of a maverick, and seeing there would be a long delay waiting in line, I decided I would try it. As I was about to move over, however, the person in front of me said “I wouldn’t try it, mate. It wasn’t working this morning as well.”

I saw the line stretching out the door behind me and I relented not wanting to loose my position in line.

I waited a few more minutes as a few people looked with longing at the other ticket machine with not a sole in line - but no one dared make a move.

I could see the video display on the machine seemed to be working normally, but my mind kept saying to me ‘there must be something wrong if there is over a hundred people lined up here and no one there’.

This was ridiculous. I plucked up my courage and all my parents’ luggage and walked over to the machine and paid for our parking. You guessed it; within a few seconds there was a mad rush to get to the front of the line for this machine now it was obviously working.

The world is full of naysayers and people who line up with the crowd.

When you are building a business or selling it is your courage to be a bit different, to set yourself apart that creates the value for you and your clients.

I had just started working for an Australian systems integrator and observed one of their long term clients, a subsidiary of a global resources organization, had spent nothing with them for sometime. During one of our sales meetings I asked if I could have this account. When the laughter in the room died down and I was asked if I was sure I wanted this account with no potential I said “Sure, a company that size always has a requirement for our type of services. You just need to help them discover it.”

My first visit to this account confirmed what my colleagues had said. They had signed a global deal to implement a new  enterprise wide system at head office and their Australian subsidiary was to be an early adopter. After meeting a few of the local players and understanding the business better I discovered the Australian operation was the only part of the global organization running well and they were concerned this very expensive project was going to drive them to the wall.

Here I had an Australian manager, being paid based on profitability of the local subsidiary, being told to accept an expense that would take money from his bonus - perhaps even all of it. Together we put a plan that would allow him to meet the global objectives of the company as well as keep his local costs reasonable. Instead of spending tens on millions with an overseas company he invested hundreds of thousands with a local company.

 

At the end of the year this company no one wanted as an account, who I was laughed at for asking to take it on, was again in the top five client list in terms of revenue and number one in terms of profit.

 

Can taking the road less travelled make a difference? It sure can. And it can be very profitable as well as there are fewer competitors and clearer measures of success.

Today’s question & action

The next time there is a decision to be made ask yourself, "What can I do differently to make what I do stand out?"

 

• Make it a habit of always look for one more alternative.
• Pose a contrarian view to help see other potential ways of doing things.

Being different does not always mean you will be better off. Taking the road less travelled, however, can make all the difference.

 

Exceptional Sales Performance

P.S. More inspiration on our BLOG here.

Reprint permission
Permission is granted to reprint this article with the condition it is republished unedited and in full with full attribution to the author and the authors bio. Please provide a link to the reprint to the following email; greg.ferrett@exceptionalsales.com.au

Selling to the Seven Emotional Buying Styles Discover how to link your product to buyers emotion. In this very practical book you will learn everyday tools to take advantage of proven scientific evidence linking emotion to every decision. You will meet; the Hustler the Artist the Normal the Engineer the Politician the Mover, and the Double Checker This is one book you will refer to time and again to help you plan sales calls and to close sales.

Buy your Kindle or Hard Copy version here