Written by: Vickie Sullivan | November 16, 2017
2 Strategies to Position Yourself As the Only Option
Have you ever talked with a potential client who didn’t want to answer your “most pressing challenges” questions? Me too. This oldie-but-goodie Harvard Business Review article does a good job outlining why that happens.
Let’s move past these great ideas on sales strategies and look at the article from a thought leadership standpoint. You’ll notice it is also a great example of how to buck the status quo. What we can use from their playbook:
• Compare and contrast: Check out how the sales focus and strategies differ between solution selling and the top performers. The authors don’t need to advocate new strategies. They merely present the differences. The desire to be in the top-performing group is enough attraction. In other words, let the results do the persuading.
• Kill off the comfort zone: My favorite part of the article was about advocates and skeptics. Not only did the authors list seven different profiles, but they also noted whom the top sales performers went after. Making this one change creates a wide variety of long-term opportunities for the authors. (That is why they created a next step, a “practical guide.”) So, ask yourself: What is the one thing that makes you invaluable for a long time?
Listen: How to Find Your Best “One Thing”
In this noisy market, it’s not enough to declare the past dead. Everyone does that. Instead, use these two techniques to not only redefine the path ahead, but also position yourself as the only option.
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