In the David Mamat written, 1997 movie The Edge, an intellectual billionaire (Anthony Hopkins) and two other men (one being Alec Baldwin) struggle to band together and survive after getting stranded in the Alaskan wilderness with a blood-thirsty Kodiak Bear hunting them down. The Edge is a less well-known, tremendous movie whose story delivers a powerful message. But in the movie Alec Baldwin falls into a bear trap, which he didn’t so much “make”, but did forget about. I won’t tell you anymore but find that movie, it’s a great watch.
I guess I fell into my own trap. In a recent article “The Fraud of the B2B Numbers Game” – we talked about the importance of the “human” factor. We also talked about the importance of being compelling and differentiated (preemptively answering the questions “why now?” and “why us?”)
What we didn’t get into were the specifics of what that actually means. What is it, to be compelling and differentiated? How do I do it? Lets run through a few of the vanilla definitions and advice and then return to each one to break them down.
Use your Unique Value Proposition (UVP). “Clearly articulate what sets your product or service apart. This isn't just about features but the specific benefits that address your prospect's unique challenges.”
Build Credibility and Trust: “Sharing case studies or testimonials from similar companies that have successfully implemented you solution can highlight measurable improvements in sales metrics and overall performance. They also prove that you have done what you say you can do!”
Highlight Urgency: Identify and communicate any time-sensitive factors, such as market trends or upcoming regulatory changes, that make immediate action beneficial.
Cost of Inaction: Illustrate the potential risks or losses associated with delaying the decision, emphasizing the advantages of prompt implementation.
OK, this is all good, basic stuff, but it’s overly simplistic and undifferentiated in and of itself. It's superficial. So, let’s avoid falling into that trap of superficiality.
Unique Value Proposition - This is where we run headlong into differentiation or lack of it. We also confront the reality that what a lot of us sell, frankly isn’t that differentiated, and in the growing world of services, isn’t that tangible either. What’s most important here is that you make a clear connection between your solution and the prospect’s challenges or opportunities. To do this you need insight and courage.
Messaging people really earn their keep here. Crafting simple, compelling, differentiated summations of what you do and what it delivers is no joke. In the noisy, confusing world in which we live, we have a few seconds to be memorable and poignant. There a few different ways of arriving at this, none of them easy, but here’s one example and approach that someone wrote on the back of a cocktail napkin once – It was for Gatorade and it captures it all – “for thirsty, sweaty jocks [defines target market], Gatorade is the sports drink [defines category] that replaces electrolytes [defines what it does] so you can stay in the game longer and stronger [defines what’s in it for you – the payoff.] Clearly this is where you start with a prospect, not where you end.
Build Credibility and Trust - Here’s another one that’s easier said than done and is why so many people and companies do business with people they know. They think they can “trust” them. Most “trust” conversations here focus on “credentialing” – the use of testimonials and case studies to show capabilities and reliability.
At this point in the process – it’s ok to play “not to lose.” This is because most of the other companies the prospect is considering will have case studies, references and friendly customers, so there’s no real distinction here. You cannot win it here, but you can lose it. Where you might open some distance on the competition is by finding obscure synergies between your two companies. These will present the opportunity for unique insights, and better considered angles on the application of those case studies, so you can show real relevance. In other words, more than just demonstrating that you have done business with other companies in the same industry.
The specific ideas here are really a variation on the same theme – sewing the fear of inaction. Act now and reap the rewards, delay, fall behind and suffer the consequences. Life insurance salespeople used to call this the “Hearse” close. Whan selling life insurance on a husband (who used to be the main household earner) to the couple, life insurance sellers would play up the fear of the consequences of a death that leaves the surviving spouse with no money. They’d “back the hearse up to door and let them smell the roses!”
Highlight Urgency: This is all about confidence in your insights and the nuance you use. Nobody likes being told “their” business (unless you happen to be McKinsey, for some strange reason.) When you’re introducing ideas why a prospect should not delay, be humble. Pose statements in a question form. If they’re indifferent it’s ok to get more insistent (you’ve probably got nothing to lose). It’s the “why now” that also presents you the opportunity to qualify the prospect – by asking them to act on certain things, complete certain actions before a certain date. No matter what they say, if they’re tardy, they probably don’t see the urgency.
Cost of Inaction: They used to say that the biggest waste of seller’s time was the deal they lost. I think it’s the deal they lose to No Decision, which remains the biggest reason for lost deals. Again one should use considered insights here combined with some storytelling – “remember XYZ company that used to be a household name and is now out of business?”
Final thought here is again around the idea of balance – be subtle and nuanced. Don’t be too pushy or too clever. If the prospect is unenthusiastic, then you can get less subtle and more pushy (maybe they’re just not “getting” what you’re saying!)
The modern era is as much about specificity and personalization as anything else. This means you need to make the connections between your proposition, the marketplace, your company and the prospect. A load of generic statements and observations won’t do it. And while you need to be nuanced you also need to be brave. You’re going to have to take some risks early on, and while it’s ok to “stay in the game” in regard to credentialing, sellers have always tended to avoid the hard questions.
Final thought – addressing the “why us” and “why now” might be of equal importance, but on balance you have to establish the “why now” – otherwise the decision around “why us” becomes one of “why anybody?”
