The first step to gaining a competitive edge is to understand your market segment inside and out. This means knowing who your customers are, what their needs and preferences are, how they perceive your products and services, and how they compare you to your competitors. You also need to be aware of the external factors that affect your market segment, such as industry trends, regulations, economic conditions, and technological changes. By conducting regular market research and analysis, you can identify opportunities and threats, and tailor your value proposition accordingly.
Continuous Innovation: Regularly introduce new products, services, or features that meet evolving customer needs, keeping you ahead of competitors. Cost Efficiency: Optimize your cost structure by streamlining operations and leveraging economies of scale, allowing competitive pricing without sacrificing margins. Customer-Centric Focus: Deepen customer relationships by offering exceptional value and personalized experiences, fostering loyalty and differentiation in the market.
I encourage sales people to constantly do discovery with their customers. Don’t assume anything, always ask qualified questions.
The next step is to define your competitive advantage, or what makes you stand out from the crowd. Your competitive advantage should be based on your core competencies, or the unique capabilities and resources that you have or can develop that give you an edge over your rivals. For example, your competitive advantage could be your product quality, customer service, innovation, cost efficiency, or brand reputation. You should be able to articulate your competitive advantage clearly and consistently, and communicate it to your customers and stakeholders.
I call this your value proposition. There is the company’s value proposition and there is the salesperson’s value proposition.
The third step is to monitor your performance, or how well you are delivering on your competitive advantage. You need to measure and track your key performance indicators (KPIs), or the metrics that reflect your strategic goals and objectives. Your KPIs should be aligned with your value proposition, and should cover aspects such as revenue, profit, market share, customer satisfaction, retention, loyalty, and referrals. By monitoring your performance, you can evaluate your strengths and weaknesses, and identify areas for improvement or innovation.
I train salespeople to self- manage. After every phone call or sales call to ask themselves” Did I accomplish my purpose? If I had that call to do over, what, if anything would I say or do differently?
The fourth step is to benchmark your competitors, or how well they are performing in relation to you. You need to collect and analyze data on your competitors' products and services, pricing, marketing, distribution, customer feedback, and financial results. You should also keep an eye on their strategies, actions, and moves, and anticipate their responses to your initiatives. By benchmarking your competitors, you can gain insights into their strengths and weaknesses, and identify gaps or niches that you can exploit or defend.
Yes, known all you can. It is hard to eliminate a strong competitor but you can sell around them and began to get to your customers first.
The fifth step is to adapt and innovate, or how you can continuously improve and differentiate yourself from your competitors. You need to be agile and responsive to the changing needs and expectations of your customers and the market segment. You also need to be creative and proactive in developing new products and services, enhancing existing ones, or finding new ways to deliver value. By adapting and innovating, you can create a loyal customer base, increase your market share, and sustain your competitive edge.
The salespeople have been trained to build a “personal relationship “ with customers. I recommend building a business relationship so that you always come across as a professional business person rather than a good friend.
The sixth and final step is to engage your team, or how you can leverage the talent and potential of your people to achieve your competitive edge. You need to foster a culture of collaboration, empowerment, and accountability among your team members. You also need to provide them with the vision, direction, resources, and feedback that they need to perform at their best. By engaging your team, you can tap into their skills, knowledge, ideas, and passion, and create a competitive advantage that is hard to replicate.