What do we really sell?

How can I hold on to my margins when I keep getting beat out in this "price war"?

This question was a question I saw posted on LinkedIn this past weekend. While a predictable question, the responses were surprising. In reading over 60 comments, almost all of them were an attempt to console versus offering direction. It wasn't a forum for advice...it was a support group. In fact, most of these individuals said they were encountering the same obstacles and were struggling to figure out what to do. Many of the ailing authors were extremely frustrated that "price" was their only leverage. The answers mostly came from individuals that felt their product was a commodity and "when all you offer is a commodity their is no way to secure your margin!".

It was very apparent, after observing this post for a few days, that the majority of these individuals felt they had lost all control because "selling has become all about price." The unfortunate issue is that many of us never consider our personal value proposition or the company's value proposition as part of the equation.

Too many times we let the product take the spotlight and we believe that the product will sell itself. If this was true then sales organizations would not spend near as much money on their sales professionals. After all, if it was just about price or the product would sell itself then we could just train monkeys to walk in and deliver the proposal. The reason companies invest a great deal of time and money in their sales force is because they recognize that the sales person can drastically impact the value of a product or service.

In times like this we must become clear on why what we, personally, bring to the table and what our company adds to the deal. When we struggle to identify the differentiating factors within our product we must focus on identifying what makes up our personal and company value propositions.

When we go into a sales call we are selling three things...

- Our product/service
- Our company
- Our personal services/relationship

The key to gaining ground when selling these three elements is to identify which ones we have an edge in and which ones we don't. If we acknowledge that our product is the same as our competitor's then we must focus on selling ourselves and our company's position in the industry.

ex.

"Susan, from what I have heard you say, you are really focused on expanding your business and eventually want to take it world-wide. You also mentioned that you are tired of having 10 different contacts within one company. The fact is, all of the companies involved are offering the same great product. However, we are the only world-wide solvent company in the area. When you do expand, we will be able to address your needs from Chicago to Tokyo. That being said, I will also be your only contact within our company. If we need to involve another department, I will do the running around so you don't have to."

As you see in the example above, the sales professional focused on the areas in which they had an edge and they did their best to exploit them. While the sales person in the story did not have an advantage in the product, they illustrated their personal and company's value proposition in a way that addressed the customer's needs. When we begin selling three elements and not one...we are not as easily impacted by factors outside of our control. This 3-tooled arsenal gives us the ability to sell in any and every situation.