National Sales Center

Using Competitive Sales Strategies To Win More Orders
By, Nick Moreno

In this article, I’m going to give you some advice about competitive sales strategies you can use to win more orders. In today’s markets, it is not uncommon to find three or more vendors battling for a prospect’s business. Only one vendor will get the order and it has little to do with the best product at the best price. In the end, it has everything to do with the application of successful competitive sales strategies.

Since all three vendors are in business, it is safe to assume all three have viable product offerings. The key to successful competitive sales strategies is to separate one vendor from the other based on the strengths and weaknesses of their offering.

When using competitive sales strategies, this separation process should not be developed in general terms. Product distinction must be specific to the prospect’s needs, application and desires. In other words, the product distinction must take into consideration the prospect’s buying criteria.

A prospect’s buying criteria is a list of conditions that must be met in order to generate a positive purchasing decision. On that list, conditions such as, price, features, ROI and customer service may be listed. The salesperson must present their product as the single product that best addresses the prospect’s buying criteria. For that reason, buying criteria is at the center of all competitive sales strategies.

When developing their competitive sales strategies, too may salespeople fail to understand their prospect’s buying criteria. Some reps incorrectly assume they know the buying criteria while others simply never account for it in their competitive sales strategies. Both situations represent fatal competitive sales strategies failures.

Competitive Sales Strategies And Buying Criteria

Competitive sales strategies must not ignore a prospect’s buying criteria. The best way to uncover the criteria is to simply ask the prospect how they plan to decide between competing products. Prospects are more than willing to surface this information because there is no reason to keep it secret. In fact, most prospects are ready, willing and able to educate the salespeople they are working with so that those salespeople can, in turn, educate them.

The more a prospect learns, the greater the probability their buying criteria will be revised. Revisions to the buying criteria place competitive sales strategies in motion. The salesperson must influence the buying criteria and insure the strengths of their offering are both listed and given a high priority. As sales techniques go, this one reigns supreme among all competitive sales strategies. Once a salesperson controls the buying criteria, the salesperson gains control of the order.

Competitive sales strategies are only one topic covered in competitive sales training programs. If you are having difficulty crushing your competition, I urge you to get your hands on some powerful sales training. Everything changes for the better when you start using successful competitive sales strategies.

To your sales success!

Nick Moreno

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Tags: sales strategies