Most sales processes that are used today have the essence of competition at their core. Businesses find themselves competing against each other and sometimes even against their clients. Competition is seen as the normal way of doing business in an era characterized by commoditization. The commoditization trap that many businesses find themselves in is causes them to lower their prices while the cost and complexity of doing business increases. Shrinking profits and lower margins create a fear-based mentality that pushes competitiveness to a new level. Closing the deal quickly becomes more important than offering real value to the client. This Competitive Sales Process that most people are trained to use does not honor your innate ability to develop trust and create a meaningful encounter with prospects/clients.

Many people tend to invest tremendous amounts of time and energy to give away all of the knowledge they have accumulated over the years. They give it away for free and find themselves jumping through hoops trying to win the client over, overcome objections, deliver a sales presentation and create a proposal only to then have a 50/50 chance of getting the sale. The whole sales process can be extremely disheartening and de-motivating when you give away invaluable market information in the hopes of setting yourself apart from the hordes of competition believed to be out there lurking in the shadows. This mentality that makes you want to give away your knowledge for free as a way to stand above the competition is based on fear. The salesperson becomes increasingly frustrated at the cycle of giving and getting nothing back. When fear (of decreasing returns and of not getting the sale) is the motivating thought force behind an activity, the results that manifest will be the same as that from which they came. The Universal Law of Attraction shows us that a mentality focused on lack breeds lack.

The Competitive Sales Process creates an unequal relationship between the buyer and the seller. The buyer often expects a deeper commitment on your part without feeling the need to reciprocate. They have become accustomed to salespeople scrambling to make the sale with the hope of differentiating themselves from other companies in their marketplace. The seller is the one who invests all of their time, money, resources, creativity, skills and knowledge upfront, at no cost, in the hope of winning the sale.

Under The Competitive Sales Process that I used in recruitment sales, for example, payment was not received until project was complete. When the candidate was hired, I got paid. There were many times where our company would do 40-60% of the work only to find that the client had hired on their own and would not be completing the project with my firm. In other words, we did a lot of work and received no payment. Viewing The Competitive Sales Process from this perspective makes me wonder why so many businesses choose to remain caught in this trap when a much easier and more rewarding way of doing business exists.

The Competitive Sales Process dominates the global economy today and could be the result of the increasing complexity of doing business in the 21st Century. The internet, automation, the convergence of technologies, consolidation and globalization are the result of developed economies doing things bigger and better all in the name of progress. It is said that greater efficiencies, hence greater profits are a result of the forces of competition. What seems to happen, however, is that all of this progression puts a downward pressure on businesses to create their products or deliver the services faster and cheaper than ever before. We are made to believe that the consumers of products and services want their products faster and cheaper or they ll go somewhere else. People are plugged in to a technological buzz that is supposed to make their lives easier, but in reality, it seems to make life significantly more complex.

The Competitive Sales Process is based upon a very common mentality that sees people and corporations fighting amongst themselves to win an elusive prize. Millions of businesses are preoccupied with gaining the competitive edge. There is a whole industry based on sales strategies, psychologies, processes and formulas designed to make each sales person more competitive than the next. The most common sales strategy that is taught is all about the sales pitch and the close . You re taught how to approach the prospect, how to formulate and discuss features, benefits and evidence. You re taught how to ask the right questions so that you can manipulate the situation in your favour. The training is usually about how to deal with objections and rebuttals and how to close the deal. Very rarely are sales people taught how to communicate at a level that produces a meaningful encounter. This is seen as a waste of time. You re taught to focus on walking away with the order instead of focusing on how you can best serve the person you re meeting with.

Instead, try recognizing that your prospects and clients are just like you. They have the same needs, the same fears, the same challenges and the same inner yearnings. Your prospects and clients also have the same creative energy at their center as you do. Their combination of strengths and abilities will be unique to them and are something that you can learn from, but their creative centers are just the same as yours.

When you learn to see others as the same as you, you will have a much easier time building trusting and highly rewarding relationships. Your ability to treat your prospects and clients in a manner that appeals to their highest values as people will increase, enabling you to tap into the an endless abundance of good coming your way. As a business developer, this good takes the form of increased sales revenues.

Your ability to have a meaningful encounter with your prospects and clients creates a chain reaction of word-of-mouth referrals. The most common method people use when sourcing out a new supplier in the 21st Century is their network of acquaintances. We are continuously bombarded with a vast array of marketing messages all designed to grab your attention and your money and have become increasingly pessimistic about what we see and hear in media marketing. Our reliance on acquaintances and people we trust to make sound referrals is how the majority of people today research a new supplier.

Meaningful encounters with prospects and clients can only increase your exposure to their extended network of acquaintances. As you continue to positively affect other people with your very presence, the effects transcend the immediacy of the interaction to people outside of your direct influence. Positive, uplifting encounters have been proven to raise the feel good substance called serotonin that is found within all people. When someone feels good, they operate at a high energy level and bring warmth to the people they personally interact with. A positive encounter with another person has the potential to affect thousands upon thousands of people.

What do you get out of facilitating a meaningful encounter? Well, in the very smallest sense, the prospect or client that you met with, the person you positively affected will be compelled to refer you to their network of acquaintances. As long as you continue to make it your mission to positively affect whomever you are meeting with, you will draw an increase of business your way.

Now that you’re two months into 2007, have you given much thought to how you plan to increase your productivity this year; that is, your sales and gross margin?

If you are compensated on the basis of a commission or if you can earn a bonus by achieving certain sales and/or gross margin goals, you are a fortunate salesperson because you are—to a large extent—in charge of your financial destiny. Your raise becomes effective when you do.

Most employees would kill for such an opportunity. But to take full advantage of this coveted opportunity, you must generate more results.

As a salesperson with your pay tied to productivity, there are only three ways to earn a higher income:

1. You can sell more to your existing customers.

2. You can bring in new customers that currently buy from the competition.

3. You can improve the gross margin you generate in 2007 versus the gross margin you generated in 2006.

In survey after survey, salespeople report that TIME is their number one challenge. They say that if they only had more time, or if they were able to manage their time more effectively, that they could sell more.

Well, we all have 24 hours a day, so one of the few ways all salespeople are equal is with respect to time. It’s how salespeople use these 24 hours that separates the high achievers from those that are struggling to keep the many balls they’re juggling now up in the air.

The secret is to periodically measure where your time is going. My recommendation is for at least two weeks per year, keep a time log and determine how your time is being spent—and where you are wasting time. You can create for yourself 1.56 additional weeks a year if you can figure out a way to stop wasting just 15 minutes per day.

Here’s how the math works: 15 minutes per day times 5 days = 75 minutes per week times 50 weeks per year = 3750 minutes per year divided by 60 minutes in an hour = 62.5 hours per year divided by 40 hours = 1.56 additional work weeks per year.

Figure out how to stop wasting 30 minutes per day and you will pick up the equivalent of 3.12 additional work weeks a year.

Just a few weeks ago a friend of mine (Jim Meisenheimer at www.meisenheimer.com) told me that instead of watching TV until 11 p.m. and getting up at 6:00 a.m., he was going to begin going to bed at 9 p.m. and getting up at 4:30 a.m. So I decided to give this idea a try.

Using the above mathematical calculations, I began going to bed at 10 PM versus 9 PM and began getting up at 5:15 AM instead of 6:15 AM, so you can see that I picked up an additional two hours per day that I did not have with my old schedule.

PROSPECTING: Do you have a list of creditworthy prospects written down on a sheet of paper to pursue in 2007? How many monthly prospect calls will you commit to in 2007? After you’ve made these commitments, you must monitor your activities at the end of each week to make sure that you’ve not drifted back into your old habits.

FACE TIME: How much “face time” do you spend with customers and prospects each week? If you could do a better job of organizing your day so that you would have more “face time” with your customers and prospects, you’re productivity should improve significantly. So you may wish to add “face time” to what you measure each week.

QUOTE TO ORDER RATIO: What percentage of your quotes become orders? The typical salesperson will only convert 20% to 25% of all quotes into orders. If you are not happy with your quote to order ratio, maybe you’re quoting too indiscriminately. If you’re quoting too much, you’re probably spending too much time on the process of working up prices for your bids. At between three and four hours per bid, you may be wasting too much time using the biding process as a marketing tool.

Are you a salesperson or a “quoteperson?”

Quoting is not selling. Quoting is a task. Selling is persuading a customer or prospect to make a buying decision that is in his or her best interest. If you offer the greatest value (a combination of service, quality and price), that means more customers buying from you versus buying from the competition.

So set a goal for 2007 to improve your quote to order ratio by x number of percentage points.

PERSONAL MARKETING PLAN: What will you do to market yourself more effectively in 2007 that you didn’t do in 2006?

Will you send customers and prospects more thank-you notes? Send postcards to your customers and prospects when you go on vacation? Publish a personal contractor newsletter with money-making ideas your customers and prospects will value? Remember that for your sales to take off, you must be on the customer’s and prospect’s minds when they are ready to buy.

If you have quite a few competitors in your market selling the same kinds of products you sell, with similar service and with a similar level of quality, one of your first decisions is figuring out how to persuade customers and prospects to do business with you instead of with one of your competitors. This is what selling is all about.

We all have 24 hours in a day. But to optimize your selling time, you must do a better job of managing how you spend your time. Try keeping score in 2007 and I believe you will find several opportunities to get more productivity out of your day.

It s been one of those days; Ben has made several calls today with mixed results. One has really got him pondering what he is doing wrong. A customer decided to go with a competitor whose salesman has a questionable reputation. The competitive sales person promises a great deal, most of which he and his company rarely delivers. The product quality is ok yet not equal to Ben s equipment.

Ben had questioned the customer about the purchase decision only to get a vague answer about feeling better about the other company despite the known reputation and pricing was not the issue.

As Ben pulls up to the coffee shop to take a break and clear his mind, he sees a salesperson from a different company, Susan, she is also taking a break and they sit down together for coffee. Ben tells his story about the lost sale and how he doesn t understand what he did wrong or missed. Susan indicates she might have some insight as she knows the customer and some of his connections.

You see Ben, this customer knows John at BBC and he thinks this other sales person walks on water, even though BBC has had problems with him and his promises. I bet John told your customer to trust this guy even though your customer knew about the problems BBC had been having. Says Susan.

That doesn t make sense! retorts Ben.

You re right says Susan, It is not logical, but you have to understand most people do not realize how preconditioning affects their decisions.

(For those of you not in sales, hang on, this applies to all communications.)

Now you got me at a disadvantage, what is this preconditioning you re talking about? asks Ben.

I was just reading an article by Dr. Kevin Hogan; he s the guy that studies why people make choices and why some are not logical. In this article Dr. Hogan sites a recent test to see how preconditioning affects our choices. It goes like this:

Test subjects were asked to trust a total stranger in the experiment. All of them were given a written description of their intended partner s behavior of which some indicated great trustworthiness and others being not so trustworthy. They were also told that their partners actual behavior might not fit the description they were given. In short, they might be described as an angle yet act like a complete Jerk or vise versa.

Now all of us have some built in radar that tends to pickup on such behaviors in others and of course there is the logic side of a choice as well. What happened is that even though the partner s behavior was angle like and trustworthy, if the description was negative so was the trust. The same for the partner that acted like a jerk and showed no signs or trustworthiness but had a good written description was trusted most of the time!

What it showed is people tend to believe the information they get ahead of time rather than the new information they see for themselves. This is called preconditioning and the media, gossip and other sources do this to us everyday! As Dr. Hogan puts it, Labels prime thinking!

Ok, so you think my customer was preconditioned by his friend John and didn t take into consideration the logic of what I could provide? asks Ben.

Most likely that is what happened. That is the power of opinion and recommendation, it preconditions ones thinking and can override what we see as logic or good common sense! explains Susan.

So how do you deal with this preconditioning when you run in to it? ask Ben.

First of all I approach every communications with the idea that I do not know enough about this person or situation. I always ask additional questions to help me understand what and how they are thinking today. I always hold of f on the logic until I get a good understanding of how they see the situation and the players that are involved. This gives me a good insight into their current beliefs and views. Then I can create strategies on how to align with those beliefs or work on changing them. She replies.

Huh? What is it you just said? ask Ben with a puzzled look.

It s this way Ben, people see what they want to see . If a person has a certain view point, belief or reference that is how they will see the situation even with new or different information being provided. It s one of the 10 Laws of Persuasion. Just look at some of the candidates on the American Idol try outs. Do you think some of them see what they want to see or hear in this case? So our job is to try and understand why they see the situation the way they do and then figure out how to fit our solution to that view or change the view! Susan explains with more intensity.

Alright, so if I understand this, what I should have done is focused more on understanding how my customer was thinking rather than selling my facts and benefits to him? Ben asks with anticipation.

Absolutely! says Susan. I rarely talk facts and benefits anymore. If I can understand the other persons view and basis for that view point it enables me to present ideas in a way that they readily accept and I am not pushing something down their throat!

Ben sighs and asks, How do you know what to listen and look for?

It s this way, explains Susan, If you are focused only on your product you will only hear ideas that relate to your product. If you listen for ideas that tell you someone s beliefs and views you ll hear them. It s all about what you re focused on, the customer s situation or your product sale!

Great, so I focus on views and beliefs and uncover some, then what? is Ben s question.

I call them follow-up questions and they can be any short question that gets the other person talking more about that belief or view. The question why is used in every encounter I have. Some others are tell me more , how did that happen , what caused that and about fifty other variations.

So let me get this straight. I should be focusing on the situation and peoples views rather than my product. I should ask more open questions to get more of that information and then use the follow-up questions to get at the beliefs and views? queries Ben.

You got it! replies Susan

Great, so when do I use my logic or facts and benefits then? inquires Ben.

Once you have a good understanding of the views and beliefs, the facts and benefits can be used to show how your solution fits their current view or belief. Or they can be used to reinforce the new view or belief you have switched them to. Replies Susan.

You mentioned changing their view or belief several times, how is this done? ask Ben.

Oh my time is flying, I really want to fill you in, but I have an appointment to get to. This guy Harlan Goerger has written several articles on the concept of beliefs and how you might work with them. Check out his web site at www.BusArconline.com and review his articles for that answer. Says Susan as she quickly departs.

Ben is left think over his day and the calls he had made. He had to agree that they were very product focused rather than situation focused. His next call was going to be different!

Want more of this and other subjects about communications, sales, management, coaching and teams? Drop Harlan a line at Harlan@BusArc.com

Simply put, a Unique Selling Proposition is that thing that gives you a marketing advantage over your competition. So what is it that makes you stand out from the crowd? What competitive advantage do you have? In order to truly create a thriving business you need to figure out just what your unique selling proposition is and then tout it to everyone that will listen. What will make someone drive past five other coffee shops to visit yours?

Remember when determining your USP, it is not always what you perceive, but rather how you are perceived by your client that is important. Really get into their head to understand what they are looking for and what drives them to utilize your service or buy your product over your competitors. Then make sure you deliver on the promise you are providing.

When determining your USP, write down the top three reasons people are buying from you today, then look at some of your competitors and write down the top three reasons people are buying from them. I am sure you will start to see a pattern. Answer the question My customers would rather buy from me than from my competition because If you cannot truly answer that question, now is the time to develop your own unique selling proposition.

When developing your USP, here are some areas to consider in making yourself stand out from your competition:

Uniqueness Develop a unique product or service no one else offers. Sometimes this is much easier said that done, but it is the most obvious way to establish a Unique Selling Proposition.

Offer More People continually want more; just look at the fast-food industry where everything is offered super-sized . I am sure you will find it hard to find someone who hasn t bought something in bulk just because it was a good deal . Perhaps the key to establishing a Unique Selling Proposition is to simply go a step beyond and create your own grocery list of services unique to you. For example, a Web designer who also provides custom graphic design is more likely to get business than someone who provides only Web design services. The bookkeeper who provides administrative support as well as bookkeeping will stand out from other bookkeepers because they provide far more value for a potential client.

Find a New Market Perhaps the solution is as simple as introducing a successful product or service to a new geographic area or a new target market. Many products and services have had great success and may or may not have success in a new area.

Give Them a Reason to Come Back Providing an added benefit to your clients will give them a reason to keep coming back. Look for example, at all of those stores that offer a cash back reward system for their customers. What can you offer your clients as an incentive to have them return?

Of course, the key ingredient to the success of any business is to create a buzz and get people talking about you, your business and the products or services you are providing. When people are excited about what you have to offer, you will have created a thriving business. Creating a Unique Selling Proposition will give you the edge you need to attract clients to your product or service and get them talking.