Selling a Company to Destruction
The Pitfall of Sales at Any Cost
In my early days as a sales executive, the motto was simple: win the sale at any cost. Decades later, it’s disheartening to see companies still following that path, inadvertently leading their businesses towards destruction.
The Problem with a Sales-Focused Philosophy
Many senior managers reach out to me for help overturning a sales-focused philosophy that commoditizes their products, slashes profit margins, and damages their brands. They ask me to guide their sales teams in selling value and charging a premium for it.
Understanding the Customer is Key
The starting point? Truly knowing your customers. Despite nearly every sales person asserting they know their customers, the reality often proves different. When asked about their customer’s key success factors, company capabilities, priorities, and strategy, silence or muddled responses frequently follow.
The Root of the Issue
Most salespeople may know their products and buyers, but that’s not enough. Without understanding what drives challenges and opportunities in the customer’s market, they cannot avoid price concessions. Ignoring who within the customer’s company will be most affected by these challenges means missing out on influential allies who can help secure contracts without reducing prices.
Find Courses In:
Engaging Decision Makers
It’s crucial to engage decision makers salespeople don’t typically communicate with. By demonstrating how you can help them meet their most pressing challenges, you can become the preferred supplier. However, this approach requires salespeople to step out of their comfort zone and discuss more than just product and price.
Educating Your Sales Team
Overcoming this barrier involves educating your sales team to better understand the customer and strategic selling. This enables salespeople to involve colleagues from marketing communications, product management, and other disciplines in a plan that engages multiple influencers within the customer’s company.
Explore Courses In:
Creating Strategic Allies
By working with colleagues to engage and influence the customer’s other decision makers, salespeople can create critical allies who can sway the purchasing decision. This broader engagement also helps discover new aspects of value, proving you offer more than competitors and shifting the focus from price to value.
Benefits of Strategic Selling
Where correctly applied, strategic selling allows salespeople to sell without reducing margins, making it easier to convert customers. They achieve their sales and profit targets and ultimately earn more. They don’t realize the opportunity strategic selling offers until they start applying it.
Moving Beyond Margin Erosion
For your company, adopting a strategic selling approach helps escape the cycle of margin erosion, commoditization, and brand destruction. However, this requires a change in mindset, learning new principles and skills, thinking strategically, and enlisting support from various disciplines.
Introducing Our Strategic Selling Course
We’ve developed a course titled “Strategic Selling and Value Propositions for Business to Business Companies” to address these challenges. Evidence shows that adopting a strategic selling approach that is truly customer-centric is the best way to avoid selling a company to destruction.
In summary, transitioning to a strategic selling approach can save your company from the pitfalls of a sales-focused philosophy. By truly understanding your customers and engaging with all decision makers, you can shift the focus from price to value, protect your margins, and strengthen your brand.
Are you ready to transform your sales strategy? Enroll in our “Strategic Selling and Value Propositions for Business to Business Companies” course today and start building a more sustainable future for your business.
