In the words of Tyler Durden:
“You are not special.”
“You’re not a beautiful and unique snowflake.”
Yet, most say their product, service or solution is.
Either:
- Better;
- Faster;
- Stronger;
- Easier;
- Etc…
They all end in “er.”
And anything ending in “er” improvement on what exists already.
And the problem with offering an improvement is, it requires someone to admit that the current product, service or solution that have chosen, is wrong.
Very few people are going to do that as it shows they made a poor decision!
Unless you are a master at helping people save face.
Again, very few can do that.
So, what is the alternative?
The way around that is offering something different.
Not:
- Better;
- Faster;
- Stronger;
- Easier;
- Etc…
…But a change or swap from what exists already.
In other words, changing or swapping their current product, service or solution with something different, new or novel.
But creating a product, service or solution that is truly unique is hard!
The vast majority of products, services and solutions are commodities – not in the strict sense of a raw material or primary agricultural product – but something that is the same as everything else available, no matter the supplier and just through a different vendor.
What most offer is not a unique snowflake.
You know…
Trades and professions all offer the same product and service.
Yes, at the surface they offer different features and have different branding etc, but they offer the same output and solution.
And, how do they compete with their competition?
The default is on price.
When you compete on price it is a race to the bottom.
Vendors discount, until there is no margin left and no one makes any profit.
There is a better way that doesn’t take much effort.
By focusing on creating new and novel solutions.
In other words, how to compete in a commodity market by offering something different, not something improved.
And that is based on providing more value, not a lower price.
Now, price is what customers pay.
Value is what customers get.
Cost is what comes out of your pocket to deliver the value for that price.
They are not the same things!
Your aim is to:
- Vastly increase solution value;
- While keeping (or increasing) the price; and
- Keep (or decrease) the cost.
Now you know why you struggle with sales, [content_upgrade id=5095]learn about the 3 ways to sell to customers[/content_upgrade].