Great brands are built through focus. It’s often very hard for a small company, especially a young one, to limit its concept of “who is our customer” and “what do we sell.” But trying to market all the things you might do or could do to all of the people who might use your products or […]
A version of this post was originally published at BlogWorld. Many large companies have rigid policies prohibiting employees from any business-related social media activity. If that’s your practice, I recommend you reconsider. The Whale Hunters help B2B companies accelerate their growth by selling bigger deals to bigger customers. Most of our clients have a complex sale, such […]
I had a very happy phone call today–the kind that pleases me more than all others. One of my clients called to report that on the previous night, the school board of his customer (a 50,000 student school district) had unanimously approved a five-year, $6.3 million contract for educational software that my client’s company sells. […]
Often you and the whole team are totally focused on the great advantages that you provide with your products and services. You consistently make a rational case for the sale of your products, unaware that 99% of buying decisions are made on irrational, emotional bases, led primarily by fear of making a bad decision.
Whenever you hold the position of “the best” for a period of time, you become vulnerable to many kinds of attacks. You can’t afford for your team to become complacent about your #1 position.
Is your company too modest? Before the customer makes the final decision to buy from you, they want to know in some detail what sets your team apart from those of your competitors. Don’t make this story hard to find!
I’m up to #6 of my Ten Ways to Lose . . . Even When You’re the Best. Here’s one that I see far too often: You are out of touch with your changing market.
Even when you have the best solution, if you overkill with your message you will not win the sale.
When your brand message is stale, it’s time to refresh.
When you have rigid rules for customers, you will lose business.
There’s a fine line between doing whatever a customer wants, even if it’s not your core business, and learning from customers how they would like to receive your products and services.
Complexity in the sales story is a common flaw of young companies as they are growing. You’re afraid to turn away any business, so you try to do almost anything that any prospect wants you to do. Big mistake! First off, it doesn’t work, and it will cost you money and anguish before you finally learn that hard lesson.