META Sales: Most Effective Tactics Available

Dear Mike,

Industry researchers estimate salespeople in the information technology field win about 22% of their proposals for new logos.

Best-in-class organizations win over 50% of these opportunities, even when the decisions are decided through public bids and RFPs. How? They are masters of Game Theory.

Game Theory

Nobody in sales looks for a fair fight. We want to have an unfair advantage, the "Un-Level Playing Field". Here are three ways to do this.

#1: Choose the Right Table

Smart poker players know the key to winning is not playing the cards, it's picking the right table. You don't want to play against people as good or better than you. No, you want sheep you can sheer. A promising table might include:

Drunk Guy
Frat Boy
Big mouthed-blowhard
Rookie
Guy with toupee, pinkie ring, and gold chains.

As the saying goes, look around the table. If you can't immediately pick out the pigeon, you are the pigeon. Make sure there are at least three chumps seated at the table, and start fleecing.

For sales, this means focusing on prospects in your Ideal Customer Profile, and problems that fall into your wheelhouse of expertise. Don't waste time on longshots. Avoid being the "third bid". Don't be the dog chasing the garbage truck.

#2: Pick Your Lane

There are three primary winning go-to-market models. You can only be world class in one. You can't excel in all three models, because being outstanding in one area requires you to make sacrifices in the other two. Trying to be excellent in every way results in being mediocre in every way. The three big lanes:

Operational Excellence
Product / Service Innovation
Customer Experience

Notable organizations who stress operational excellence are Walmart and Amazon. Innovative companies are Apple and Netflix. Companies famous for customer service include Nordstroms and Chick-fil-A.

Don't assume low price always wins. In fact, it's often the opposite. Apple, Tesla, and Cisco are market leaders while being at or near the highest in pricing.

Embrace your own strengths and weaknesses, and choose a path where you can compete and win. As the Chinese General Sun Tzu said 2,500 years ago "If you know your enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of one hundred battles."

#3 Most Effective Tactics Available

Most of us in sales have little control over product / service quality, nor will we have much impact on operational efficiency. But we can control where we compete and how we compete. Once we get the ideal client in the crosshairs, it's time to outwork, outwit and outsell your competition.

Outwork by doing more customer research, talking to more decision influencers, digging deeper into customer needs.
Outwit by influencing the buyer to change the rules of the game a la "The Challenger Sale". Identify and recruit under-the-radar buying influencers
Outsell by sticking to your value-added selling process and crushing the demo / presentation / executive briefing.

You may have competitive disadvantages, but you can always win in the trenches.

Every tactic has a counter.

If you are beat on price, demonstrate a stronger ROI through implementation.
If you are beat on features, offer a better customer experience.
If you are beat on size and name recognition, offer more personal attention.

There is always a path to victory. Make that your new mindset, and you'll see your win rate take off to new heights.

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Meet the "Hit Mann"

Mike Schmidtmann coaches business owners and sales leaders across the USA. He works to drive results in sales recruiting, new business development, and profitability.

Mike led sales for Inacom Communications for ten years. then founded and built a $30 Million business unit for SPS.

Mike produces the award-winning Trans4mers webinar series on IT sales and management subjects. He is a frequent public speaker on business topics.

He lives on a farm in Northern Virginia with his family and assorted horses, alpacas, goats and dogs.

Play "Stump the Chump"

E-Mail Mike with a vexing and perplexing question and you'll get a telling and compelling reply.

Mike Schmidtmann

 (703) 408 - 9103

Mike@Trans4mers.net

www.MikeSchmidtmann.com