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Creating value V the competition

by mjbmedia
5 replies
This is for a £4000-£6000 per month contract with a decent profit margin. Not your instant yes/no decision type of deal.

So you are in competition with maybe two other suppliers, you've all done your bit, now you are maybe more pricey than the others but you know you deliver and then some, you all have similar testimonials but you know yours are for real and they include % increases rather than just nice words .

The prospect has decisions to make , how would you do all you can to ensure he chooses you, even at maybe 30% higher price .

Its no good saying the previous communications should have been different, theyre gone and done with now, perfection isn't always a reality now matter how much we'd like it to be , things go awry at times, but we're still in there fighting for the contract (and its worth it £6k per month I am quoting ) , there is room for some reduction of price, left room on purpose because of the way things have gone (not ideal processes but sometimes in the real world you have to run with things ) , to me its less the investment required, more the belief that a decent ROI will be realised and in what time frame (they always want it quicker than realism allows) ,if we can tie that in with a slight reduction if needed
#competition #creating #creating value
  • Profile picture of the author Jason Kanigan
    What is Value(able) for your prospect is what is value to THEM, not to you. Your features & benefits do not matter as much as what they believe is important.

    A drop in price for me means a drop in features for the prospect. Otherwise they think I was lying about the initial price, puffed up so we could knock it down.

    The questioning of the prospect to determine what they believe is important is where you get your 30% increase in price over your competition.
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  • Profile picture of the author shawnlebrun
    Selling is simply giving the prospect what they want... what he or she is motivated to get/have/do, etc...

    So, you need to find out THE biggest goals/wishes/desires your prospect has... and then line those up and knock those down, one by one, for your client.

    In other words... find out what they most want to achieve with your services... and frame your offer to ensure you'll do those things.

    Like Jason said, find out what's most valuable to this prospect... and position yourself and your offer so that you focus on helping with those things.

    Heck, it can be as simple as I've done many times in the past.

    I ask the prospect what they're looking to achieve... what are their end goals.

    then, I deliver a proposal showing them how I'll handle and deliver each of those goals.

    I don't go off on tangents about stuff that wasn't brought up. I let the prospect close themselves... by asking them what they want, and then giving THAT to them.

    so, sometimes you gotta ask if you don't know or if they haven't told you the end results.

    THAT is often how you separate yourself from the competition and stand out. You play detective and find out EXACTLY what it is your prospect wants... and then you show them how you can deliver that. and even outline the steps you'll take.

    I've beat out other copywriters for large jobs... simply by taking the time to ask the prospect what their most urgent "end result goals" are.

    And then, I create a proposal that shows them how i'll do each one.

    So, if they want to increase their site conversions and cash flow, I'll show them the steps I'll take to do it. If they want more traffic, I'll show them how I'll do it.

    Bottom line, find out what is MOST important to them... what their end goals are, and then line your services up to tackle those.
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  • Profile picture of the author misterme
    The thing is, more likely than not, your competitors are also tapping into your prospective client's most urgent needs. And some of them may very well be getting a call from him wherein he asks them if they can do what you propose to do, but at a better price. And some of them are going to say yes. Some of them are telling him they'll beat your price and give him two extra months on top of that.

    You need to figure competitive stuff like that is going on.

    So you need to derail the competition. And I don't think that's done by touting value and zeroing in on their needs. Don't get me wrong, I think that's needed to get to the sale, but you're there, you're being considered already. Now you just don't want to lose the ball to a competitor this late in the game.

    So you need to derail the competitors by poking holes in them. Not by bad mouthing them, because that can turn off the buyer. But you can explain to the buyer their need for what I call your "X9 Factor." That's the strategy.

    Your X9 Factor is something proprietary to you that you know exploits your competitors shortcomings and flaws, the shortcomings which you explain to your Buyer will leave him in a ditch otherwise. Bring it up. Talk about the problems most likely to register with him. All explained very innocently, generally and matter of factly. One (or hopefully more) should resonate with him. You're letting him know of serious problems down the road he hasn't realized yet. You've spelled out the dire consequences. You've also made mention how you've taken care of those problems for other well known companies. Drop names if you can.

    Then the Buyer checks with the competitors and asks about how they take care of those problems, and since they don't, they give an unsatisfactory answer or BS him about it. But he knows better than that because you've alerted him as to what the weak excuses are. So when he hears them, he's not reassured about going with the competitor even if they're less expensive. In fact, he's spooked about going with them now.

    Your final nudge can be a price break if needed.
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    • Profile picture of the author mjbmedia
      Originally Posted by misterme View Post

      The thing is, more likely than not, your competitors are also tapping into your prospective client's most urgent needs. And some of them may very well be getting a call from him wherein he asks them if they can do what you propose to do, but at a better price. And some of them are going to say yes. Some of them are telling him they'll beat your price and give him two extra months on top of that.

      You need to figure competitive stuff like that is going on.
      Exactly, that's what I meant by we've all done our bit, the competition have done the right stuff and so have we, that's why we are now where we are.


      So you need to derail the competition. And I don't think that's done by touting value and zeroing in on their needs. Don't get me wrong, I think that's needed to get to the sale, but you're there, you're being considered already. Now you just don't want to lose the ball to a competitor this late in the game.

      So you need to derail the competitors by poking holes in them. Not by bad mouthing them, because that can turn off the buyer. But you can explain to the buyer their need for what I call your "X9 Factor." That's the strategy.

      Your X9 Factor is something proprietary to you that you know exploits your competitors shortcomings and flaws, the shortcomings which you explain to your Buyer will leave him in a ditch otherwise. Bring it up. Talk about the problems most likely to register with him. All explained very innocently, generally and matter of factly. One (or hopefully more) should resonate with him. You're letting him know of serious problems down the road he hasn't realized yet. You've spelled out the dire consequences. You've also made mention how you've taken care of those problems for other well known companies. Drop names if you can.

      Then the Buyer checks with the competitors and asks about how they take care of those problems, and since they don't, they give an unsatisfactory answer or BS him about it. But he knows better than that because you've alerted him as to what the weak excuses are. So when he hears them, he's not reassured about going with the competitor even if they're less expensive. In fact, he's spooked about going with them now.

      Your final nudge can be a price break if needed.
      yeh that makes sense, time for some digging to be done to find out who we are up against if possible and then some prep work, nice one MrM thanks
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  • Profile picture of the author Claude Whitacre
    Originally Posted by mjbmedia View Post

    This is for a £4000-£6000 per month contract with a decent profit margin. Not your instant yes/no decision type of deal.

    So you are in competition with maybe two other suppliers, you've all done your bit, now you are maybe more pricey than the others but you know you deliver and then some, you all have similar testimonials but you know yours are for real and they include % increases rather than just nice words .

    The prospect has decisions to make , how would you do all you can to ensure he chooses you, even at maybe 30% higher price .

    Its no good saying the previous communications should have been different, theyre gone and done with now, perfection isn't always a reality now matter how much we'd like it to be , things go awry at times, but we're still in there fighting for the contract (and its worth it £6k per month I am quoting ) , there is room for some reduction of price, left room on purpose because of the way things have gone (not ideal processes but sometimes in the real world you have to run with things ) , to me its less the investment required, more the belief that a decent ROI will be realised and in what time frame (they always want it quicker than realism allows) ,if we can tie that in with a slight reduction if needed
    For maybe 20% it's just the price.

    For most, it's all about knowing you are going to keep your promises, and deliver. Don't reduce your price. Add a small service to sweeten the pot.

    If you reduce your price, you are begging.
    If you add a service, you are giving them a gift. Huge difference.

    Originally Posted by misterme View Post

    So you need to derail the competitors by poking holes in them. Not by bad mouthing them, because that can turn off the buyer. But you can explain to the buyer their need for what I call your "X9 Factor." That's the strategy.

    Your X9 Factor is something proprietary to you that you know exploits your competitors shortcomings and flaws, the shortcomings which you explain to your Buyer will leave him in a ditch otherwise. Bring it up. Talk about the problems most likely to register with him. All explained very innocently, generally and matter of factly. One (or hopefully more) should resonate with him. You're letting him know of serious problems down the road he hasn't realized yet. You've spelled out the dire consequences. You've also made mention how you've taken care of those problems for other well known companies. Drop names if you can.

    Then the Buyer checks with the competitors and asks about how they take care of those problems, and since they don't, they give an unsatisfactory answer or BS him about it. But he knows better than that because you've alerted him as to what the weak excuses are. So when he hears them, he's not reassured about going with the competitor even if they're less expensive. In fact, he's spooked about going with them now.
    Brilliant, absolutely brilliant. I've done it a few times, but I didn't think of it here..you did.
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