The Wrong Target ….Is Too Often…Used

By Sid Chadwick

We spend a good bit of time in our “Inside Sales Academy” – understanding – what Differentiation is, and is not.

For example, it’s important to understand that what is valuable to your current customers – needs to be known, before you change it (e.g., in order to cut what was viewed as unnecessary costs).

Most of our Students, when they enter our Program, recognize that the term – Differentiation – is important. But often too many of them believe all their company needs to achieve Differentiation is…to be different.

We work to explain that if how your company is different is not important to the prospect a Rep is calling on, sales progress may only occur if you offer to “buy your way into your prospect – with ridiculously low prices” – that the supplier eventually has to increase.

Many, if not most buyers  – know that prospective suppliers do not adequately pursue understanding – what is most important – to the buyer’s company.

Buyers learn what qualities are most important in their companies; through trial and error, and Plant Tour visits, buyers choose which supplier(s) gets the majority of their awards, and usually not at prices – “lower than dirt.”

We ask our Students to ponder, “If your best, most profitable customers could buy cheaper, why don’t they…?”......And, “What does your company reliably provide – that those premier customers….treasure….?”

With identification of those customers you want more of, just like them, what are the qualities of their profile….? How would you describe that profile…? And as no small point, how much of that profile resides in the Sales Rep’s and CSR’s alertness – to the details of what that buyer – really wants, and doesn’t want, that is reliably communicated downstream – to Production…?

From that beginning understanding of what could be important, we introduce the use of Databases, and sometimes the use of AI, along with a series of other qualities, such as age of your prospect’s ownership and senior management’s ambitions, as examples.

We also introduce the fact that – a customer’s “preferred supplier’s Differentiation” – can change…as their market conditions change…!  But most suppliers aren’t in tune with such a development until someone notices that over the last three or so years, revenue from a certain customer or market group of customers – has dropped, say – 20% to 25% a year.  And no one at the supplier – noticed…or initially spoke-up….!

Quarterly and year-over-year rigorous analyses of customers, organized by market, or a solid, well-designed Customer Survey every 4 to 5 years – would have alerted senior management – that their importance, their Differentiation – to a historically very important group of customers – was changing, and not necessarily for the better.

SUMMARY:

All dollars going through your company from customers – are not equal.

And the development of new business – should be purposeful – and anything but arbitrary….as your company’s future is being decided by who is being pursued – now…!

It’s the rare company whose manager’s title includes “Marketing” – that is rigorously measuring, observing, and reporting – what is changing, and specifically what the company should be improving or changing, as their customers’ expectations and needs – are changing.

Next Inside Sales Academy Class starts January 13, 2027… at 2:30 pm EST.