WEBVTT

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<v Speaker 1>You know why you're different than the competition, But the

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<v Speaker 1>key way to stand out as a seller is to

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<v Speaker 1>get the customer to care about the differentiation.

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<v Speaker 2>You're listening to the Audible Ready podcast, The show that

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<v Speaker 2>helps you and your teams sell more Faster. Will feature

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<v Speaker 2>sales leaders sharing their best insights on how to create

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<v Speaker 2>a sales engine that helps you fuel repeatable revenue growth,

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<v Speaker 2>presented by the team at Force Management, a leader in

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<v Speaker 2>B to B sales effectiveness. Let's get started.

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<v Speaker 3>Hello, I'm Rachel Klatt Miller. Thank you for listening to

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<v Speaker 3>this episode of the Audible Ready Sales Podcast. You know,

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<v Speaker 3>we often say that there is as much differentiation and

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<v Speaker 3>how you sell as there is in what you sell.

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<v Speaker 3>So what do we mean by that. That's what we're

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<v Speaker 3>going to talk about today. Key steps you can take

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<v Speaker 3>to differentiate the way you sell, how you do it,

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<v Speaker 3>John Kaplan, This is something we know that elite sellers

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<v Speaker 3>do and are continually striving to get better at.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, this is one of my favorite topics. It's differentiation

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<v Speaker 1>for most people is hard, and I think that we

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<v Speaker 1>kind of simplify it with some ideas that you can

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<v Speaker 1>do with not a lot of effort, just some mindset right.

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<v Speaker 3>Kind of your day to day rhythm. You know, we

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<v Speaker 3>always say that sales is a game of inches, and

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<v Speaker 3>those things you can do to differentiate you in the

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<v Speaker 3>way you sell is part of the game of inches.

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<v Speaker 3>When you talk about them on the surface level, they

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<v Speaker 3>don't seem like that much, but add them up over

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<v Speaker 3>time and they can really make a difference. So let's

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<v Speaker 3>get into some of the ways you can do that.

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<v Speaker 3>The first area I want to talk about is what

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<v Speaker 3>you can do with those initial calls, your discovery. I

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<v Speaker 3>know we've done a whole podcast on this, but it

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<v Speaker 3>really comes down to approaching them with empathy and understanding.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, and I think that's really good. It's a mindset.

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<v Speaker 1>It's a mindset of empathy, understanding, and also a kind

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<v Speaker 1>of preparation. We've got to remember, buyers are skeptical, abous.

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<v Speaker 1>They they think that we're like all the other bad

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<v Speaker 1>sellers that they've encountered before. And by differentiating yourself, you'll

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<v Speaker 1>give yourself an edge. And I think the first step

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<v Speaker 1>is to be confident in what you do for a

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<v Speaker 1>living and to constantly put yourself in the shoes of

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<v Speaker 1>the buyer. You don't just show up begging for orders.

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<v Speaker 1>That's a horrible disposition. Your job is to understand your

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<v Speaker 1>customers by listening to them, and don't just work through

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<v Speaker 1>a script. If somebody gives you a script, it's not intended.

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<v Speaker 1>It's a navigational tool. It's not intended to be a script.

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<v Speaker 1>Approach your conversation with empathy and understanding and that'll show through.

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<v Speaker 3>That's it. And the way you do discovery is really

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<v Speaker 3>so critical. Asking questions at the right time in the

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<v Speaker 3>right way requires prep having that right mindset, as you

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<v Speaker 3>talked about, but also active listening. So what are your

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<v Speaker 3>best ways to prepare to do this?

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<v Speaker 1>Well? Preparation and active listening is really the only way.

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<v Speaker 1>When you prepare, it gives you a calmness, it gives

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<v Speaker 1>We call this the Audible Ready podcast, and what we

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<v Speaker 1>mean by that is because you're prepared, you can actively listen,

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<v Speaker 1>and you actively listen because you're prepared. And you know,

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<v Speaker 1>we talk about three buckets. When I go into sales calls,

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<v Speaker 1>I know that there are three main buckets of information

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<v Speaker 1>that I am gathering constantly. The first they're in no

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<v Speaker 1>particular order, but positive business outcomes those are the implications

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<v Speaker 1>of the problem that create great business outcomes. That's one bucket.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm also looking for technical required capabilities. And in order

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<v Speaker 1>to understand the technical required capabilities, you have to ask

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<v Speaker 1>great discovery questions to the customer. But you have to

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<v Speaker 1>be prepared with your differentiation because you are shaping those

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<v Speaker 1>required capabilities to be more favorable for your customer and

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<v Speaker 1>more favorable for you in the form of your differentiation.

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<v Speaker 1>And then metrics, and this is we need to discover

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<v Speaker 1>how they're going to measure success. So when I'm prepared

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<v Speaker 1>to ask discovery questions around those three buckets, I just

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<v Speaker 1>I think of myself as like a catcher in baseball.

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<v Speaker 1>I throw the pitch back to the pitcher and then

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<v Speaker 1>they throw me something, and whatever they throw me, it's

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<v Speaker 1>either a positiveusiness outcome or require capability or a metric.

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<v Speaker 1>I am putting those in the proper buckets. And when

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<v Speaker 1>I think about simplifying that way, it's easier for me

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<v Speaker 1>to actively listen.

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah, So let's talk about the situations that you might

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<v Speaker 3>find yourself in when you're going against competitive solutions. Right,

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<v Speaker 3>that's a product differentiation point, but you all so play

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<v Speaker 3>a role in it as a seller to in how

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<v Speaker 3>you are dealing with that differentiation.

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<v Speaker 1>You know why you're different than the competition. But the

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<v Speaker 1>key way to stand out as a seller is to

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<v Speaker 1>get the customer to care about the differentiation. So it's

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<v Speaker 1>not just knowing the differentiation. It's got to be a

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<v Speaker 1>value to the customer. So they need to see the

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<v Speaker 1>value in that differentiation, and if they don't, you'll just

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<v Speaker 1>sound like all those other bad sellers. And if you

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<v Speaker 1>don't know what kind of relationship they have with a competitor.

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<v Speaker 1>Most times people are trying to go at differentiation to

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<v Speaker 1>talk about how much they're better than the competition. Well,

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<v Speaker 1>you've got to earn the right for that, because people,

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<v Speaker 1>by nature are loyal to those not present. So use

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<v Speaker 1>the differentiation as a way to bring value to the customer.

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<v Speaker 1>So saying I'm better than the competitors is great. Everybody

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<v Speaker 1>says it, right, But it's only great if you believe it,

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<v Speaker 1>and it's only great if the customer believes it. So

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<v Speaker 1>what differentiates me as a seller is when I can

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<v Speaker 1>get my customer to care about the differentiation as it

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<v Speaker 1>relates to their outcomes. Let me give you a quick example.

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<v Speaker 1>When I first got to PTC years ago, we had

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<v Speaker 1>this differentiation, which is actually unique, and it was called

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<v Speaker 1>bi directional associativity. Now, when I first saw it, they

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<v Speaker 1>explained it to me, a change made anywhere is reflected everywhere.

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<v Speaker 1>Now I'm kind of a Microsoft generation, so when I

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<v Speaker 1>heard this, I was a little disappointed, a little freaked out.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm like, wait a second, So you mean a change

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<v Speaker 1>made anywhere, like in a document, is reflected at was

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<v Speaker 1>kind of like global find and replace. And the people

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<v Speaker 1>at PTC that were training me, they're like, exactly, And

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<v Speaker 1>I was like, oh my god, Like, I just left

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<v Speaker 1>ten years at Xerox in a very high level job

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<v Speaker 1>to come as a front line manager to PTC for this. Well,

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<v Speaker 1>I obviously didn't understand the differentiation. I didn't understand the value.

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<v Speaker 1>I had to put myself in the seat of the customer.

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<v Speaker 1>So one of the trainers asked me. They said, John,

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<v Speaker 1>do you understand the way people design and manufacture products?

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<v Speaker 1>And I'm like, no, I don't really understand that. So

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<v Speaker 1>they taught me and they're like, when you make a

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<v Speaker 1>change late in a process, it creates havoc on a

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<v Speaker 1>manufacturing environment and design through manufacturing environment. So the fact

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<v Speaker 1>that we can make a change anywhere. Everything is updated,

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<v Speaker 1>the drawings, the tooling. It's like at the press of

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<v Speaker 1>a button, everything's updated. So I was like, okay, And

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<v Speaker 1>then I saw my first demo and I saw the

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<v Speaker 1>application engineer Rachel demonstrate this, and there was a CEO

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<v Speaker 1>of a manufacturing company sitting in the demo, sitting in

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<v Speaker 1>the room watching the demo, and I looked over and

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<v Speaker 1>their jaw hit the table. So what I did was

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<v Speaker 1>I asked a few questions and say, hey, that looks

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<v Speaker 1>like that this could be pretty important for your organization.

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<v Speaker 1>Why did you react that way to what you just saw?

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<v Speaker 1>Tell me how you're currently doing that. And I just

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<v Speaker 1>started asking discovery questions around the emotion that I got

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<v Speaker 1>back from what I was saying. And then I later

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<v Speaker 1>I learned it's like, okay, once you learned a differentiation,

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<v Speaker 1>you have to ask yourself some questions. So what if

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<v Speaker 1>the customer doesn't have bi directional associativity, Well, that means

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<v Speaker 1>that they can't handle changes very often, and when they

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<v Speaker 1>do handle changes, it creates a massive timing implication. It

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<v Speaker 1>creates a massive scrap and waste implication in the manufacturing department.

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<v Speaker 1>So once I understood what it's like to not have it.

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<v Speaker 1>I started to ask questions about problems and implications of

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<v Speaker 1>not having that differentiation. It totally totally changed the world

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<v Speaker 1>for me. So my point is, when you hear your

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<v Speaker 1>company's differentiation, you have to ask yourself, so what does

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<v Speaker 1>that mean to the buyer? And once I did that,

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<v Speaker 1>it unlocks something very very powerful for me because once

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<v Speaker 1>I understood the problems, I didn't just tell them about

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<v Speaker 1>the problems Rachel. I asked them about when they encounter

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<v Speaker 1>those problems or challenges, And it totally turned the ownership

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<v Speaker 1>to their problem, not my problem, and I was ready

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<v Speaker 1>to help them with my differentiation. A huge, huge learning

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<v Speaker 1>lesson for me.

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah, and a key way when you do that repeatedly

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<v Speaker 3>to differentiate yourself from other salespeople they might be dealing with.

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<v Speaker 3>So we talked about discovery, we talked about differentiation. The

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<v Speaker 3>other component is you want to make sure you're continually

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<v Speaker 3>staying tied to their positive business outcomes, the results you're

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<v Speaker 3>trying to drive for them. And you might align on

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<v Speaker 3>this at the beginning of the sales process, but then

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<v Speaker 3>people forget about them, right, So to keep everyone focused

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<v Speaker 3>on that value, you're going to drive and the outcomes

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<v Speaker 3>you're going to drive for them is really a next

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<v Speaker 3>level skill.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, let's just simplify this. I think the two greatest

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<v Speaker 1>elite skills of selling right now, there's actually three, I believe,

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<v Speaker 1>but the three greatest skills. Number one is attaching yourself

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<v Speaker 1>to the biggest business issue facing your customer, Attaching what

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<v Speaker 1>you do for a living to the biggest problems and

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<v Speaker 1>challenges and getting credit for it. The second thing is influencing,

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<v Speaker 1>like we just said, influencing customer decision criteria with your differentiation.

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<v Speaker 1>In the case of the bi directional associativity example that

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<v Speaker 1>I just gave you, Rachel, is I knew that if

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<v Speaker 1>I got bidirectional associativity or in the customer's language, a

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<v Speaker 1>change made anywhere is reflected everywhere. Rachel, we won every time.

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<v Speaker 1>So let me just simplify that. All I needed to

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<v Speaker 1>do was to influence that differentiation into the customers required

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<v Speaker 1>capabilities into the decision criteria, and since it was unique,

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<v Speaker 1>meaning nobody else could do it, the ballgame was over.

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<v Speaker 1>The third one is we have to be a voracious qualifier.

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<v Speaker 1>You have to be a voracious qualifier, so we have

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<v Speaker 1>to keep customers focused on measurable outcomes that they're looking

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<v Speaker 1>to achieve and the require capabilities that are going to

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<v Speaker 1>get them there, and your customers are often frazzled like

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<v Speaker 1>they're too close to the pain and they're too close

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<v Speaker 1>to the technical pain and the implications of that technical pain.

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<v Speaker 1>And sometimes example, with the bi directional of sociativity, I

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<v Speaker 1>would ask, give me an example of the biggest project

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<v Speaker 1>that you're working on right now. They tell me about

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<v Speaker 1>a product, and I'd say, so with the ability to

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<v Speaker 1>make changes, what do you think late in the process,

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<v Speaker 1>what will happen with your relationship with the customer, What

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<v Speaker 1>will happen with the relationship to the cost model, What

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<v Speaker 1>will happen to the relationship with revenue? What will happen

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<v Speaker 1>to so all of a sudden, this bi directional associativity

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<v Speaker 1>is connected to business outcomes. And what were we known

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<v Speaker 1>for at PTC. What bidirectional associativity turned into RACHEL was

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<v Speaker 1>reducing time to market for manufacturers by more than fifty

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<v Speaker 1>percent on average. That's why we grew from zero to

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<v Speaker 1>a billion dollars. We were known by the business outcome

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<v Speaker 1>we help customers achieve just as much as we were

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<v Speaker 1>known by our differentiation in the product capabilities. So sometimes

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<v Speaker 1>you have to keep reminding because this means things to

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<v Speaker 1>different people at different levels than an organization. I used

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<v Speaker 1>to constantly have to do this. I have to remind

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<v Speaker 1>the engineers, Yes, it was great for your engineering capability,

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<v Speaker 1>but it was also great for the company. And I

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<v Speaker 1>found that I was able to build great champions inside

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<v Speaker 1>of organizations because I got them emotionally connected to that

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<v Speaker 1>business implication of that technical capability. So bi directional associativity

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<v Speaker 1>was tied to reducing time to market, and reducing time

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<v Speaker 1>to market was associated with massive growth and profitability for

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<v Speaker 1>product launches. And we created thousands and thousands of technical

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<v Speaker 1>champions and the business champions by just connecting that technical

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<v Speaker 1>capability to a business outcome. Really really powerful.

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah, and something that you can do in every opportunity

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<v Speaker 3>that you're in. A great thing to be focused on.

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<v Speaker 3>The Next point I wanted to talk about is what

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<v Speaker 3>happens away from the deal, Away from the opportunity. What

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<v Speaker 3>are you doing when there isn't something to work with

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<v Speaker 3>the customer, And that's making sure you're sharing value with

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<v Speaker 3>customers and prospects.

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<v Speaker 1>I like this a lot because there's some elite sellers

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<v Speaker 1>that do this really well. And I think that the

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<v Speaker 1>greatest sellers. You know, back in the day they said, oh,

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<v Speaker 1>he or she is a relationship builder, and that got

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<v Speaker 1>a lot of knocks. They're like, oh, this person's a

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<v Speaker 1>relationship builder. And I always used to cock my head

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<v Speaker 1>to one side a little bit, like how is that

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<v Speaker 1>a bad thing? Like every single stat in the world,

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<v Speaker 1>the importance of relationship on personal health, the importance of relationship.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm building champions. You're never going to build champions if

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<v Speaker 1>you don't build a relationship, and you build a relationship

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<v Speaker 1>by continuously adding value. So this moniker of a relationship seller,

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<v Speaker 1>I think just totally got messed up there thinking people

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<v Speaker 1>are dropping off donuts. And I don't think that's what

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<v Speaker 1>anybody ever meant when they said a relationship seller. What

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<v Speaker 1>I mean by a relationship seller is that you are

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<v Speaker 1>constantly communicating with your customer and you have a reason.

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<v Speaker 1>You have purpose. It's not just.

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<v Speaker 4>Hey, how you doing? You know, do you want to upgrade?

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<v Speaker 4>How's the product going? Blah blah blah. Maybe it's your

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<v Speaker 4>marketing team put together a piece of thought leadership. I

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<v Speaker 4>just saw rep today from Force Management sent something out

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<v Speaker 4>to a prospect, actually a customer, they're already a customer, and.

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<v Speaker 1>It was a great value added piece on something that

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<v Speaker 1>they had been talking about a year ago and something

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<v Speaker 1>that came out in the marketplace and they sent it

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<v Speaker 1>to the customer. And that's constantly adding value, that's constantly

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<v Speaker 1>staying on the customer's mind, letting them know that you're

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<v Speaker 1>thinking about. Your job is not only to sell them stuff,

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<v Speaker 1>but your job is to make the company successful, their

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<v Speaker 1>company successful, and them successful. So you got to stay connected,

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<v Speaker 1>you got to reach out, and you got to add value,

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<v Speaker 1>keep the lines of communication open. You never know where

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<v Speaker 1>that person is going to end up. You know, most

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<v Speaker 1>of champions, most examples of champions, wind up being champions

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<v Speaker 1>in multiple companies, in multiple situations. So the point here,

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<v Speaker 1>Rachel is always stay tethered, always stay connected, and always

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<v Speaker 1>add value.

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah, that's differentiating how you sell. As we said, it's

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<v Speaker 3>anthony understanding and discovery. Differentiation in a way that the

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<v Speaker 3>buyer cares about, sharing value on the sales process, focus

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<v Speaker 3>on those positive business outcomes, and stay tethered. Ways to

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<v Speaker 3>differentiate yourself. I know you've got a great bottom line here, though, John,

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<v Speaker 3>I'd like.

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<v Speaker 1>To begin it with what you just said, So let's

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<v Speaker 1>write this one down. How you sell can be just

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<v Speaker 1>as as important as what you sell. Huge preparation helps

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<v Speaker 1>you be an active listener. You can't actively listen if

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<v Speaker 1>you're just kind of listening to pieces and parts of

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<v Speaker 1>what a customer is telling you and you're waiting to

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<v Speaker 1>make your next statement. When you're prepared with great discovery,

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<v Speaker 1>you're prepared with the three buckets of positive business outcome.

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<v Speaker 1>Require capabilities and metrics and great discovery around that, you

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<v Speaker 1>can actively listen so much better. Fill up the three

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<v Speaker 1>buckets that we talked about, make your differentiation purposeful and valuable,

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<v Speaker 1>and connect what you do always to business outcomes. And

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<v Speaker 1>that is a formula that will never never equal failure.

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<v Speaker 1>So always be differentiating whether you're selling a product or

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<v Speaker 1>you're selling your relationship of value to that buyer.

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<v Speaker 3>That's it. Thank you, John, You're welcome, and thank you

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<v Speaker 3>to all of you for listening to the Audible Ready

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<v Speaker 3>Sales podcast.

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<v Speaker 5>At Force Management, we're focused on transforming sales organizations into

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<v Speaker 5>elite teams. Our proven methodologies deliver programs that build company

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<v Speaker 5>alignment and fuel repeatable revenue growth. Give your teams, the

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<v Speaker 5>ability to execute the growth strategy at the point of sale.

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<v Speaker 5>Our strength is our experience. The proof is in our results.

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<v Speaker 5>Let's get start. Visit us at forestmanagement dot com.

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<v Speaker 2>You've been listening to the audible Ready podcast. To not

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<v Speaker 2>miss an episode, subscribe to the show in your favorite

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<v Speaker 2>podcast player until next time.