Trust Triangle Selling April 2010 Newsletter

April 2010

Issue: 39

STRATEGY - CHANGE THE GAME
"Expand The Pie" and "Reduce The Pie"

In our February newsletter we addressed Julie's question about strategy. We determined that Julie was trapped in a Frontal Attack strategy, defined as blindly facing off against your competitors exactly the way the customer tells you to, by agreeing to all of the customer's decision criteria and to her buying process. We agreed that most reps fall into this method by default, lacking a more appropriate response to a customer's demand for a bid, response, or action of any kind.

In the March newsletter we explored the Sole Source Strategy. This strategy is reserved for the rare rep who helps the customer avoid major problems and has therefore earned the right to proceed without competition. This month we will examine two of the seven Change The Game Strategies: "Expand The Pie" & "Reduce The Pie".

STRATEGY: Change the Game - Expand The Pie

Expand the Pie, also known as the "Big Bang" approach, is one of the best strategies you can employ. When your competitive position would be improved by doing so, you expand what the customer is in the market for. You probably have a broad array of products and services available to you. In addition, partnering with other departments in your company allows you to obtain more beneﬁt for your company as well as for the customer. When you expand the pie you simply modify what the customer is buying by adding additional products or services. The customer requests that you provide A; you convince her to consider A, B, C, and D. For example, let's say a customer wants to invest in a new car. The car salesman may have him also consider a special dealer ﬁnancing opportunity or a unique opportunity to reduce costs by picking up the car in the country in which it is being manufactured: Germany. These additional Expand the Pie offerings are being provided to strengthen the rep's competitive position.

How To Deploy:
One effective way to execute the Expand The Pie strategy is to illustrate how other larger projects have helped other clients reduce pain and insure success. The 'big bang' approach can be better, faster, and cheaper than a smaller project.

There are cases where expanding the scope of a purchase might allow you to offer a bigger discount on a larger purchase. For example, by adding modalities or services you may enhance your client's efficiencies, perhaps allowing her to reduce costs by streamlining processes or reducing staff.

STRATEGY: Change the Game - Reduce The Pie (Fractionalize)

The next strategy is to reduce, or fractionalize, the pie - otherwise known as the "Trojan Horse" approach. You use Reduce the Pie when your competitive position would be improved by pressing ahead with just a piece of the overall project, or
when Expand the Pie carries too much risk. Let's pretend that you are the superstar and I am your manager. A customer calls you up and says, "We are in the market to buy two CTs, three MRs, two vascular labs, and a catheterization lab for our
new center." As your manager, I ask you, "What is your strategy to win (not just "What is your strategy"?). This is because we obviously do not want to come in second place on the deal.

In this situation you might consider reducing, or fractionalizing, the pie - pursuing just a piece of the deal ﬁrst. Let's say your company manufactures the
best CT systems around. You have analyzed the customer's product needs and decide to lead with your strength. By focusing on just the CT, you can ride a Trojan Horse into the account, demonstrate your product superiority, build trust with the customer, and demonstrate your commitment to serving as her consultant.

You might say to me, "But wait! Didn't I just lose out on the opportunity to sell all that other equipment?" I would argue that you haven't lost anything. You
are getting your toe in a door that might have stayed closed to you forever. By deploying a strategy that builds a strong relationship early on, you will be in a
better position to win additional business later. You will have a proven success and you will have gained an enormous amount of credibility this way. So which of your products do you lead with? The one that puts you in the best competitive position to beat your competition. Lead with your strongest product.

How To Deploy:
Your goal is to get your toe in the door with a small win and then position yourself to win the bigger opportunity. Cite examples showing how a smaller, more manageable project has helped other clients reduce pain and insure success. It could be, after all, that the 'big bang' approach carries too much risk for your client.

I hope this is useful to you.

Good Luck, and Close 'Em!

Dan Adams, Adams and Associates

p.s. For a preview of the other strategies, be sure to visit www.salesstrategizer.com for the new Selling Power Sales Strategizer iPhone app. There are two apps: the fee app will give you a simple description of all 12 Major Account Strategies, while the "Pro" version:

Analyzes data input to provide intelligence in the form of recommendations for the proper major account sales strategy (strategies) to employ.
Consolidates user inputs to illustrate the chances of winning with an indicator gauge and digital readout.
Submits "red flag" coaching feedback with action items to improve chances of winning.
Coaches and explains why inputs are critical by providing hyperlinks in each question
Presents a simple and concise summary report to facilitate coaching & major account review.
Provides summary report e-mail capability for sharing and printing.
Creates a database to store account Strategizer results for subsequent updates and modifications.