Logo
NEGATIVE SELLING -
DOES IT WORK?

March 2016, Issue 108
The political mud fights have begun!  Mudslinging is everywhere. Sound the bell!
 
Mary from MN wants to know if the negative approaches used by many of the candidates works and whether she should deploy this approach in her B2B sales world.

All the best,



NEGATIVE SELLING -
DOES IT WORK?



 
MUDSLINGING - DOES IT WORK?
 
    
Dan:
   
The election season is in high gear. Every time I turn on the TV I see very negative political ads. 
   
I'm wondering if this approach works and whether I should use this approach in my sales activities?
   
Mary,
Minneapolis, MN
   

Mary,
   
Great question, and timely!
   
I would like to first define a negative attack.
I will then address this issue in a political context. I'll conclude by sharing some best practices with you on how to address negative aspects of your competitors' offering without losing trust.
 
For the purposes of this newsletter, I will define negative campaigning as the attempt to gain an advantage over an opponent (competitor) by discussing their negative aspects (true or untrue) in lieu of accentuating one's own positive characteristics.
 
The available research on the use of negative campaign ads is not universal in its findings. Some research indicates that negative attacks work while others indicate that they do not work. There is even more research that indicates that they work to both negatively impact the "attacked" while at the same time also negatively impacting the attacker. One agreement in the research is that negative attacks do have a strong impact on those consumers on the ends of the spectrum: those who feel very positive about the attacked and those who feel very negative about the attacked. So, if you strongly dislike the attacked you tend to feel positive about the attack. The opposite is true for those who like the attacked. If you like the attacked, you feel negative about the attack and tend not to like those who attack her.
 
I am certainly no political expert, but it does seem that we can draw some direct parallels to the business world. Does negative selling and mudslinging work in the sales world? In my 35 years of experience with large investment, long-buying process, B2B high technology sales to highly educated senior executives, IT DOES NOT WORK. In fact, it accentuates the traditional negative perceptions of the selling profession. Now, some may argue strongly that it does work. I would argue that any success enjoyed as a result of negative selling was sheer luck and probability at work. The negative sellers only drew the conclusion that their negative methods worked. This reasoning might be as accurate as predicting the gender of an unborn child by way of a coin toss. Anyone will be correct 50% of the time!  Even a broken clock is correct twice per day. Another explanation for the success of negative selling is that the customer had no choice but to select from among multiple vendors who ALL chose to use mudslinging as a core sales tactic.
   
In my workshops and book I stress that sales representatives need to understand that their success as well as the success of their company and client are best served over the long-term by utilizing a highly consultative approach. That approach has TRUST as its core foundation. Negative selling results in withdrawals from the "Bank of Trust" versus deposits. (See TTS Newsletters for more on gaining trust.) That said, how should you make your client aware of a critical, negative aspect of your competitor's offering? Let's use two examples. Let's say your offering is MUCH higher in quality than your top competitor. An inexperienced rep would shout at her client, "Their quality is awful! It will fall apart in 90 days! Two clients I know used it for 60 days and then had it removed! You would be crazy to buy that thing!"
 
Well, all of that information that was shared may or may not have been true. Most senior executives won't respond positively to that mudslinging. You may get one appointment, but that customer won't meet with you again.

How about this approach which would only be used by a true consultant, sales superstar (for company A):

Superstar: "Mr Customer, you indicated in our last discussion that one of your top purchase criteria for this investment is quality. One thing that you will find after conducting an exhaustive evaluation of the two solutions is that unfortunately, there really is no perfect solution. Each of the offerings you are considering has trade-offs."

You will find that the customer will typically invite further discussion. When she does, you can then highlight the positive aspects of the competitive offering and then, in a balanced approach, discuss the "trade-off" of their offering.

Superstar: "Mr. Customer, let's take a look at the positive aspects of Company B's offering. The initial investment for their service will be significantly lower than ours. They really have done an excellent job at finding ways to keep their initial cost ultra-low. Their initial selling price is typically about 60% of our investment. But you know, there is not a perfect solution and they do have a major trade off." 

Client:  "Oh...what's that?" 

Superstar:  "When you really take a deep dive into the quality of the engineering and design you will find that it lacks the key quality attributes that you told me were essential for your usage."
 
Your goal here is singular. BUILD TRUST! The key to this highly consultative approach is evenhanded balance. Mudslinging or focusing on negative attacks, will result in less trust.

You will ultimately come to your own decision as to when to pass judgment on a competitor's offering. If building trust is your primary concern, this will come easy to you. Given that trust is at the heart of what you do, you have already earned the trust of your client by advising and consulting with him along the way. You may have done a number of things to help him or her along the sales process. You may have helped draft bids, analyzed their financial statements, offered budgeting help, established a critical event time line, and have even helped your client evaluate your competition. While doing so, you would have offered an analysis of the "trade-offs" of choosing another vendor. You might have shared the feedback from buyers who chose other vendors.  You may have helped to create a comparison matrix for your client to consider. In doing so, you will be rewarded with the satisfaction that you have not resorted to negative selling in order to achieve a sale. Instead, you have become your client's trusted adviser while choosing a solution best for him or her. Now that is positive selling!

In summary, I believe that people buy from whom they trust. Negative selling decreases trust rather than increases trust.

All the best,  
 

FOR INSPIRATION...

"Establishing trust is not a technique or skill, but simply a decision - a decision that you make before and during every sales call.
That decision is to put your clients needs first and focus on what is best for THEM."
  
-Tom Stanfill 

"If it ain't broke, don't fix it" is the slogan of the complacent, the arrogant or the scared. It's an excuse for inaction, a call to non-arms."

-Colin Powell

"Only the paranoid survive."
    -Andy Grove 
 
"To my customer:  
I may not have the answer, but I'll find it.
I may not have the time, but I'll make it."
   
-Unknown 
The Sales Strategizer App
Trust Triangle Selling Unveils The Sales Strategizer-Pro™, the First Deal-closing Application for the iPhone, iPad and iTouch.
Strat Pro With Hand
For info and details go to:  
SALESSTRATEGIZER.COM
Dan's book won a Medal
from Sales Books Awards!

For more information on Dan's book go here.
 Building Trust, Growing Sales 
How to Master Complex, High End Sales Using The Principles of Trust Triangle Selling™

Improve Your Strategic and Consultative Selling Skills With The Trust Triangle Selling Book and Sales Strategizer App

Book Cover
Strat Pro With Hand
Dan's book won a Medal from Sales Books Awards!
 
For more information on Dan's book go
How to Master Complex, High End Sales Using The Principles of Trust Triangle Selling™

The Sales Strategizer- PRO
Trust Triangle Selling Unveils The Sales Strategizer-Pro™, the First Deal-closing Application for the iPhone, iPad and iTouch.

For info and details go to:  SALESSTRATEGIZER.COM