5 steps to defeat a tough opponent

Signing a new customer is a good thing.

Signing a new customer against a major competitor, it's royal!

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More than just an agreement, this marks the beginning of a new era. Your competitors now face a challenger who is determined to take a slice of the cake: you.

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Especially since your biggest competitors often work with... your biggest prospects.

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Close this type of transaction, you know what that means:

The manager pays for his round - The CEO accompanies you in sales - Your colleagues will now ask you for advice, like a wise old man at the top of the mountain - And above all, a nice bonus at the end of the month!

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But before you break out the confetti cannons, you're going to have to beat that pesky competitor. Whether you're taking part in a direct confrontation (like a tender) or your competitor is already there, you need a plan.

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What strategy should you adopt in the face of a more powerful competitor?

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Below, 5 steps to cut the beast.

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1. Master the competing solution at your fingertips

OK, that's obvious.

But: Did you really do the work?

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Can you sit down and quote:

• Its 3 main strengths - and above all, all its weaknesses?
• Who are our customers?
• What is political pricing?
• What is distribution strategy?
• Is it a corporate culture? How does it organize itself?

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Remember this: His weak points = Your arguments.

Its weak points are like the cracks in a building. If you sense that one of them is important to your prospect, it's time to make comparisons:

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❌ "From what I know in terms of coaching, they're not very good..."

✅ "Indeed, they are less expensive. On the other hand, the support they offer is less extensive than ours. When you only have one interview at the beginning, we follow up with your teams on a monthly basis. Do you think your teams would appreciate having someone on hand in case of problems?

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And above all, identify :

• What your competitors' customers like
• And what they don't like

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💎 F Find the checklist for understanding your competitors at the end of the article 💎

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Well, if you have serious customers, they'll do the classic test on the different solutions that meet their needs. If you're well-informed: you can help them with this overview!

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It may seem counterintuitive, but this strategy has two major advantages:

=> Advantage 1: You'll know the whole market, and none of the competition's arguments will surprise you.

=> Advantage 2: You know exactly how to position yourself in relation to the competition, and you're already gaining confidence points!

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In this way, you leave the realm of the salesman and enter that of the consultant - whose authority is superior.

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As a reminder, if your prospects quickly mention the name of the competition, it's a good sign:

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2. Get a clear picture of the prospect's problem

Large size brings a few compromises. Large companies often face a multitude of issues... perhaps too many. If this is the case, your prospect needs to realize this. Ask them:

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✅ "How do you use the competing solution?"

✅ "What could be improved? "

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By increasing this type of conversation, you'll help your prospect to better define his needs. Faced with a major competitor who is often too generalist, the specialist has to justify his or her expertise. Position yourself as a specialist. And a true specialist knows his customer's problem inside out, thanks in particular to a discovery phase.

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👌 Tip: If your prospect intends to decide soon between you and the competition, make every effort to speak last.

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"Be the last to speak" - Nelson Mandela

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First of all, you'll arrive at a prospect who's better prepared and more aware of his problem. As a result, the demo will be easier, and you'll be able to emphasize points that the competition won't have time to come back to.

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❌ "When do you see our colleagues xx? On the 6th? OK. I expect you to come back after that."

✅ "When do you see our xx colleagues? On the 6th? OK. I'm available on the 7th at the end of the day. Let's do a final review to validate all the elements. Then you can make your decision with all the cards in hand."

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This technique, which originated in politics, is perfectly suited to sales.

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3. Be where your competitors aren't

Don't fall into the trap. It's not about being the best at everything. You'll burn yourself out and, like that restaurant offering sushi, burgers and seafood, you'll lose credibility. Your only objective: to provide more value than your competitor for this prospect on this issue:

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❌ "We do it all too, and better!"

✅ "Competition is good in this area, but from what you've told me, it's not exactly what you need."

✅ "Does he have time to listen to you?"

✅ "Do you know why the competing solution is free?"

✅ "What problems did you encounter with (competitor 1)?"

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If your prospect already works with your competitor:

❌ "What do you think of our solution?"

✅ "From what you've seen, in what areas could our solution be improved?"

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Highlight the advantages of being smaller:

❌ "We're smaller, but I promise we'll do everything we can to be on an equal footing."

✅ "For us, you represent 20% of our sales. For our competitors, you represent only 2% of their sales. When you have a problem, we have 10 times more interest in listening to you and solving it quickly."

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Better still, if you're still in the development phase, turn this "weakness" into an advantage. Turn it into an argument:

❌ "We're young, but we're growing fast, don't worry."

✅ "We're still in the development phase and our roadmap is flexible. So, if we work together, we can direct the construction of our product/service according to your needs."

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Here's a concrete example to illustrate the point:

At Modjo (45 employees), we're often up against a huge American competitor called GONG (1,500 employees). Here's how we handle the situation:

Summary of arguments :

• "We're French" (whose data is hosted in France, a topic addressed earlier in the call) => Key software sales argument.
• "We absolutely want to work with you" => Cf: For us, you represent 10% of sales, for Gong, you represent 0.1%.
• "The prospects who have hesitated and chosen us, are often because of the integration and support" => Classic.
• "Price: They're more expensive + they charge installation fees => That doesn't exist here.

Note that at no point does Yann (of Modjo) disparage the Gong competitor. In fact, the opposite is true:

• "They do an extraordinary job, but on this point, they are less present.
• "They do an excellent job.
• "They inspired us.

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In general, you can always position yourself differently, and highlight that positioning:

=> Are you faced with an aging company? Sell the new one!

=> You're a French company dealing with Americans? Sell proximity - the similarities between cultures (this works for all of Europe).

=> You are confronted with a "classic" offer => Propose a premium service!

Etc.

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👌 Bonus: Finally, when your prospect brings up an attribute that you don't have, don't flinch.

Stand your ground, and surprise them by explaining that yes, this is intentional => Sell the status quo (CF: car salesman example).

❌ "We don't have this feature yet, but I'll talk about it internally, maybe in 6 months it will be! "

✅ "We chose not to develop this feature because..."

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4. Rather than your product, sell YOURSELF

Don't forget :

• Someone who likes you will find a way to work with you.
• Someone who doesn't like you will try to avoid you at all costs.

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This is where we enter Intuitu: Each relationship you build is unique.

Play on affect, and use your uniqueness to score points! Your advantage as a small organisation: people naturally tend to support the underdog against the big companies. Play it American, and tell your story!

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It is the small craftsman - human, who knows how to adapt - facing the big industry, which is process-oriented and dehumanised, and which considers its customers as numbers.

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❌ "We've been around since 2018."

✅ "We were created in 2018 with the aim of ... We started like this ... Then we realised that ... Today, we are here ... And tomorrow, this is where we are going!"

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Instead of selling something, you offer to be part of an adventure . Admit that this is more exciting. You will also have a reason to maintain your relationship and build up the intensity.

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"At our last meeting, I told you that we were having trouble signing companies with more than 1,000 employees. Well, yesterday we made the deal with Bouygues Telecom official!"

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Quite logically, we can see that the appearance of topics related to the Intuitue is largely correlated with the closing rate of a deal:

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5. Don't give up - you'll get them in the long run

No prospect is permanently locked in by your competitors. Time is constantly reshuffling the deck.

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If your prospect has signed with a giant today, that's okay! We congratulate him, and we don't give up! Get ready for the next step:

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❌ *Do nothing*

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Two weeks after signing with your competitor :

✅ "How was the start-up? Is everything OK?"

✅ "Does the solution fit your needs perfectly?"

👋 There you are.

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Once a quarter:

✅ "We developed this feature that you might be interested in, I thought of you!"

✅ "I saw this article on {client's domain}, I thought of you!"

You're still here.

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One year on:

✅ "I saw that {concurrent 1} had raised their rates, do you mind?"

✅ "I hope you are well. I just wanted to know where you stand, and how the collaboration with {current who signed the prospect} is going?

You're still here.

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Of course, it is up to you to gauge the frequency and form of your follow-ups. This is a phase too often neglected by salespeople, which allows you to leverage your past efforts - with a minimum of effort. In concrete terms, at the beginning of each quarter, check in with your old prospects. Even if the call lasts 20 seconds: you are there 👋

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And if you are not yet convinced, think of all those status quo in your own company that are just waiting to evolve, but are not moving because no one is doing anything about it. Multiply the interactions, and become the facilitator of these steps: you will get them in the long run.

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Conclusion

The 5 steps to overcome a strong competitor:

1. Master the competing solution at your fingertips.
2. Get to the bottom of the prospect's problem.
3. Be where they are not.
4. Sell yourself rather than your product.
5. Don't give up - you'll get them in the long run.

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David's victory over Goliath is the victory of agility over brute force. It is also the victory of confidence, and of patience .

By applying this strategy, you maximize your chances of winning this type of deal.

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Finally, if you fail, do everything you can to become the argument your prospect will brandish as a threat to your competitors At the slightest misstep, you're ready to replace them 👊

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Better,

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Cyprien - Modjo's commercial content expert

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💎 Prime: Click here for the checklist : Know your competitors

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