Relationship counts - differentiation as well

Why should I as a customer chose this or that specific product or service? There are enough alternatives! The solution lies in exactly 2 questions: 1. Who wins the relationship competition? 2. Who wins the differentiation competition? Many companies make the mistake to only focus on one of the two questions. That's good, but not good enough because only those sales professionals will win the customer competition that win both sporting events.

Relationship competition: Selling is always a business from person to person, no matter if you are selling cars, financial products or IT systems or if you sell to the final customer (B2C) or a business entity or retailer (B2B). Sales success can only be achieved if the sales person can convince with his personality better than the competitor's sales person. He/ she needs to be friendly, reliable and credible. Customers want to trust their sales person permanently. And we all know: trust sells.

Differentiation competition: A good personal contact is only half the overall victory. Equally important is to offer a better and more attractive solution than the competition. You need to fulfil the customers' wishes and needs. Price can be one differentiation criteria but it is more profitable and effective to improve the (added) value of your offer than to 'just' lower the price. An example for added value is a special warranty or support.

The challenge for the sales people is to train and win both competitions -the personal relationship and the value differentiation - in each sales and consulting meeting with new prospects and existing customers, be it in written communication or in face-to-face encounters. This is how to create a special and unique profile that helps to gain and retain clients.