Sales Prospecting: How to Stand Out from Competitors in a Commodity Market

by Alan Rigg

I have received a number of requests for advice from salespeople and sales managers that are involved in the sale of "commodity" products and services. When I refer to commodities, I don't just mean pork bellies or frozen concentrated orange juice. A commodity is any product or service where a prospect is likely to be thinking:

"I get contacted by (X) salespeople a day that sell (what they perceive
your product or service to be). Why should I spend any of my time with YOU?"

Based upon this definition, there are a lot of products and services that can be perceived as commodities! How can salespeople possibly prospect successfully when their target prospects see them as just one of many possible (and nearly identical) sources for a product or service?

To begin answering this question, imagine you are a salesperson that sells recruiting services. Your goal is to convince prospects to use your services to help them fill job openings. If you are going to accomplish this goal, you need to develop effective answers to the following questions:

Why should a prospect use YOU to help them with their recruiting?
What makes you different from the (X) other recruiters that contact them each day?
What has your company done that has really added value to specific customers' businesses?
What quantified impacts has your company provided to customers?
What testimonials can you use to attract prospects' attention (whether the testimonials are your own or were secured by other members of your sales team)?

When you are prospecting in a crowded field, you need to find some way to capture enough of a prospect's attention so they will agree to meet with you. This all-important first meeting is the starting point to building the relationship that is crucial to success in "commodity" sales.

Here are six strategies that can help you win more of these elusive first meetings

1. Document the Quantified Impacts that your company's services have provided to customers.

This topic is covered quite thoroughly in the mini-course "The Secret to Closing More Sales". If you haven't already subscribed to this mini-course, you can do so at http://www.8020performance.com/sales_mgt_tips.html.

2. Author "Special Reports " as a way of building credibility with prospects.

What special report could you write that would be useful to your target prospects? Conduct the necessary research, write the report, make sure your name is highlighted on the cover page, and get the report into your prospect's hands.

What is the value of a special report that you have authored? Think about it -- How many of your competitors have authored a special report? Do you think authoring a special report might create the impression of significant or unusual expertise? Do you think it might increase your credibility with your target prospects?

3. Deliver business interest Seminars to your target prospects.

Seminars are another great way to build credibility and initiate relationships. To be effective, they need to address subjects (ideally, business problems that your company solves) that your target prospects really care about. You and your company can offer these seminars on your own, or in partnership with suppliers or other (non-competing) companies that wish to pursue the same target prospects.

4. Look for creative ways to "get your foot in the door ".

Here is one example related to the earlier recruiting scenario: What types of job candidates are your (recruiting) prospects particularly interested in? Are there any positions for which they consistently have openings? Are there any positions for which they have had trouble finding qualified candidates? If you find a dynamite candidate for one of those positions, will they allow you to bring the candidate to their attention?

5. Find other companies that do NON-COMPETING business with your target prospects.

What other products and services do your target prospects buy? Which companies provide those products and services? Who are the salespeople for those companies? Once you have identified them, look to establish mutually beneficial relationships where you REFER prospects to each other.

6. Learn from successful salespeople in your company that have "cracked the code ".

You don't have to re-invent the wheel. Invite the successful salespeople in your company to lunch or dinner. Use your time together to pick their brains by asking them the following questions:

How did they achieve success?
If they are at a stage where they focus solely on servicing existing accounts, how did they originally initiate their relationships with these accounts?
Which of their approaches might fit well with your own talents and interests?

Conclusion

This article focused on prospecting for recruiting services sales. However, the suggested approaches will work for just about any "commodity" offering.

If you are going to prospect successfully for "commodity" offering sales opportunities, you need to find a way to cut through your prospects' "mental clutter" and stand out from your competitors. This article briefly explored the following strategies:

Capturing prospects' attention with quantified impacts and testimonials
Building credibility by authoring special reports and delivering business interest seminars
Looking for creative ways to get your foot in the door
Building mutually beneficial relationships with other (non-competing) salespeople who are pursuing the same prospects
Tapping into the experience of your company's top sales performers

These are just a few strategies. Clearly there are dozens more. Invest some time in brainstorming new prospecting approaches, either by yourself or with other salespeople. Don't be afraid to try something different!

As Albert Einstein said, "The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." If you haven't been successful with your current prospecting strategies, look for new ways to achieve your goals.

Best wishes for sales success!

About the Author

Sales performance expert Alan Rigg is the author of How to Beat the 80/20 Rule in Sales Team Performance: A Step-By-Step Guide to Building and Managing Top-Performing Sales Teams, and the companion book, How to Beat the 80/20 Rule in Selling: A Step-By-Step Guide to Achieving Top Sales Performance. His 80/20 Selling System™ helps business owners, executives, and managers end the frustration of 80/20 sales team performance, where 20% of salespeople produce 80% of sales. For more information and more FREE sales and sales management tips, visit http://www.8020salesperformance.com.

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