The Art of Consultative Selling in IT

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Chapter 4

Getting into the Details

ofthe Inside-Out Theme

All organizations today are worried about competition in the industry

because almost all competing companies provide similar products and

services. To get ahead in the race, any project discussed with a customer is

accepted without paying attention to the details of what the customer actu-

ally wants. Even if there is only a narrow match of the service provider

organization services to the customer needs, they are sold aggressively to

the service receiver organization. One of the core reasons for this is because

all of these organizations are in competition in the red ocean, and everyone

wants to maximize their business without thinking about the side effects of

such an act. Winning a contract in a red ocean is quite difcult to predict

because the factors determining the win cannot be determined easily and,

most of the time, predictions go wrong in a red ocean. Some organizations

win contracts in a red ocean by quoting to customers that they have every-

thing the customer needs, some with the good work they have done in the

past, some with relationships, some with their organization’s brand value,

some win because of a major cost advantage they provide to their customer,

and so on. However, the success of such a win in a red ocean is never

consistent and permanent. I have come across several cases where an orga-

nization has won a major deal in the rst year and, in the second year, these

contracts were transferred to another provider; the reason for such a shift is

not known in many cases. Although success can be demonstrated initially,

the failures emerging from competing in a red ocean always affect long-term

growth, sustainability, and customer relationships.