The New Power Base Selling: Master The Politics, Create Unexpected Value and Higher Margins, and Outsmart the Competition

Moving North

The importance of moving north in an account, to move up the Sales Value Chain, is emphasized when you look at a competitive sales opportunity. Think about an important and competitive deal that you are working on—a “must-win.” Make a list of the most significant reasons why customers buy from your company. Now, look at the list you just created, crossing out anything that your competition could also say is a reason that customers would buy from them. For example, if you wrote down that you’re “reliable,” but your competitor can also claim reliability, cross it out. If you included a certain capability that your competition also has, then cross it out. Now look at the list again. How many of the reasons remain?

Next, go back and look at the original list of reasons. Circle the ones that you know your customer’s Situational Power Base recognizes and accepts. For example, say you wrote down “high throughput”; does anyone in the Situational Power Base believe this to be true? If yes, circle it. If no, do not.

How many of the reasons listed are circled and do not have a line through them? This makes clear the nature and extent of Competitive Differentiation that you have, as viewed by the Situational Power Base. Our deal experience confirms that your value must be:

• Differentiated from the competition.
• Recognized and accepted by the customer’s Power Base.

In the absence of an acknowledged and relevant difference between you and your competition, what will happen next? ...