Introduction

Differentiation is critical when operating as a B2B seller. But what’s the best way to differentiate and ensure you earn more money? In today’s episode of The Sales Evangelist, Donald is joined by management strategist Lee B. Salz to understand how to effectively set yourself apart in B2B sales. 

Why does Lee have a passion for B2B sales strategy?

• The short answer? Golden Girls. The long answer? Lee needed a job his junior year of high school, so he was hired to drive the vehicle for a dry cleaning delivery service. 
• Lee was fascinated that people were willing to spend more for the convenience of delivered dry cleaning. However, it was only certain people - those with long work commutes. Those who worked local found it unneceessary. 
• The takeaway? Understand who gets meaningful value from what you’re selling, because not everyone will.

Find the people who see meaningful value in what you’re selling.

• Visit targetclientprofile.com to download a free worksheet to identify your target profile client.
• It’s not an ideal client profile; it’s a target profile client. Ideal is who you want to sell to in a perfect world. Target clients are who you can and should sell to today (and any day of the week.)
• Your product won’t be meaningful to everyone. If something is marketed to everyone, it’s marketed to no one. Some people just won’t see value in your product.

Innovation happens everywhere. 

• As long as someone sees value in your innovation, there’s place for it in the market.
• There are always people who are going to compete against you. It’s one of the oldest comparisons you see - salespeople are the athletes of the business world. 
• But one difference completely invalidates the comparison. Professional athletes work behind the scenes to deliver flawless performance. Salespeople, on the other hand, play the game without improving their performance. 

What can you do today to improve your game? 

• It takes the work, research, and tools to be a professional.
• Competition has never been more fierce. And if we’re being honest, the differences between your product and your competition’s product is probably insignificant.
• Despite these more minor differences, how many companies are lowering quotas? None. Salespeople are expected to win at higher rates.
• You have to take a step back and look at every touchpoint in the buyer’s journey to analyze where you can outsmart and outsell a competitor. (Which is exactly what Lee discusses in his book.)

Lee’s major takeaway? Don’t just sell; sell differently. Look at your touchpoints, discovery meetings, customer service, and every aspect of your sales practice to identify what you can do differently. To stay up-to-date on Lee’s content and practice, follow him on LinkedIn. Read the first chapter of his new book for free at selldifferentbook.com

This episode is brought to you in part by Skipio.

Are you sick of crickets? As a salesperson, the pain of reaching out with phone calls or emails and not receiving a response is real.

But all text messaging is not created equal. 85% of people prefer text over email and phone calls because they want to engage in a conversation, not listen to bots. Be more like people and start having conversations that end in the conversions you want. Try Skipio at www.Skipio.com.

This episode is brought to you in part by mParticle.

Are you tired of wading through thousands of open sales positions to find the one perfect for you? Well, look no further. mParticle is one of the leading independent customer data platforms out there, and they’re looking for motivated remote sellers (just like yourself.) 

With top-name clients from Spotify and Burger King to Airbnb, we don’t want you to let this opportunity go to waste! For more information and to view open positions, go to https://www.mparticle.com/careers/.

This course is brought to you in part by the TSE Sales Certified Training Program, designed to help new and struggling sellers master sales fundamentals and close more deals. Help elevate your sales game and sign up now to get the first two modules free! You can visit www.thesalesevangelist.com/closemoredeals or call (561) 570-5077 for more information. We value your opinion and always want to improve the quality of our show. Complete our two-minute survey here: thesalesevangelist.com/survey.

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Audio provided by Free SFX and Bensound. Other songs used in the episodes are as follows: The Organ Grinder written by Bradley Jay Hill, performed by Bright Seed, and Produced by Brightseed and Hill.

Mentioned in this episode:

HubSpot and bluëmago | STUDIOS

HubSpot and bluëmago | STUDIOS hubpspot.com/marketers bluemangostudios.com