4 Simple Ways to Differentiate Your Business from the Competition
In this post, Program on Persuasion details how to differentiate your business from the competition in the four most dependable ways.
Storytelling in Sales Presentations
Selling through storytelling engages your audience, and by utilizing storytelling sales techniques in your presentation, you can craft a story that resonates. When you take your prospect on an emotional journey, they can see the outcome of their decision to go with your company.
According to Storytelling vs. Story Selling, a good business story should answer yes to the following questions:
- Did the story make the prospect think about their process?
- Did it help them view their problem in a new light?
- Will they share this story with their peers?
In addition, when your buyer hears a story, the tendency is to put themselves into that story. The trick is to make sure that your prospect is the good-guy, and you haven’t positioned the company as the hero, instead.
You want the buyer to feel the victory. When you know your audience, the message will resonate.
Third-Party Validation
Third-party validation in the business presentation is essentially a business referral. When other buyers have experienced success with you, utilize their endorsement. This will remove the risk for prospects who are still qualifying you.
The more similar the prospect’s situation is to that of the company validating you, the better.
Why is Transparency Important in Business?
When someone confesses a weakness, we tend to do think of that person as having integrity. When we are the ones who confess that weakness, we also better position ourselves to recast the weakness as a potential strength. Doing so not only requires the confession, but utilizes an urgency developing tactic, Reframing the Conversation.
This article from Entrepreneur magazine supports the idea of transparency in the business relationship,
If people come to trust you and your company through transparency, they’ll be far more forgiving when you explain why something didn’t work or when you make a mistake. Don’t be afraid to experiment with transparency and look for innovative ways to develop a deeper, trust-building dialogue with your customers.
For a perfect example, consider Ronald Reagan’s response to a question asked in the Presidential debate. The interviewer asked Reagan (73, at the time) if age should be considered in the Presidential race. He famously responded, “I want you to know that also I will not make age an issue of this campaign. I am not going to exploit, for political purposes, my opponent’s youth and inexperience.”
In this example, we can see how reframing a potential weakness can have dramatic and positive repercussions.
Contrast Your Claims: The Twelfth Trigger
If you do not learn how to differentiate yourself in sales, then you are selling just as much for your competitors as you are for yourself. In order to be persuasive for your company only, you must create a sharp contrast between your solution and all others.
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