I come originally from the IT industry, working in different management and sales functions. I can’t remember how often I heard “yeah, we lost on price”!
Often, the depth of relationship with different important customer stakeholders was called into question. Why? … Because it’s difficult to help someone to convince themselves of the quality of your products and the price you are asking, if you are not showing an interest in them, their priorities and only want to make the sale and not have in interest in building a solid, trusting and respectful relationship.
Customers are very good at what they do, and they are amazing human beings and need to be understood, valued and respected, much like your employees are very good at what they do. They also need to be understood, respected and valued as individual people, not just resources or functions.
So, I pose the question:
If your competitors have similar products and similar pricing, what differentiates your company from the others?
Your employees contain the answer. Their personalities and abilities to connect and create strong, open as well as long-lasting relationships will be key in winning deals and keeping customers.
