In my continuing series on the Sandler Rules, let’s talk about Sandler rule number 35, “If your competition does it, stop doing it right away.”
To me, this post can easily be broken down into one sentence. It’s a quote by Sally Hogshead, who is a New York Times bestselling author and CEO.
She said, “Different is better than better.”
Let’s think about this from a sales perspective.
A traditional salesperson
- Talks about features and benefits
- Talks about themselves
- Doesn’t listen to the prospect
- Pushes to overcome objections
- Pushes for a “yes”
If you’ve read any of my blogs on the Sandler rules, then you’ll know that those are all bad, and since they’re bad you don’t want to be doing them!
Instead, ask questions about
- The prospect, to get better acquainted with them
- The prospect’s problems
- The cost of not fixing the problem
- What fixing the problem would feel like
- Why they want to fix it
If you think about it, most products and services aren’t vastly different from one another. But consider why you buy from the company you do.
Most likely, it’s because of the relationship. So, make the conversation about the prospect, not about you. That’s being different!
The good salesperson has taken the time to get to you know you, sometimes your company, and what will benefit you.
This applies to insurance, auto repair shops, restaurants, salons, and more.
On another level, being different means resisting the urge to throw in value-added services to make themselves sound better than the competition.
Not only is this a violation of Rule 18, “Don’t paint seagulls in your prospect’s picture,” but these are rarely relevant to what the prospect wants!
Instead of trying to be better, aim to be different.
Set yourself apart by focusing on the relationship with the prospect, instead of your company’s features and benefits.
If you feel like you have to do what your competition is doing to survive, here’s one tip for you: Find a way to stand out and do something to be unique within your industry. As David Sandler said, “If you are truly a professional, you will find out what that “something” is – and build it into what you do, day in and day out.”
If you learn anything through this post, I hope it’s this: Don’t do what your competition is doing. Find something different to do, and be the best at it.
