June 20

Exploit Your Competitor’s Weaknesses

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There are certain things which your competitors purposefully avoid covering because it weakens their offering.

By refocusing attention and avoiding them they stand a much better chance of winning a deal.

So wouldn't it be a shame if you set about changing that? 🙂

Episode Transcript - CLICK HERE

There are certain things which your competitors purposefully avoid covering because it weakens their offering by refocusing attention and avoiding them they stand a much better chance of winning a deal. So wouldn't it be a shame if you set about changing that?

Hello and welcome to w clients with case studies. So this week on the show, we are going to be engaging into what you might call a spot of professional mischief making you see normally in B2B, everything's very prim and proper, and everyone just focuses nicely on their features and benefits, but who says you have to play fair all the time. Now, when I say that, I don't mean trashing your competitors because trashing your competitors based on what they do and their product is is just poor effort. As it comes from a position of weakness, but that's not to say that you can't strategically highlight and make a point of talking and covering that, which your competitors would really like you didn't because they know it's one of, one of several potentially areas of weakness for their product. And if you were to set about highlighting these areas in which they lack, and essentially put buyers at a potential risk of loss or not as performing as well as they might otherwise do, say, for example, as with your product or service, then if those talking points are covered and made more of a thing of, then buyers will then see your competitor's offering in a completely different light and score them negatively as a result.

So if that sounds like something you'd be up for and interested in, then let's get to it in this Week's Win Clients With Case Studies

Make winning new clients easier, faster and more certain.

So here we are with episode four of the show, and if you've been following me for any length of time, now you hopefully will have heard me really try and drive home. The concept that the real power that underlines everything with case studies is that they're primarily an education resource and their power within that comes from the fact that buyers are actively seeking education resources to help them develop their understanding of the problem or need that they're up against. And with that their mission to arrive at an educated and informed purchase decision. And it's because they're actively looking for education resources when they come across a case study, which is a true case study that in turn provides educational value. They absorb everything that is covered within it because it's not coming across as promotional that it's there to help them learn. So this is why the central theme of today's show which is all all about shining a light on the areas, which your competitors potentially exposed buyers to risk or not delivering as, as good an end result as your product or service might.

This is why us taking this opportunity to shine a light on those weaknesses of your competitors is so, so powerful because it's in an educational frame and we're doing it through a true case study. So with the mission now clearly establish that. So we want to make a point of in the case study, focusing and talking about all of the areas, which your competitors lack. The obvious question now is how do you set em out actually doing that? Now this is when we bring in your sales team. And and sure enough this process of getting their help with this is very much a fun one, because when we set about asking your sales team about all of the areas, which your competitors lack, and you know, what risks they expose buyers to, they truly do light up when asked this, because this is absolutely their area of expertise.

They know your product or service inside out, and, and they know all of these strengths and weaknesses of your competitors. So even just the opportunity to dive into this and really cover and explain all of the ways in which your competitors potentially lets buyers down is a great exercise. And you know what, it's a really good use of their expertise as well. When I said about redeveloping, the way that video case studies are produced, this was actually one of the key elements to it. And that is normally case studies are produced exclusively by marketing teams. And with that, the case studies produced exclusively from the perspective of marketers, but that's then missing out on the other half of the value and insights and professional expertise that your company has to offer because it doesn't specifically include your sales team. So the thing that I absolutely insist on happening is that when we sit down to do a pre-production consultation for a video case study, we have to have someone senior from both sales and marketing to help with this.

And in this case in particular, this is a really good example of why your sales team should be in on that discussion. And in, on that talk because of the significant value that and insights that they can bring to the table that you otherwise wouldn't get. So this is why when we get to getting down on paper, all of the areas in which your competitors lack with the benefit of both sales and marketing's input, this is why we then on course, to be able to produce what can quite easily be described as a perfect case study. The goal of what we are setting about achieving is to create a void or the prospect of pain on the part of the buyer, if it's not dealt with. And as that famous sales adage goes, a sale is made when a problem is solved. So what we are doing right here is making a problem and going to the trouble of educating in more detail, why each of the different areas is a problem.

More likely to be a problem because when your buyer appreciates and understands that you then of course have this void and this pain nicely established during the case study interview, the process I take for this is to guide the guest into talking about these different areas and getting their take and input from what they learned along their own buying journey, how they understand the problem to be of potential impact, and also try and quantify it. I mean, ideally in a monetary capacity. And in fact, when we're able to get a guest to put a finite financial figure on the cost of this particular pain or risk, that from a sales perspective is absolute gold because it's is something which sales professionals refer to as contrast. They contrast the cost of inaction or the, the, the cost of the risk against the price of your product or service.

And when that's done correctly, then the natural takeaway from that is from the buyer's point of view is that, gosh, you know, your product or service is only this, whereas it's helping save me avoid this particular significantly increased cost of pain or penalty should the worst happen. And because we're talking about this in terms of how your competitors potentially going to let them down with this, what the buyer ultimately comes away with is that your competitors are a risk. And with that they then mentally mark them down for their suitability, because they're going to be exposing them to that risk or pain or penalty. Now, I suppose it's only fair to say that not every single case study, would we be able to put a finite financial figure on the risk, which your competitors expose buyers to, but you know, if it's possible, then absolutely we'll go down the road and, and take that.

But if it's more of a soft dollar or harder to quantify area, which they lack, then it still contributes to the same end result. And that is number one, we successfully unsell your competitors as a good choice for provider or partner. Number two, that the whole time in the background we've been lining it up so that you are ultimately seen as the ideal choice to your buyer's problem or need. And the third part, which for my liking is the most magical, wonderful, awesome part of all of this is that with your competitors unsold, you lined up as being the perfect choice, your buyer upon realizing this is then able to have this wonderful epiphany moment where they realize that you are the ideal choice of partner or supplier for their problem or need, and boom, just like that. That is the magical moment when the sale is made.

It really is a wonderful thing to set about selling in this way. And truth be told it's really is some first class marketing that you'll be doing by taking this approach right now. And this really is worth bearing in mind. This whole approach also fits in perfectly with the way that today's B2B buyers want to operate. And that is they really have taken on and set about doing a lot of research in their own time. And just self-serving is the real term of the day. Buyers now have a strong preference to self-serving and doing their own research. So this is why if you can be the one company that provides them with this level of high end educational resource, you will ultimately be stacking the deck massively in your favor, and it will be so much more effective than any corporate promotional video or white paper that you could hope to produce, because the value that your buyers would place on this kind of case study video will end up taking care of a huge amount of the legwork needed to take an initial interest, right?

The way through to the end of the buying cycle, where the sale is made. So there we have it. That's how you set about shining a light on your competitor's weaknesses and in turn engaging in an honest to goodness, spot of professional B2B mischief making for the specific outcome and result of making it so that you are ultimately seen as the ideal choice to your buyer's problem or need, which means we are now, then at the end of episode, number four. Well, I really hope you've got value from this and you've enjoyed it at the same time. So if you'd like to subscribe, you can do that via your favorite podcasting app, alternatively, by visiting the podcast at casestudies.uk that's case studies.uk, where you can sign up by email. And finally, just in case we are not already connected on LinkedIn, then please do send me a connection request. Well, this has been when clients with case studies, I'm James Rostance, and I look forward to joining me on the next one.

Win clients with case studies, subscribe on your podcast app, or sign up at casesstudies.uk, Make winning new clients easier, faster and more soon.


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