\u201cSo, what\u2019s your story?\u201d, I was once asked at a cocktail party. Finding your story and telling it in a concise, uniform way can be the difference between good and great. It all starts with properly identifying your core differentiators then building your story from there. Once you\u2019ve properly gone through the process, the next time someone ask you, \u201cHow is your company different?\u201d you\u2019ll begin to salivate as you\u2019ll be able to answer in a succinct, memorable, and powerful way.<\/p>\r\n Kerry Boudreaux is Senior Vice President of Sales for FourthSquare. With over 30 years of sales and sales leadership experience, he offers practical sales and organizational messaging advise across public and private sectors.<\/em><\/p>\r\n\n
You may not know it, but in business, you and your organization are being asked that exact same question every single day. The question is, are you telling them a compelling story which is powerful and memorable or do you answer it like everyone else does?
\u201cWe were founded in\u2026.\u201d
\u201cWe\u2019re headquartered in\u2026\u201d
\u201cWe have(insert #)employees and have (insert #) locations\u2026
One of the best ways to find and develop your story is to determine your core differentiators. When I say core, I mean the 2-3 differentiators that set you apart from your competitors. It is upon these differentiators that your organization\u2019s story will be built and told. Below are the three elements of determining your core differentiators.
Step 1. Identify what makes your organization unique.<\/strong>\u00a0If you\u2019re organization and\/or its products have a feature or functionality that no one else has, then you are in rare air. Exploit it until somebody catches up to you! Otherwise, what you will be looking for are those features, functionality, and services where you perform better than your competition.
Step 2. Do the differentiators matter to the customer?<\/strong>\u00a0If the differentiator doesn\u2019t matter to the customer, why take the time to talk about it? I\u2019ve sat through presentations where the salesman touts their system does this or that only for the prospect to say, \u201cGee, we don\u2019t need it to do any of those \u201cthis or thats.\u201d In order for it to be a core differentiator, it must be important to the customer; it must matter to them.
Step 3. Can your differentiators be defended?<\/strong>\u00a0We\u2019ve all seen pitches on TV making wild claims about the product and we ask ourselves, \u201cWow, can that be true?\u201d If you can\u2019t back up your differentiators with test results, customer testimonials, references, etc., then its perilous to make the claim that it\u2019s a differentiator.
So, what\u2019s the why behind the what here? There\u2019s one reason\u2026memorability.
Conversations \u201cwithin the building\u201d among your project stakeholders are happening, pre-sale, about which vendor to choose. You want them to be able to easily and succinctly explain your differentiators. Additionally,(if you\u2019re fortunate to win the deal) after the sale, conversations are happening \u201coutside of the building\u201d about why they chose you! People love to share why they made an all-important decision. You need them to have an easy to remember, clear and succinct story to tell about why the chose you.
Pro tips:<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n