6. Leveraging success from one Industry to Another.
At the moment, your most compelling story may be relevant to only one sector or application. You risk diluting the impact of your story by watering it down to a generic benefit like cost containment.
Often an industry perceives its challenges as unique to their particular circumstances. You may see your relevance more broadly, but remember, relevance is in the eye of the beholder.
If your current credibility story is a specific business challenge, like retaining credit card customers, you may need to first develop success stories within the credit card line of business and find ways to migrate to consumer credit, for example, if your offering relates to financial services.
Once you can demonstrate credibility to consumer credit, you may be able to leverage your relevance to other industries where consumer credit is a line of business such as auto or computer equipment leasing.
Armed with credibility in the leasing business, you may then have proof points that will have weight in the auto and computer manufacturing sectors.
Having a plan for tactical development will spare you the “see what sticks” approach to multiple industries. Knowing the landscape surrounding the Big Game you are tracking means being able to identify the nature of their challenges.
Read their industry journals: follow their thought and opinion leaders. Know which conferences they meet and speak at. A cursory survey of the topics at important conferences or journals can give you clues to the challenges they are facing.
As you become familiar with the landscape your Big Game lives in, your ability to target your message to THEIR concerns will mean more listening from them. If you want to be a Big Game hunter, you need to know where they live, what they eat, who their predators are.
ASK US: “If I have a very specific service, how might I make my offering relevant to another industry?”
cmassociates@sympatico.ca
To learn more about this author, visit Catherine McQuaid's Website.
Like this article? Share it with your friends
 |
Related Articles |
|
An Apprentice Lesson in Leadership
|
| |
Recently on The Apprentice, I had to ask a member of the winning team Kinetic to volunteer to go to the losing team, Arrow.
|
Can Pain Be A Motivator
|
| |
Carol was a new client. She had been looking for a job for several weeks and wasn't having much success. As with most of my clients I asked her to envision herself working in the job she really wanted. As we talked...
|
Winning is for Wimps and Losers
|
| |
People often find themselves looking for the winning scenario for themselves or their businesses. Finding the winning scenario is important for any long-term success. But even better than the winning scenario is the...
|
Get Your Share of Old Business
|
| |
Lets face it...winning new business is fun. Particularly in service firms where there is substantial personal involvement required to gain clients. But the jubilation of landing new accounts often leads to problems....
|
Successful Sales Techniques
|
| |
Sales technique can be improved on almost anyone.
A successful selling technique is based upon three factors: winning attitudes, essential sales skills and the “people skills” upon which the sales skills are bui...
|
|
|
Catherine McQuaid
(Visit Catherine's Website)
CM Associates
do market reconnaissance for companies
wanting to acquire “wish list” new
clients: those in stable sectors, with
lots of ongoing needs.
How to avoid the feast-or-famine cycle of
project-driven assignments?
CM associates conducts new business
outreach:
gathering business intelligence on those
“wish list” new clients
establishing C-level relationships with
those involved in decisions
…all without the cost of face-to-face
meetings.
Simple, database tools, voice, email and
reconnaissance agents are all one needs to
secure stable, enterprise-wide, repeat
engagements.
Reach beyond local markets without leaving
home
|
|
|
Catherine McQuaid's
Complete
List Of
Sales
Articles
|
|
If you enjoyed this article, get Catherine McQuaid's Complete List of Sales Articles For FREE!
|
|
|
|