There is something better than leads. In some industries, you are better off with a strategy built on a list of targets. These targets will not need to be qualified because you know they already buy what you sell, even though they are currently buying from one of your competitors. This is something we describe as a competitive displacement, a nicer way of saying "stealing your competitor's client." If this strikes you as aggressive, know that your competitors are trying to steal your clients away.
Instead of waiting for inbound marketing to develop a list of people who visited your website and provided their name, title, and their email, in competitive displacement you build a plan to pursue the target companies you know are worth your time and effort. You are more likely to succeed by calling on the large companies that spend a large amount of money on what you sell.
How to Determine Your Strategic Targets for Competitive Displacement
One of the best things you can do is to spend time determining the strategic targets you believe will benefit from what you do, and how you do things differently than your competitors. The easiest way to determine your targets is to start with the largest companies that spend money on what you sell. You don't need to qualify the targets, as they are more than qualified.
There is no reason to do anything more than ranking the potential clients based on your estimate of how much they will spend, with the largest spend at the top of the list. Aim to have 60 company names on your list. By starting at the top and working your way through the highly qualified companies, you will determine which of these companies are open to a conversation. Some of the companies on the list you built will not take a meeting, believing they have the partner they need. But over time, every client will become dissatisfied and start looking for help.
Effective Strategies for Getting Your Target's Attention and Securing Meetings
Because your targets already have a supplier, you are going to need to capture their attention. One of our sales methodologies would have you trade value for your contact's time, something we do using an executive briefing. This briefing is designed to start a conversation about the headwinds in their industry, and begin with "why change" instead of "why us."
If you can meet with a person we call the CEO of the problem, that is helpful. Even though this person isn't the company CEO, they could make the changes necessary, as they pertain to the decision, to ensure they are able to execute and produce the results for which they are responsible.
But you may benefit from meeting with a person who isn't a decision maker. This person may meet with you because they are unhappy with their current provider. Even though the senior leadership loves the incumbent, it is often true that someone is unhappy with your competitor and is interested in learning what you will do differently.
One of the benefits of coming in lower on the company's organizational chart is that you will show up knowing what their team is struggling with regarding your competitor. These contacts will be candid about what they need to change, making it easier for you to address the challenges they are already experiencing.
Proven Techniques for Moving Up the Organizational Chart and Gaining Support
You will need to move up the organizational chart, meeting with contacts who can make a significant change. If you have spent time building consensus with the people who are trying to improve their results, you may have enough support that they will put pressure on their leadership to make the change. Given a long enough timeline, all your targets will make a change.
You are far better off pursuing these strategic targets than waiting for them to make a change. By continuously pursuing them, the contacts you have been able to meet will already know you, giving you a better chance to be considered as they start to pursue a change initiative.
Why Leads Are Problematic Compared to Strategic Targets
The problem with leads is that, because the contact willingly gave up their information to acquire some asset, you have less information than when you are working on strategic targets. You don't know if the person was trying to learn about something they were interested in or if they are simply trying to find an answer to a question. You may also have to qualify the lead because the contact’s click doesn’t tell you much at all.
That said, there is no reason not to call every lead, but only after you do the work to book meetings with your targets. The number 60 is not random. You can call three targets at the start of each day. Over the course of a week, you will communicate with 15 strategic targets. Continue this for four weeks, and you will have reached out to all 60 of your targets.
A Note to the Sales Leader: Implementing a Target-Based Sales Strategy
If you are a sales leader, the first thing you should do after reading this strategy is to ensure your team builds a list of 60 targets. Or, if you can, you can build the list for your team and guide them in an approach that will help them book a first meeting with a contact. You may need B2B sales training and a methodology that enables a competitive displacement to execute this sales approach.
Targets are far more valuable than most leads. The more your sales team focuses on their targets, the more certain you can be that your team is doing the right work. By prioritizing the high-value clients, you are also improving your deal size. Do good work, and if you need help, reach out here.
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