Why You Need a Sales Positioning Framework
If your sales teams are struggling, investigate three critical aspects of their sales positioning framework.
- Market Position
- Ideal Customer Profile
- Value Proposition
A framework that helps you hit your revenue target consistently always includes the above elements. Specifically, you need to understand your market position, identify your ideal customer, and define the right value proposition.
Let’s explore each of these actions in more detail.
Understand Your Market Position
Your market position is where your product or offering fits into the market landscape.
Understanding your market position is powerful because it helps you understand where to focus your sales and marketing efforts, and what language to use. Take a look at two things to define your positioning.
First, investigate your market. These are the companies you’d most like to become your customers. I shouldn’t have to say this, but your market is not “everyone.” If you’re trying to define your market as all companies in all industries across all territories, you’re thinking too broadly to be useful. What you want to do is carve out a niche where you can build a loyal following.
- The market
- Your competitors
Of course, your product can be purchased by anyone who wants it, but you most likely have a niche where your product fit is best. So, look for a space where the people who would most benefit from or appreciate your product fit. That’s who you’re selling to.
When defining your market, think about which companies would find your offering appealing. From the perspective of your customer, you might be any one of the following:
- the economical choice
- the sustainable choice
- the tried and true choice
- the cutting-edge choice
- the simple solution
- the one with the most bells and whistles
Alternatively, you might align with your market around values or something else. Understand why you’re appealing, and make sure your messaging speaks to whatever your segment of the market values most.
Next, look at the competition. How are they positioned? What segment of the market are they going after? Your best bet is to find a space where your competitors are or aren’t successful and own it.
For example, maybe your competitors have all the bells and whistles and want to sell to enterprise companies. Maybe your product is simpler, less expensive and a better fit for small businesses or startups. Know your space and message so they hear you loud and clear. Position yourself so that the segment of the market relates to you.
Identify Your Ideal Customer Profile
Many sales teams run into trouble because they have little to no idea who their ideal customer is. This is a problem because the better the fit between your company and product and the customer, the shorter the sales cycle, the longer the customer relationship, and the easier the relationship. All of those things add to the bottom line (and help keep your sales team from struggling).
Demographics include elements like company size, industry, geography, and revenue. Technology systems that connect with your product or service might also fit into this category. Who their clients are might matter. Client or staff turnover might be an important consideration.
Whatever it is, demographics are facts or measurements. Within the slice of the market, you are going after, you can narrow to the ones that will fit best.
Psychographics aren’t as easy to measure. They often refer to attitudes. These could include their ideas about how they treat clients and vendors. Ask yourself the following questions about what kind of customers you’d ideally love to work with:
Focus on selling to clients that are the best fit for your product. When you state your value proposition, your solution should be the best fit for those people/companies.
To determine your ideal customers, look at two things: demographics and psychographics.
Demographics include elements like company size, industry, geography, and revenue. Technology systems that connect with your product or service might also fit into this category. Who their clients are might matter. Client or staff turnover might be an important consideration.
Whatever it is, demographics are facts or measurements. Within the slice of the market, you are going after, you can narrow to the ones that will fit best.
Psychographics aren’t as easy to measure. They often refer to attitudes. These could include their ideas about how they treat clients and vendors. Ask yourself the following questions about what kind of customers you’d ideally love to work with:
These things you often don’t find out until you start asking questions and begin the sales process. Other things are easier to find. Their advertising, website, and strategic plans will convey their values, for example. The company initiatives will tell you what is important to them.
- Do they pay bills on time?
- Do they partner with their clients and vendors?
- Do the people that work there have integrity?
- Are they just interested in the lowest price or are they looking for the best solution?
- Do they blame past vendors for all the problems they had without taking any responsibility for their own role in the relationship?
Focus on selling to clients that are the best fit for your product. When you state your value proposition, your solution should be the best fit for those people/companies.
Unless you have an enormous marketing budget, you can’t afford to market to everyone, so you need to focus on the slice of the market where you are best positioned and are the most likely to be successful and have profitable relationships.
Define the Right Value Proposition
Many of the sales and marketing teams we’ve worked with rely on value propositions that clearly don’t resonate with the market. If your value prop flops (note: publish article and link to it from here) routinely, you need to take some time to reevaluate and figure out why it’s not helping you engage with the market.
Your value proposition starts with your customer and ends with your solution. It encapsulates what makes your company and offering unique and valuable.
The problem is that most sellers start with their benefits and then try to find a problem. To build an effective value proposition that will motivate your buyers to act, start by focusing on their problems, and couch it in their language.
After you make that connection, you can move to how you solve the problem and why your offering is the best solution for that customer. Most sellers assume they understand the problems of customers, when in fact they’re off base. Do some research to confirm your assumptions about customer problems are on target.
Value propositions are powerful tools when designed and delivered with the customer at the core.
Conclusion
It takes a lot of effort, but once you know, and communicate with your sales team, your market, ideal customer profile, and value proposition, you’re far less likely to struggle with revenue. And wouldn’t that be a better way to run your business?
Want to create a kick-ass sales strategy?
Book a 30-minute strategy call today!
For more great articles, sign up for our newsletter!