Prospects and
Predictability
I think every salesperson who has more than a year or so of B2B experience under his belt has a similar story to tell – you put in a lot of time on a “prospect,” showing them a better way to do something, and when it came time to make the decision, instead of being rewarded for your efforts, the established vendor was given preferential treatment. In some
cases, they are provided with a copy of your work, in others, they are just asked to deliver something similar, or match your price. It just doesn’t seem fair. And, yet, it is so common as to be predictable.
When all four of those factors are at play in a situation, you almost never get an equal chance at the business.
The Customer’s Perspective
Let’s look at the situation from the customer’s point of view. From his perspective, giving your information to the established vendor is a wise choice. They don’t have any real experience with you, so deciding to do business with you is always a higher risk. They know the current vendor. They have a history together. They know how that vendor will react if something goes wrong.
Think about what happens to that purchasing agent or decision-maker if he decides to take a chance with a company he doesn’t know, with whom he has no personal experience, and you don’t perform? It could mean his job. So, while your work may have been helpful, and your proposal creative and insightful, you are still the high-risk choice. This is particularly true if it is a ... READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE