(This post is the second in a three-part series about creating compelling sales messages.)

In my post last week, we began a journey to craft a sales message that can move customer conversations beyond price and position the buying decision in favor of your solution as a supplier.

To recap, the Council suggests using a 3-step process to create this kind of sales message: 1) Challenge Assumptions, 2) Brainstorm Organizational Competencies, and 3) Identify Your Differentiators.

While last week’s post focused on Step 1 of the process, in this post, let’s talk about the second step – brainstorming organizational competencies.  Here, the purpose is to gather relevant competencies (or core company strengths) that are validated by business data and personal experience. The desired outcome is a comprehensive understanding of your organization’s competencies and supporting facts.

What you want to do is build consensus around your internal competencies before considering customer needs or the competition. This sequencing helps you find the value in what you do best and take vague value statements and mold them into a refined list of true company competencies.  

In order to get clarity around your organization’s competencies, you’ll want to conduct an Internal Competency Exercise.  Again, our suggestion is to get key senior sales executives, a few high performing front line managers & sales reps, marketing folks, finance folks (anyone that would and should have a say in this matter) in a room, and work to conclusion on the following activities:

Activity #1: Learn from Our Past

Activity #2: Break-out Competency Ranking

Activity #3: Defining Competency Components

Activity #4: Competency Articulation and Testing Exercise

SEC Members, access our resources on conducting an internal competency exercise. This guide gives instructions for each of the key activities listed above and provides facilitation questions for each step.

Conducting this exercise is critical because it helps you clarify ambiguous competencies by defining their component parts such as a process, skill, technology, value, or asset.

During this stage of the sales message process, you’ll also want to avoid some common pitfalls by identifying the following things as competencies:

• Internal distinctions that are imperceptible to outsiders
• Product features that can be easily replicated by competitors
• A new identity that abandons legacy in favor of a trend
• Generic attributes that can be claimed by anyone, including “green,” “values-led,” “customer-centric,” or “innovative”

In my next post, I’ll address the activities associated with the third step: Identify Your Differentiators.

In the meantime, check out how Volvo used this process to create a sales message that reduced their sales cycle length by 30%.

Related posts:

1. Move Customer Conversations Beyond Price With These 3 Steps
2. Creatively Using Price to Move Beyond Price
3. Want to Eliminate a Price War? Eliminate Your Competition.
4. Being Unique Only Gets You So Far
5. The 3 Things Your Pitch Deck Should Claim (If They’re Actually True)