By Andrew Kent

The BP/Transocean oil eruption has been generating a gusher of environmental news—and regulatory risk for companies—but perhaps an even bigger headline for B2B suppliers is P&G’s new Supplier Environmental Sustainability Scorecard, unveiled last week.  In one year, suppliers’ greenhouse gas emissions, energy usage, and waste disposal will begin to impact their relationships with P&G (you can download the scorecard here).

With the scorecard’s announcement, the world’s largest consumer goods producer joins the world’s largest retailer in forcing suppliers to account for their environmental practices (Walmart is in the process of adopting strict environmental labeling requirements).

The message is clear: the recession did nothing to halt green business’s momentum, and sustainability’s impact on the bottom line will inexorably increase in the coming years.

Fortunately for Sales, this is also an opportunity to generate loyalty—by teaching customers how improving sustainability can improve business results.  Indeed, SEC research shows that the biggest driver of loyalty in B2B relationships is a sales rep’s ability to teach customers about underappreciated opportunities and risks to its business.

Sales can teach customers five basic ways in which sustainability improves business results.  What’s more, each of these five benefits will be more or less relevant for different stakeholders.  Below, you’ll find guidance for reps on how to tailor green/sustainability pitches to individual stakeholders:   Read More »

By Andrew Kent

I recently spoke with a member in the furniture industry who told me, “sustainability is our differentiator.  If our customers know why it’s important to care about green issues, we should win 100% of those deals.”

Until recently, most businesses assumed that being green and making money were diametrically opposed.  Making products more ecologically friendly was seen as a cost, not an opportunity.

Today however, this logic is fast becoming irrelevant.  With permanently higher energy prices, China’s push for clean energy, and growing awareness of the dangers of carbon pollution (such as ocean acidification and global warming), the best companies are recognizing that sustainability and growth go hand-in-hand.  Indeed, many companies we talk to are ramping up their efforts to promote their products as “green.”

Unfortunately, too many companies look at green products through a features and benefits lens.  The standard pitch is, “We’re green, so buy from us!”  That pitch may work if your customers are particularly noble.  But for customers who care only about the bottom line—e.g. most of them—the greenness pitch falls flat.  In today’s intensely cost-obsessed economy, a product’s greenness is rarely enough to make up for the typically higher upfront price.

But this does not mean that green investments are a waste of effort.  On the contrary, it means that Sales has the key role to play in making sure sustainability investments pay off.  Because remember, it’s not what you sell—it’s how you sell. 

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