When you talk about all-time comebacks, chances are your mind immediately goes to sports. The 2004 Boston Red Sox, the Patriots overcoming a 28-3 deficit in the Super Bowl, the list goes on and on. 

Manufacturing is currently in the midst of one of the greatest comebacks we have ever witnessed, coming off the heels of COVID-19. So sales teams should be closing out business like the 90s Chicago Bulls – right?

The truth is that sales teams across the manufacturing industry are facing many of the same challenges as other industries. The digital transformation has done wonders for the production line, but it has complicated the sales process, leaving more and more sales reps missing their mark and failing to close business.

Big Challenges in Manufacturing Sales

The globalization of the economy has led to increased competition in the manufacturing sector. Salespeople are facing new market challenges and are struggling to adapt. As sales leaders, it is important to understand the components and how they alter the sales process.

Increased competition has inevitably led to pricing pressure. Although common in sales, new competition – some of which you may not even be aware of – is now knocking on your customer’s door. While this is great for customers, it can quickly lead to a bidding war and a race to the lowest price.

On a smaller scale, this would be a small hurdle, as sales reps shouldn’t be leading with price in the first place. Due to global competition, the molehill can turn into a mountain if not approached with the right sales strategy.

New market entrants pop up every day it seems, whether it be through organic growth or through corporate acquisition. While the sheer volume of commoditized goods continues to grow, so does the competition that sales reps face on a daily basis.

Sales teams that stick with a price-only focus are almost guaranteed to be undercut and lose business opportunities. So what can be done? How do you right the ship?

Manufacturing and Industrial Sales Training

For years, sales has been about improvising, adapting to the situation, and overcoming objections. With increased pressure, more informed buyers, and a rapidly changing sales landscape, a new approach is needed. 

Engage Early in the Buying Process

Whatever team you’re leading, good prospecting is critical for your team to reach its sales goals. The challenge for many sales leaders is training their team on how to engage before the buying process has even begun.

As we have already discussed, increased competition means coming into the conversation once the buying process has started will create additional hurdles for salespeople. When this happens, it can be easy for sales reps to fall back on pricing as their only value proposition. The cycle can be vicious but isn’t impossible to break.

Those that are able to get in front of the right prospects before the RFP process begins, will have an opportunity to create more value and increase the likelihood of closing business on a consistent basis.

Other-Centered® Selling

So how can your team get ahead of the curve? Imagine your prospect at their desk. Behind them on the wall is a whiteboard with all of their current challenges. Each whiteboard is different, even if some commonalities exist. Understanding what is on each prospect’s whiteboard is the key to gaining access and generating meaningful conversations. 

Where many sales reps go wrong is in only focusing on their solution, instead of discussing what the prospect is working on, what challenges they are facing, or what they care about. We refer to this as being Other-Centered®.

C-level executives are constantly being barraged with emails about the next great product, whether there is a need or not. Instead of reps trying to push a square peg through a round hole, have them lead with the things that are most relevant to the prospect.

Be Consistent AND Flexible

The challenge for most salespeople is that being Other-Centered is a mindset. They have to consciously make the decision every time they engage the customer to place the customer’s needs above their own desire to make money.

Adopting an Other-Centered mindset requires consistency. The moment the salesperson reverts back to chasing their own ambition or need to close the deal at all costs, it degrades trust and can quickly derail any progress made in the sales process.

As the deal moves forward, flexibility may be needed as priorities change. Those that are able to remain Other-Centered will find it easier to build trust with prospects and closing business will simply become a byproduct of the salesperson’s investment in sales integrity.

Compete on Value

No one in sales likes to have their deal undercut because of pricing, but it is the sales reps that focus on price as the only value that has this happen on a regular basis. Pricing pressure is a direct result of the salesperson’s need to close business. They focus on cutting costs or making concessions rather than focusing on added value, and in the end, it has the inverse effect on the entire sales process.

From a prospect’s point of view, the original price was nothing more than an attempt by a sales rep to reach their quota or earn a larger commission. The salesperson is thinking about themself, so why shouldn’t the prospect? 

To overcome pricing pressure, have your sales team revisit each prospect’s whiteboard. This is where added value lives and breathes. If there isn’t any additional value that can be added, your product may not be the best fit for the prospect.

Skillful Negotiations

Negotiations begin from the initial engagement with a prospect and a continuously evolving process. Your sales leaders have been trained to put sales into stages for easier management. While this may work from a metrics standpoint, it can be detrimental to creating a successful sales team.

Viewing negotiations as a step in the process is short-sighted. It assumes that you will climb that step once it has been reached and that it doesn’t have to be conquered a second time. Very few deals are closed without taking a step forward only to take one or two steps back.

For many sales reps the constant back and forth causes tension, creating a sales tug-o-war. Neither side wants to Drop the Roped®, but something has to give eventually. The truth is that the prospect will NEVER drop the rope. They will walk away from the deal before it gets to that point. It is up to the salesperson to ease the tension by placing the focus on the customer’s needs. Only then can your reps become masters of negotiating.

Industrial and Manufacturing Sales Training With ASLAN

The competitive landscape of sales in the manufacturing industry shows no signs of easing up in the coming months and years. The sales teams that are able to adjust the way they approach the sales process by becoming Other-Centered will become better equipped to overcome the current challenges and those that will inevitably come to light in the future.

At ASLAN, we believe that the right mindset can propel any sales organization to great heights. To learn more about creating an Other-Centered sales team schedule your consultation today.