This article was originally written for NACE.
As prospective clients navigate the research stage of the vendor selection process, they are actively comparing your company to those of your competitors. They are looking at several factors, but most importantly, they want to know who will best suit their needs.
In order to overcome your competition, you need to focus on selling painkillers. What does that mean, exactly?
Let me explain the difference between painkillers and vitamins.
Vitamins are those features that meet a client’s expectations and keep them feeling content with your services. They create the baseline for what should be presented. A customer will expect you to have vitamins, whether that’s timely communication or high-quality service.
A painkiller, on the other hand, is where you can take the client experience above and beyond expectations. It improves and enhances how a client feels by providing them with additional value for their dollar. This could be an extra service that saves them time or an add-on product that increases value without affecting their budget.