To scare the bear away, make loud noises by yelling, banging pots and pans or using an airhorn. Make yourself look as big as possible by waving your arms. If you are with someone else, stand close together with your arms raised above your head
👀😳 Ever wondered how companies like Salesforce and HubSpot consistently dominate the SaaS landscape? It’s not just about having a great product. 👀📊 They have also built a great ecosystem of growth around themselves that continues to gain strength over time. 📊So you are not as big as they are yet,😎 there are many ways to make yourself look bigger than you areand take up space in the hearts and mind of customers ❤️(Because that’s really where the sales happen ✍🏼)
Read on!
Name 3 top sales CRM platforms, and somewhere between number 1 – 5 you’ll find Salesforce and hubspot. At the same time, when was the last time you received a cold outreach from a sales rep or exec from either of these company’s? Both at different levels, have invested significantly in developing both supply and demand side channel capabilities that are difficult, costly to copy or gain strength over than.
Some examples:
- Certifications and training programs
- Community events virtual and onsite
- Active social media interactions
- Developer technology marketplace
In technology startups sometimes the product team ends up with a tool stack and technology choices that are difficult to find talents for, e.g ruby on rails, something hyper specialized. These companies are the opposite of that, the visibility and engagement with them is deeply embedded across the buyer journey, easy for anyone at beginning and expert level to interface with their product, community and offerings.
To compete at this level, you WILL need more than a superior product and pricing, you will also be competing against this marmot network and channel of excellence they built.
Tips to take away
- Find your moments of impact, Apple knows that, getting students to buy their product, even at significant discount offers a lifetime value beyond imaginations. For example if a person buys an apple product in high school or at the start of Uni, there is a high chance they will use it all of their adult life and so will their children. So Apple could even afford to give those macs for free if they wanted to and the lifetime value will still be outstanding. What is that moment for you? Or it might be, which communities hold that moment of impact? Universities, communities of knowledge e.t.c Build your awareness there.
- Find your tools of impact. Amazon famously offers starting cash to independent delivery contractors. Or offering tools and guidance to self publishing for next to nothing, to grow their ebook offerings, now they have included editing, publishing, manufacturing and distribution, the number 1 spot for any non agency backed publisher. Including the famous 50 shades series and The Martian.
The future is never what it used to be. It now involves rivalry between channel systems, not only between individual firms. Competing with Amazon means competing with that supply and distribution chain, not just price and product on a web site. HBR
There is a whole ecosystem that exists around your product and services, it provides an opportunity to be exploited for better competitive advantage and growth. With a more expanded mid to long term view, wins abound for the courageous and consistent.
