Firstly no one can argue with the proposition that cash stability for any business is essential. Cash losses need to be stopped. However it is vital that management quickly define their unique space. Stuck in the middle of the envelope with no clear definition of who you are is risky not safe. Carbonite are growing very fast because they have defined a clear identity in prospects heads. Automatic efficient back up of your hard drives – because your life is on your computer. The web, blogs, all social networks cry out for tags to describe yourself. The whole search engine industry is saying — please define yourself very carefully because we can then send lots of pre-qualified prospects your way.
EBay, Pacific Sunwear, Abercrombie, American Eagle, News Corp, Sara Lee all announced repositioning actions last week. Defining your unique market allows you to consider strategies to dominate it. Play by your rules. Why play by a competitor’s set of rules? Sales and marketing campaigns, speeches, white papers are all so much easier to execute when you know who you are! The acquisition of new talent and the motivation of existing talent is certainly easier with a clear compelling story. Product road maps have a driving vision. Best of all, sales conversations have greater traction.
The most compelling sales conversations that create action in a prospects head (yes even in this economy) are those that address one clear thing — improved performance of your prospect’s business. Think of it as your client’s client. How will your product allow your client to perform better for their client. To even begin to think with that level of clarity requires management to define who they are. Of course when sales start to get traction please reinforce again and again who you are.
The next five years are a great opportunity for companies to stake out their unique market, claim their space and work tirelessly to open huge gaps on the competition and emerge out of this recession, a world class, high growth, remarkable business.
