You are probably wondering why any sales coach would tell you to finish second to the competition!  The truth is that you should always be looking to win the sale.  At the same time, the reality is that sometimes you aren’t going to make the sale – at least right away.  And, when that is the case, you want to position yourself as #2.  You may be wondering why you would want to do this. 

The answer to this question is apparent in something that just happened this week in my neighborhood.  Cheetah Gym, a successful chain of gyms in Chicago, suddenly closed their doors this week.  X-Sport, one of the competitors to Cheetah, quickly positioned their sales team outside of all the Cheetah Gym locations, and was signing up disgruntled Cheetah Gym members right in front of their closed doors!  This was a smart move on their part, and a great example of positioning yourself as #2.  Here are some keys to make this strategy successful:

Know Your Competition 

When you know your competition, you can point out your strengths and their weaknesses to your prospects.  By doing this, you are positioning yourself for the future, even if you lose the sale.  In my experience, your competition will eventually trip up, and then you can move in if you have positioned yourself properly.   

For example, if you know that your competition has a poor on-time delivery record, and you lose the sale on price but have positioned yourself properly, who do you think they are going to call to clean up the mess when your competition fails to deliver on time?  Yep, that’s right…you! 

Plant The Seed 

When you lose a sale, plant the seed with your prospect that if anything happens that they aren’t satisfied with, you will be glad to help them out of a bind.  Think of this as being their “insurance policy”.  By doing this, you are laying the ground work for future business, and planting a seed that will eventually be fruitful. 

Build A Relationship 

Look at your prospects as long term opportunities, and continue to follow up with them on a regular basis.  Even if they aren’t using your product or service, taking the extra time to do this will help you to build trust, something that will come in very handy when your competition screws up down the line. By positioning yourself as #2, you are creating additional future opportunities for yourself that will eventually come to fruition over time!  

Happy Selling!

Tom Kelly is a Profession Business Coach that specializes in working with small business owners, entrepreneurs, and salespeople. He can be reached at (773) 907-0921, or at www.potentialinmotion.com.