2. “Follow the Herd”
Typical Marketing Scenario: Your marketing starts with something like “We’re your local Microsoft partner.” Well that’s good, but probably only the baseline of a customer’s requirements. It doesn’t narrow the field down nearly enough. You have a LOT of competition, and it’s probably hard to win business without lowering your price. For example, if you sell Microsoft CRM with the typical “know your customers” type of messaging, you can be guaranteed of getting into a pricing war with the reseller down the street. But if you sell Microsoft CRM and can also offer a deep knowledge of real estate brokerage companies, you’ll win more deals and protect your margins.
Solution: You need to break away from the herd. Strategize to find a niche. Value proposition comes through your company’s domain expertise, which should be a seamless transition from sales to your professional services group. You can have multiple domains of expertise - but don’t spread yourself too thin, or your messaging won’t be credible. By developing a niche, your team can repeat what they’ve already learned, reducing the learning curve and bringing in more valuable billable hours. At the same time, you’ll build your reputation as a “go-to” industry leader, and will be brought into more deals from the outset.
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