Anthony Iannarino: Displacing Your Incumbent Competition

 

"If you don't like change you are going like irrelevance even less" - Eric Shinsake

#AnthonyIannarino is the author of 3 best selling books #TheOnlySalesGuideYoullEverNeed #TheLostArtOfClosing and #EatTheirLunch. He is also author of TheSalesBlog. Anthony speaks a world of uncommon sense.

We discuss the many and significant shortcomings of many modern sellers who are well intentioned but misdirected. At 25, Anthony experienced a serious illness that prevented him from driving for over 2 years which gave him time to study everything he could about selling and sales.

His book "Eat Their Lunch" is a masterpiece for every salesperson who occupies a place in a crowded, competitive, commoditised market and wants to displace incumbent competitors. 

Anthony discusses the importance of uncovering what your customer values and shows you how to elevate your selling significantly so you engage  with them where they are. His message pares away the distractions salespeople create to have conversations with prospects about the implications of not changing. The prospecting cadence he describes is elegantly simple and effective to help you break into accounts so you can displace incumbents.

He describes the signs which make accounts ripe for displacement:

• Complacency
• Entitlement
• Apathy
• Lack of communication
• Systematic misunderstanding
• Unaddressed systemic challenges

We talk about how you earn the position of a genuine trusted advisor. You build trust and you offer good, relevant advice. You have to be interesting, think deeply, well-read and capable of being a trusted advisor. He discusses how to help the individual salesperson perform better in front of the customer, when it really matters.

This is a genuinely important conversation with a master of what works sustainably in the real world of competitive selling. Lack of accountability and consequences are at the root cause of non-performance of individuals and businesses. Take personal responsibility for your own learning.

As managers you must be willing to enforce learning and study as part of every salesperson's role or you deserve what you tolerate. Use the resources available to you to help your team improve. Build a culture of learning, of accountability, of personal responsibility, eliminate excuses and stop tolerating low standards of personal performance. Impose your will on the outcome that is needed.

"Stop focusing on measuring lagging indicators. They are an autopsy" - Anthony Iannarino

Focus behaviour on what matters. Measure that. Do your research. Make sure your salespeople do their research. Be better informed than your competition. Be better informed than your prospects so that you can help them understand why and how they need to change. Ensure your salespeople are planning, well organised, rigorous in their productive behaviours making more time available for selling, disciplined about prospecting because they only have 2 functions - create opportunities or advance opportunities towards a decision.

Connect with Anthony on LinkedIn

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If you are the owner or CEO of a technology company in the £10m-50m revenue range, and your goal is to grow your business and achieve real, sustainable hypergrowth with highly engaged and highly productive employees and clients who stick with you year after year, let’s schedule time for a brief conversation.

To book a 1 to 1 with me or check out my 250+ podcast interviews with some of the best salespeople, sales leaders, sales psychologists, founders and entrepreneurs, trainers, coaches and authors click here - https://linktr.ee/marcuscauchi

 

And if you want to become part of our global community #SalesAForceForGood #SAFFG, please DM me on LinkedIn or email me at marcus@laughs-last.com. You can track down events and posts by following the hashtag #ProCustomer #BuyerSafety