How to Sell Your Product or Service - Competition and Analysis (Part 4 of 11)

Summary

This module guides on creating a comparative analysis to understand how a product or service is perceived compared to competitors. It instructs to list key features, benefits, and advantages (FBA), and then compare these with top competitors to identify differentiators. The exercise aims to prepare sellers with a strategic approach to highlight unique selling points during customer interactions, providing a sales map to effectively communicate and compete in the market.

Takeaways

• 📝 Conduct a comparative analysis of your product or service with top competitors to understand market positioning.
• 🔍 Identify 2-3 competitors selling similar products or services to your target market.
• 📈 Create a comparative chart listing your company and competitors' features, benefits, and advantages (FBA).
• 🚀 Highlight unique FBAs that your product offers which competitors do not, to differentiate your offering.
• 🛍️ Recognize that customers may already be using or comparing your product to competitors, so be prepared to address this.
• 💡 Use the comparative analysis to adjust your sales strategy and effectively communicate your product's advantages.
• 📝 Memorize key points from the comparative analysis to be able to discuss them confidently with customers.
• 🔑 Understand that differentiation is crucial for customers to see what sets your product apart from the competition.
• 🛑 Keep the comparative analysis as a reference tool, not necessarily to be shown to customers, but to guide your sales approach.
• 📚 Complete the exercise of creating a comparative analysis and incorporate it into your sales presentations for a strategic advantage.

Q & A

What is the main focus of the module discussed in the transcript?

The main focus of the module is to teach how to create a comparative analysis of a product or service by listing its features, benefits, and advantages, and comparing them with those of top competitors.

What are the three elements that should be listed for a product or service in the comparative analysis?

The three elements to be listed are features, benefits, and advantages (FBA) of the product or service.

Why is it important to compare the product or service with competitors?

Comparing with competitors helps to identify unique selling points and differentiators, which can be crucial in understanding how to position the product or service in the market and during sales pitches.

How many competitors should one consider when creating a comparative analysis?

It is suggested to consider the top two or three competitors in the market for the comparative analysis.

What is the purpose of listing competitors' names in the comparative analysis chart?

Listing competitors' names helps in directly comparing the features, benefits, and advantages of the product or service with those of known competitors, which can be useful in sales conversations.

What does the transcript suggest doing if a competitor offers a similar feature?

If a competitor offers a similar feature, it suggests identifying and highlighting the unique features or advantages that the product or service offers which the competitor does not.

How can the comparative analysis chart be used during a sales conversation with a customer?

The chart can be used to quickly reference and highlight the differentiators and advantages of the product or service over competitors when a customer asks for comparisons.

What is the suggested number of features, benefits, and advantages to list in the comparative analysis?

The transcript suggests listing three to five key feature benefit advantages, with an ideal range being three to five, but no more than seven.

Why is it beneficial to memorize the comparative analysis chart?

Memorizing the chart allows for quick recall of information during sales conversations, enabling the salesperson to effectively address customer concerns and competitor comparisons.

What is the term used in the transcript to describe the unique aspects of a product or service compared to competitors?

The term used is 'differentiation', which refers to the unique features or advantages that set the product or service apart from competitors.

How does the comparative analysis help in strategizing sales approaches?

The comparative analysis helps in strategizing by providing a clear understanding of the product's strengths and competitors' weaknesses, allowing for a tailored sales approach that emphasizes the product's unique advantages.

Outlines

00:00

📊 Comparative Analysis of Product Features

This paragraph introduces the concept of a comparative analysis for a product or service. It instructs the audience to list their product's features, benefits, and advantages (FBA) and compare them with the top two or three competitors in the market. The audience is guided to create a chart that includes their company and competitors, marking the presence or absence of each FBA. The goal is to understand the competitive landscape and identify unique selling points. The speaker emphasizes the importance of this analysis in preparing for customer discussions, where competitors might be mentioned or compared.

05:01

🔍 Identifying Unique Selling Points

The second paragraph focuses on the importance of differentiation in a product or service. It defines differentiation as the unique aspects that set a product apart from competitors, which is crucial for customer decision-making. The speaker advises the audience to have this differentiation information readily available and memorized to quickly address customer inquiries. The paragraph concludes with a homework assignment to create a comparative analysis and memorize it, which will later be integrated into sales presentations. This analysis serves as a strategic tool for sales, providing a roadmap for how to present and sell the product effectively.

Keywords

💡Feature

A 'feature' in the context of the video refers to the distinct characteristics or qualities of a product or service that make it stand out. It is a core component in understanding the product's value proposition. In the script, features are listed and tied to the benefits and advantages they provide to the customer, which helps in differentiating the product from competitors.

💡Benefit

A 'benefit' is the positive outcome or advantage that a customer receives from using a product or service. It goes beyond the mere description of a feature by explaining how it adds value to the user's experience or solves a problem. In the script, benefits are derived from features, making it clear how the product meets customer needs.

💡Advantage

'Advantage' denotes the superiority or favorable aspect of one product or service over another. It is a strategic element in marketing and sales, as it highlights why a customer should choose one product over its competitors. The script emphasizes the importance of identifying and communicating these advantages to customers.

💡Comparative Analysis

A 'comparative analysis' is a method used to evaluate and contrast different products, services, or concepts. In the video, it involves creating a chart to compare the features, benefits, and advantages of the presenter's product with those of their competitors, providing a clear picture of where their product stands in the market.

💡Competitor

A 'competitor' is another business or product that offers similar goods or services and is in direct competition with the presenter's product. The script instructs the viewer to identify top competitors and compare their offerings to better understand the market landscape and positioning of their own product.

💡Differentiation

'Differentiation' is the process of distinguishing a product or service from others in the market. It is crucial for standing out and being memorable to potential customers. The video discusses the importance of identifying unique features or benefits that set a product apart from its competitors.

💡Customer Perception

'Customer perception' refers to how customers view and interpret a product or service in comparison to others. It is influenced by various factors, including marketing, brand reputation, and personal experience. The script highlights the need to understand and potentially shift customer perception through effective communication of product advantages.

💡Sales Strategy

A 'sales strategy' is a plan or approach used to sell products or services effectively. The video outlines the creation of a comparative analysis as a tool for developing a sales strategy, enabling the presenter to tailor their pitch based on the customer's existing perceptions and needs.

💡Product Positioning

'Product positioning' is the process of defining how a product is presented to and perceived by potential customers in relation to its competitors. The script uses the comparative analysis to help with product positioning by identifying unique selling points that can be emphasized in marketing and sales.

💡Homework Assignment

In the context of the video, a 'homework assignment' is a task given to the viewer to apply the concepts discussed in the module. The script asks the viewer to create their own comparative analysis chart, memorize it, and incorporate it into their sales presentations, which serves as a practical exercise to reinforce learning.

Highlights

The module focuses on comparing one's product or service with competitors in terms of features, benefits, and advantages.

A comparative analysis is introduced as a tool to evaluate and contrast different products or services available in the market.

Participants are encouraged to list out their product's features, benefits, and advantages, and then compare them with competitors.

The importance of understanding how a client perceives one's product in comparison to others is emphasized.

A comparative analysis chart is provided as a template for participants to fill out with their company and competitors' information.

Instructions are given to list competitors and check whether they offer similar features, benefits, or advantages.

The value of knowing competitors' offerings is highlighted for effective sales strategy and customer communication.

Differentiators are key in the sales process, and the module teaches how to identify and utilize them.

A strategy for addressing customer concerns about competitors and how to highlight one's product superiority is discussed.

The comparative analysis chart serves as a 'sales map' to guide the sales approach and messaging.

The exercise of creating a comparative analysis is presented as a homework assignment for participants.

Memorizing the comparative analysis is suggested to be able to recall it quickly during customer interactions.

The concept of differentiation is defined and its significance in customer decision-making is explained.

The importance of having readily available information to address customer queries about competitors is stressed.

The module concludes with an emphasis on the practical application of the comparative analysis in sales presentations.

The comparative analysis helps in adjusting sales strategies based on the customer's current or past use of competitors' products.

Participants are encouraged to limit their feature benefit advantages to a manageable number for clarity and focus.

Transcripts

now in the previous modules we talked

about your product or service in terms

of their feature their benefits and

their advantages now when you look at

feature benefit Advantage we can look at

our product and kind of list those out

remember that exercise we listed out the

features we then tied them to benefits

and then we also tied them to specific

advantages as they apply to the customer

now that's our product but here's the

question how does a client perceive your

product compared to somebody else's

here's what we're going to do in this

module we're going to create a simple

comparative analysis and a comparative

analysis is you've seen them before when

you go down on the internet websites

you've seen them where you're comparing

different products different services or

different pricing packages this is no

different we're going to compare our

products with our top two or three

competitors as we see it in the market

so right now I'd like you to think about

one two maybe three competitors that

sell your product or service

in other words when you go talk to a

customer they're probably going to say

well we already buy from this customer

or we've bought from this competitor in

the past get the idea so what I want you

to do is think about two or three

competitors that you may get or may see

in the market and what I want you to do

is fill out this little comparative

analysis chart that I have here here's

what you're going to do on the left

column right here you see where it says

U that's your company now across the top

you see it says FBA sub one Fe feature

benefit Advantage One in other words

write down a feature benefit Advantage

at the top that you currently have with

your product or service next column fba2

write another feature benefit advantage

that you have again we did this in the

previous module where you talked about

feature benefits and Advantage so just

list one of those there pick your top

three right now then third column list

your third top feature benefit advantage

that your product or service offers okay

then put a quick check mark across all

three top column get the idea now what I

want you to do is on the left hand side

where it says C1 C2 and C3 list out your

three competitors competitor one write

their name in competitor two write their

name in competitor three write their

name in and then based on the three

features that you've listed here the

three fbas feature benefit advantages go

in and check off whether or not your

competitor offers that product or

service or that feature in this case so

in other words you can see the First

Column that none of your three

competitors offer that feature that's

great news by the way in the second

column you realize that competitor one

offers feature number two which means

that if you're talking to a customer

who's already using that competitor

that's not going to be a differentiator

we'll talk about that in just a bit

competitor number two as you can see has

features number two and three but does

not have number one and then competitive

3 only has the third feature now it's

good to know this stuff before you walk

in to see a customer because when you're

talking to the customer they may be

using one of these competitors and if

they're not they're probably going to

compare you to one of them anyway for

example you're sitting there talking to

the customer and the customer says well

why are you different than competitor

number two right there well then you can

say well we offer the same features they

offer in terms of feature two and

feature three but they don't have

feature number one which is why we're

better get the idea

if you walk into a customer uh facility

and they're using competitor number

three well here's where your your

opportunity to kind of differentiate

your product because what you're going

to highlight for them is that they they

although that their competitor our

competitor competitor number three

offers feature number three they don't

offer feature one and two which you do

and that's an advantage see now it

becomes a strategy in how you can

actually sell the customer if the

customer in summary is using one of

these three competitors by having having

a comparative analysis like this you'll

be able to adjust your strategy know how

to kind of attack it if you will and how

to talk to the customer so you can

highlight your features over your

competitors again very simple to do list

out the uh feature benefits advantage

that we did in the previous module right

across the top now you may have more

than three and that's okay I would try

to limit it to five no more than seven

but I think 3 to five is the ideal range

if you ask me that's my opinion and

again it's a subjective opinion but if

you can list out three to five key

feature benefit advantages your product

offers that's a great start right those

across the top on the left hand column

obviously put yourself check off all

three to five and then list out your top

two or three competitors if you don't

know who they are right now because

you're just starting out that's okay

you'll get to know them soon enough

because as soon as you start selling

into the market your these companies are

going to start bringing them up saying

well we already use this competitor well

then what you're going to do is you're

going to go back to your Matrix and

write that competitor in do some

research and and see if they offer the

same features or benefits that you offer

now look at your product and your

service and all we're looking for are

differentiators now let's define

differentiation even though the word

pretty much defines itself it's why

you're different than your competitors

this is what customers are looking for

what's the difference what are the

differences between this and that if I

buy from you what's the before what's

the after again but we need to make sure

that we have this information readily

available be able to recall that almost

immediately when we're talking to a c

customer so again this is something that

you don't really show a customer often I

always keep this kind of in my back

pocket so to speak but I know it by

heart I've memorized the chart and so

when I'm talking to a customer and they

bring up any one of these competitors I

now know how to attack their points of

weaknesses because I know what features

or feature benefit advantages they do

not have so your homework assignment is

create your own comparative analysis and

then be able to kind of memorize that

cuz later on we're going to incorporate

that into our presentation but in a

sense this provides almost a sales map

on how you're going to sell how you're

going to share your information with

your customers so go ahead and do the

exercise we'll see you in the next

module