Standing Undefeated如果可以立於不敗之地

"Is competitiveness really a matter of high or low?"

Of course! Otherwise, what's the point of this whole series of articles?

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The industry I'm in has a strong sales focus, Competitiveness always at the forefront of our attention, standing alongside Customer Needs. Throughout my ten-year sales career, I've always been in training and competition, as winning in competition means income. Let me give you a real and ongoing example of an interesting phenomenon:

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When I was a rookie, facing more experienced competitors in sales, I convinced customers like this: "I'm still new, meaning I don't have a large client base yet, allowing me ample time to cater to your needs promptly. Your early support is pivotal to my career. Our transaction isn't just about a policy; it's an investment in my success." The impact was significant; I provided high-quality service and emotional value. As time passed, in the competition, I gradually became the experienced one. At that point, I convinced customers like this: "In this industry, I am already a seasoned veteran. My years of experience underscore my capacity to provide enduring service. Under my guidance, service quality is guaranteed, and I can leverage accumulated resources to deliver value-added services when required." The outcome? Equally impressive; I continued to offer exceptional service and emotional value.

The difference lies in this: the high-quality service provided by rookies comes from time investment and response speed, while that of seasoned professionals comes from service efficiency and value-added services; the emotional value provided by rookies is about a sense of achievement, while that of seasoned professionals is about a sense of security.

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In the insurance sales industry, the celebrity Sanjay R.Tolani also provided different marketing perspectives from seniority, which had a better effect because he was particularly good at using stories for marketing.I recall a memorable moment from an industry conference where he shared a compelling scenario:"If you're a newbie and a customer asks, 'Why should I choose you when I can choose a successful insurance agent with 20 years of experience?' You can make the customer imagine a scenario: when you retire in 30 years and require insurance services the most, that seasoned agent with 20 years of experience is now in their 70s. How do you envision their service then? You're lying in a hospital bed, needing your insurance agent to handle your claims, and you find out he's lying in the bed next to yours!" This vivid imagery had the whole room laughing. "And me, I'm just in my 50s, at the peak of my experience, ready to provide you with the best service."

Then, he shifted the focus: "If you're the more experienced one, in your 40s, and a customer asks 'Why should I choose you?' You can make the customer imagine a scenario: when you're sick, in pain, needing emergency care, you're rushed to the hospital in an ambulance. At that moment, a young doctor glances at you and says to the nurses next to him, 'Take him to the operating room first, let me quickly check the emergency guide, I'll be there soon！'" The whole room burst into laughter. "And then, as you're getting ready for surgery, the young doctor comes in, starts operating on you, and keeps asking the elder doctor standing nearby, 'Am I doing this right?'" The laughter grew louder, and applause erupted.

These examples could go on indefinitely. If you have similar stories, please share them in the comments. Returning to the initial question of "Is competitiveness really a matter of high or low?" It's not a simple "yes" anymore.

Think about it, in the two stories above, what's the main issue? It's when the customers think they'll need the service. Those who believe they'll only need insurance services many years from now will choose the young ones, while those who think they'll need the service soon will go for the experienced ones.

When the target to be competitive for—customer needs—is a multifaceted comprehensive proposition, measuring competitiveness doesn't have a clear, single standard. Within this broad context, I contend that competitiveness transcends a simple high or low dichotomy. Young individuals will inevitably accrue experience over time, while seasoned professionals can utilize their wealth of resources to offset potential declines in responsiveness and customer focus resulting from an expanded client base.

Continuous skill enhancement diminishes discrepancies in advantages, leveling the playing field. The essence of competitiveness lies not in absolute highs or lows but in distinctiveness, with variations evident in specific needs and scenarios.

So, thinking in reverse, choosing a customer group that better fits your overall capabilities is also a way to enhance competitiveness! It might even be a more efficient way because within this customer group, you'll have the upper hand, standing undefeated.

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Here's one suggestion for my friends in the sales industry:

Conduct self-assessments regularly.

You can refer to the first article in this newsletter for some ideas. Identify the value you currently provide best, find your position in the industry, analyze the weaknesses of this position, reframe them—if you can't turn them into strengths, at least make them harmless. Spread the word about your findings. Your performance is sure to improve significantly.

競爭力真的有高低之分嗎？

當然有！不然這整個系列的文章有什麼意義？

我所在的行業是有強烈的銷售特征的行業，競爭力永遠在我們注意力的中心位置，和客戶需求站在一起。在我十年的銷售生涯中，一直處於訓練和競爭中，當在競爭中勝出，就意味著收入。讓我來舉一個真實並且一直存在的例子，有這樣一個有趣的現象：

當我還是一個新人的時候，在銷售過程中遇到年資深的競爭對手時，我是這樣說服客人的：“我還是一個新人，這意味著我的客戶數量並不多，於是我有充足的時間來服務您，回應您的所有服務要求，響應快速。並且，您作為我早期的客人，對我的事業有著更加重要的提攜之恩，您與我成交的不僅是一張保單，更是對我的成功的投資。”效果是非常好的，我提供了高質量服務和情緒價值。

隨著時間的流逝，在競爭中，我逐漸成了那個年資深的一方，這時，我是這樣說服客人的：“在這個行業裡，我已經是一個老人，多年的從業經驗本身已經說明了我能提供長期服務的能力，保單在我的管理之下，服務質量是確定的，當你需要服務的時候，我還可以調用多年積累的其他資源來給你提供增值服務。”效果如何？也是非常好的，我同樣提供的是高質量服務和情緒價值。

區別是什麼？

新人提供的高質量服務來源於時間的投入和響應速度，而資深從業者提供的高質量服務來源於服務效率和增值服務；新人提供的情緒價值在於成就感，而資深從業者提供的情緒價值在於安全感。

保險營銷行業中的名人Sanjay R.Tolani也就年資這個角度提供過不同的營銷角度，效果更加好，因為他特別擅長於用故事來進行營銷。我記得某一年在行業大會上，他就分享過：“如果你是一個新人，客人問，為什麼我要選擇你？當我有一位年資20年的成功保險人可以選擇？你可以讓客人想象一個畫面‘當您退休的時候，是您最需要保險服務的時候，已經30年後了，而那位資深的保險人已經70+了，請問他要如何服務您呢？您躺在病床上，需要您的保險員為您處理索償，而您發現，他正躺在您的隔壁床上！’”這栩栩如生的畫面感讓全場都哄笑起來，“而我，我才50+，正是經驗最為豐富的時候，正好給您提供最佳的服務。”

然後，他話鋒一轉：“如果你是一個老人，已經40+了，客人問，為什麼我要選擇你？你又可以讓客人想象一個畫面‘當你生病了，正在遭受痛苦需要急救，你被救護車送到了醫院，此時一位年輕的醫生看了你一眼，對旁邊的護士們說’先送他去手術室，讓我迅速查一下急救指南，很快就來。’’”全場又大笑起來，“然後你做好了手術準備了，年輕的醫生來了，他開始為你做手術，一邊做一遍問旁邊站著的老醫生’我做的對嗎？’”全場笑聲更大了，並且暴發了掌聲。

上述的例子可以無限地舉下去，如果你也有類似的例子，希望你能分享在評論中。我們回到文初的那個問題“競爭力真的有高低之分嗎？”這樣看是否不太容易回答了？

仔細想想，在上述兩個故事裡，核心問題是什麼？是客人覺得何時會需要服務。那些覺得多年後才會使用保險服務的，會選擇年輕人，而那些覺得近期就會使用服務的，就會選擇年資深的。

當需要競爭獲取的標的——客戶需求，是一個多面向的綜合命題，那麼我們衡量競爭力就沒有明確單一的標準。在這個大命題之下，我認為競爭力是沒有高低之分的，年輕人也終將獲得年資，而資深的人可以利用自己積累的資源來獲取幫手，來平衡因為客戶量增加而降低的相應速度和對客人的關注度。只要我們在不斷地提升自己的能力，那麼人有我無的因素將越來越少，而人無我有的因素將越來越多。競爭力沒有高低之分，只有不同，只有在具體的需求面前、在具體的案例中才有高低之分。

所以，逆向思考，選擇更加適配自己綜合能力的客群也是提升競爭力的方式！甚至是更加高效的方式，因為在這個客群裡，你將是最有優勢的一方，立於不敗之地。

以下是我給從事銷售行業的朋友們的一個建議：

經常做自我審核。

你可以參考本專欄的第一篇文章，獲得一些思路。找出目前自己最能提供的價值，找到目前自己處於所在行業中的位置，分析這個位置的弱點，重新敘述它，若不能將它變成優勢，也要將它變成無害。將你的發現廣而告之。你的業績一定能有很大的改善。