With whom are you competing?

Business has traditionally been built on a binary win or lose approach that has created a culture in which we feel the need to constantly prove that we are the best and there is little, or no, room for any mistakes or learning. It's toxic. By being myopically focused on our competitors, we’re valuing rivalry over collaboration.?

What is the opportunity cost of such an approach??

Culturally, we have grown up to believe that the only options are to win or to lose. In the business world, we see that reinforced by frequent references to sporting analogies and admiration for ‘Type A’ sporting personalities who have completely vested themselves in their sport. We strongly identify with our sporting teams and their rivalries - it matters whether you’re a Man United or Liverpool fan, a Nadal or Federer fan, Ronaldo or Messi, England, Ireland, or Wales rugby fan. And it really matters that your idols win. And as to the polarized political rivalries – let’s leave that for another day.?

There’s no doubt that some of the great business rivalries have resulted in huge successes – Adidas v Puma, Oracle v Microsoft, Oracle v SAP, Microsoft v Apple, and Bill Gates v Steve Jobs among them. These super successful businesses were born out of an outstanding individual - a real force of nature.?

But we should now ask the question: Is business built on rivalry fit for our future??

A standout visionary leader of our generation is Ajay Banga. former CEO of Mastercard. He says:

“…who do I view as my competition? Cash. I don’t view another network, I don’t view Paytm, I don’t view Apple, as competition. We are actually working with all of them. They all need our technology.

I view…cash as my enemy.”?

Isn’t it frustrating when large enterprise deals slip to the next quarter, or do not close? You lose both credibility and income. Using a proven qualification tool like MEDDICC is the way to de-risk. Recently, Rob Howes (Co-founder Enterprise Sales Club), and I interviewed Dick Dunkel, the creator of the MEDDICC framework, who emphasised ‘Decision Criteria’ rather than competition, as a vital component to the sale qualification process.

Use the tools that are available to you now. MEDDICC, for example, is a standout methodology tool that is very much focused on accessing and understanding your customers’ pain points. It provides a line of sight, if this is a real opportunity or one that should be ‘sunsetted’.

Attaching your solution to greater revenue, reduced costs and risk mitigation for the economic buyer, is the optimal way to enhance your sale. Tilt the field in your favour to close better qualified deals.

In the job market, my most proactive clients find the time to regularly network and?have potential jobs lined up, even though they do not need them… yet. They are not trying to compete against everyone for their ideal job - they are proactively creating it.

Truism - over 80% of jobs are not advertised.

If we do look to sport for a smart approach, then this is what former racing cyclist Chris Boardman, who won an individual pursuit Gold medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics, broke the world hour record, and won three stages and wore the Yellow Jersey on three occasions at the Tour de France, has to say.

“I can only be the best I can be, and when I have crossed the line, I will see what that has got me. That is a very calming, focusing and quite inspiring thought.”

Since the first lockdown, I now have this approach in my attitude to business. I service to the best of my ability, get better as a coach, build, and invest in strategic partnerships, create intellectual property and add as much value as possible. This contrasts deeply with my time in the corporate space, which was “hit that target, and when done, keep going until you and your team are exhausted and back down to zero in January.”

This binary approach, in which there can only be one winner, is no longer the best way to create a successful enterprise sales career and to win the most revenue you possibly can.?

We are living in times in which we can see far greater benefit from much wider spectrum thinking and where binary thinking will limit our opportunities and success.??

This is a time of change, but in fact perhaps, change is the new normal. Post-war, we got used to stability but, historically, we have faced huge highs and lows which are also characteristic of the pandemic. Historically, pandemics aren’t new. Political instability isn’t new. Economic challenges aren’t new. These things were the old normal and, perhaps, that volatility is here to stay.??

And, in this time of change, we need to be drawing our focus on how we can optimise our business collaborations rather than our rivalries.?

You may ask yourself: How do I do this? The first thing to undertake is a pause; a simple:

‘What happened?’

‘So what?’

‘What next?’?is extremely powerful.

In many professions such as medical, is a daily event, to regularly learn from the events and interactions of the day. I have recently been undertaking a lot of reflective practice. ??It helps bring perspective to those moments and your future moments. To realise that rushing headlong into things may lead to significant opportunity cost. ?

Stop competing against everyone else… there is only one person you are actually competing with; yourself, or more accurately, the version of you yesterday.?

The bottom rung of the ladder is your ability and mindset pre-Covid, the middle rungs are where you are today, and the top ones are where your ability and mindset are for an inspiring and successful 2022 – how exciting…!

Our purpose at Enterprise Sales Club is to enable SaaS Sales Professionals to achieve their potential through the power of life-enhancing connections, shared experiences, and collaborative learnings.

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