Expertization. You won’t find it in the dictionary.
“Expertization”, or being an expert or knowledgeable beyond the norm for a field or subject other than your own specific area is an important weapon in the world of B2B sales.
Traditionally, a B2B sales professional approaches a sales call armed with massive amounts of information, expertise, and “value” with respect to how their offering can enhance a prospective buyer’s circumstance. They quote statistics and research. They attempt to create credibility and authenticity by way of their experience with the clients competitors. They are all too eager to point out the differences between what they offer versus their competitors and so on.
There are a number of problems with this approach. Let me explain.
What do we really set out to accomplish with clients, particularly prospects we wish to turn into clients? Is it the ambition that the client will go beyond listening to us, and ultimately to engage with us? Don’t we strive to get that see-saw to tilt in favor of our point of view; towards the side of someone merely listening, to the person actively participating beyond simply responding with yes or no answers?
The problem with the traditional approach, the one where you base your whole worth proposition on being an expert in your field, is that it limits any discussion to just that, your field.
The conversation will most certainly gravitate towards “what product or service you can offer” or why “your gizmo is better than the competitors” or worse yet, a discussion based solely on price.
What’s more important to a prospect or client than “your field”? Their field.
If you stop and think about it, most any prospect or client is multi-dimensional, that is they have a varied area of responsibility that transcends the specific subject relevant to your product or service. If your range of expertise is limited to just that, it will make for a limited amount of engagement, and will severely limit the range of value you offer because you are unable to become a resource or sounding board for the numerous other challenges the client is likely facing.
Let me give you an example.
I once coached a commercial real estate broker named Dane. He picked the food service area to specialize in and then put his head down and made it his business to learn everything he could about the industry. Dane knew (and I expect he still does) about subject matter that had nothing to do with how much a client should pay for a building, or if a lease rate was competitive.
Don’t get me wrong, he knew his way around those subjects very well, but he also had an in-depth knowledge of other industry subjects that his clients would likely be interested in.
Need cold storage advice? Dane could help. Want to process poultry and are looking for some good used equipment? Dane could have helped. You see, Dane had a complete expertise about all things food service. He could go to a convention and hold his own with the Dairy industry. Concerned about logistics for a commercial bakery? Just ask Dane.
How do I know this? Because I once attempted to challenge him. I printed off a list of the top 200 companies in the food service category, and the set out to catch him. I asked him about company number 4 on the list, and he would rattle off each of the players at that company, what that company was up to and so on. Number 4 on the list, not so surprising.
It was when he was able to, off the top of his head, provide the same depth of knowledge when it came to numbers 26 or 36 that I knew we had a real practitioner of expertization.
Moral of the story? If you’re the realtor approaching Del Monte Foods about a lease-back opportunity, and all you know is real estate, you better pray they don’t know Dane.
The traditional realtor is all about how much they know about real estate financing, or structuring a lease. You assume the client will be interested – and hopefully impressed – by your expansive knowledge of this area. Problem is, they just had a huge logistical failure in one of their warehouses and the CFO’s mind is elsewhere. She is polite and listens, but does she really hear you? Is she participating?
Conversely, the realtor who offers expertization ( ie, a true understanding of the logistical side of her business, and an understanding of the various challenges that a CFO in that industry may face with respect to that subject) will be greatly advantaged over the “real estate expert”. This person will be able to engage and relate to the CFO at a whole different level.
Is this an opportunity? You bet it is, because it means you can now shift gears and offer feedback and knowledge about a subject the CFO is interested in that day. You become an industry partner versus just a real estate partner.
I try and do this in my practice. I take time to learn about more than just a clients “sales training” needs, because I know that by having a broader understanding of their whole business, I become a better resource.
My specific area of expertise is prospecting, but the sales leaders who are my clients are responsible for the whole sales continuum. Imagine where I’d be were I only to be able to offer advice around prospecting?
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