The incumbent vendor enjoys huge advantages that should be leveraged when exploring renewals, expansion, upselling, and in defense against competitors. Remind your customer of the investment they made in evaluating offerings prior to the sale. Recall the substantial effort now realized in implementation. Review the relationships \u2013 the social capital \u2013 developed, now in place and operating smoothly. Recall the pain of change and the associated risks.<\/p>\n
Build on this foundation to secure renewals, drive expansion sales, and when introducing new products and solutions. It is much easier for the incumbent vendor with a successful track record within <\/em>a customer to introduce and pursue these possibilities vs starting from zero.<\/p>\n Presenting your mutual history in a timeline as a slide or whiteboard exercise can be a very effective way to gently (but firmly!) recall this information and reinforce your relationship. It is also a great way to bring your customers\u2019 new players up to speed with the activities completed to-date.<\/p>\n Competitors without comparable history suffer from severe disadvantages, which are the inverse of the incumbent\u2019s strengths. A customer\u2019s positive personal experiences with the incumbent builds an imposing barrier against vendors with no first-hand proof of success.<\/p>\n When your competition talks about how much better their offering is than yours and introduces new, tempting capabilities, reinforce the investment your customer has already made, the value they are receiving, and the objectives they have achieved. Emphasize your customer\u2019s emotional desire to avoid change, the comfort and safety of the status quo, and the avoidance of unnecessary risk.<\/p>\n With a successful implementation in production use and the customer enjoying the value gained, the incumbent vendor is perfectly positioned to secure renewals, drive expansion, and acquire additional business.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Resources:<\/p>\n Parts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8<\/p>\n https:\/\/greatdemo.com\/blog\/<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cA Prospect\u2019s Tale\u201d<\/p>\n In \u201cSuspending Disbelief: A Collection of Sales, Presales, and Marketing Stories (and Lessons Learned)\u201d<\/p>\n https:\/\/tinyurl.com\/yc7rsrmy<\/a><\/p>\n The Incredible Value of Value Realization Events<\/p>\n