Competitive Markets Need Courage to Succeed!

What does it mean to have courage when you need to deal with tough competitive market conditions and digital disruption affecting your market share?

Do your KPIs prevent value creation?

Competition in the B2B world has never been fiercer. With more companies fighting over every contract, the sales teams are now laser-focused on the next sale and holding on to each customer, whatever it takes. How organisations measure their employees, and what behaviours they reward add to the laser-focus on short-term gains.

Account Management, SAM, Stephen KozickiStephen Kozicki3 September 2018KPIs, Value, Competition, Sustainable, Short-term, Long-term, B2B, Strategic RelationshipsComment

Business Strategy and Persuasion

The word strategy is often misused and misunderstood. When we use the word we mean the simple definition used by the McKinsey consultant Kenichi Omhae: strategy is the intersection of three groups: customers, competitors and the company.

Discounting is not the answer: Compete with value

Today's customers are intently focused on getting the lowest price. With advances in technology customers can compare products and prices before they speak to you. Increased competition is making price pressure more intense, with a race to the lowest price being the easiest way to win the deal. But, at what cost to your company?

Account Management, Gary PeacockGary Peacock16 March 2018Price Pressure, Value, Competitive Advantage, CompetitionComment

Stop Competing on Price, Start Competing on Value

To be blunt, for customers usually, there are not many significant differences between suppliers. Occasionally, you have a special product or service that no-one else has because it's protected by patent or special knowledge. Even then, the advantage lasts for a limited time. So, most of your time you compete with similar products and services.

So what?

Account Management, Gary PeacockGary Peacock25 January 2018Competition, Value, Price Pressure, Commoditisation, PriceComment

How can you expand the size of the pie in negotiations?

To make a decision in a negotiation you need to understand what will satisfy you and what you need to do to satisfy the needs and interests of the other party. Do they value the process of expanding the pie or are they fixed on a single outcome?

Reduce Price Pressure: Focus on Value

Companies are increasingly finding that their traditional value proposition is falling short. The strength of their brand has less value in the buying process, and competition is intensifying from well-resource established players and emerging niche players. Pressure to reduce prices is now the norm. So, margins are deteriorating and profits are shrinking.

How can you stop this?

Pitch to win: picture the competition

You must pitch for some business. Where do you start? Most managers answer this question correctly: with the customer and what they want. However most managers get the answer to the next question wrong: What should you do next?

What is the correct answer?

What changes would drive you to manage your accounts more strategically?

The business environment is constantly changing. These changes in markets, competition and technology are hurting the results of many companies.

The priorities for companies are to create superior customer value, retain high-value customers, be more innovative and be more efficient. However, there is immense pressure to drive down operating costs, compete increasingly on price, and respond to rising customer demands.

Many companies find it impossible to respond to change and simultaneously pursue strategic priorities. So, they end up mainly reacting to change.

How can you use these changes to your advantage and find opportunities for improving your business results?

How do you compete in tough markets?

Imagine you are in an Australian industry with about 200 competitors, how do you compete and grow? Back in 2001, that's the problem faced by John Casella of Casella wines. He quickly concluded that he needed to be more strategic than his well-resourced competitors.

But how did he do it?

Account Management, Gary PeacockGary Peacock3 February 2017Competition, Value, Competing on Value, Strategy, PlanningComment

Amsterdam in March or Chicago in May?

As the year begins we start to plan. On my desk when I arrived back at work was a brochure. A brochure for the Strategic Account Management Association (SAMA) conferences.

SAM is helping some of the best performers in markets deliver faster growth and higher profits. At the same time SAM is building stronger strategic relationships which uncovers more sales opportunities and makes their competitive position even stronger.

Do you Frame Your Communication for Negotiation Success?

All of us have been in a negotiation that has ended with a much better outcome and greater satisfaction than predicted with the result based on how well we communicated with the other person. I have the great privilege of working on 'live deals' all over the world and get observe many great negotiators.

My research observations in these live scenarios would suggest quite strongly that the way a negotiator 'frames' their communication has a direct and substantial impact on the outcome of the deal.

Negotiation, Stephen KozickiStephen Kozicki11 September 2015Training, Communication, Frames, Consulting, Negotiation, Framing, Bargaining, Cooperation, CompetitionComment

Competition – A threat or an opportunity?

One of the key messages from each of those senior executives was that their business reality is changing and changing fast, that they are dealing with unprecedented competition in their markets...