When 2nd Prize In A Beauty Contest Can Be A Winner

The biggest waste of a salesperson’s time?

Coming second.

For once, the ultra-competitive taunt correct; well done, First Loser.

Ouch.

This recent blog by a writer on risk and uncertainty suggests Keynes had a response to this.

I duly remix for our arena;

…to be successful in Sales we have to position ourselves not as the ones we think will be judged the “prettiest”, but the ones that everyone thinks the rest will select

Therein lies a potentially winning nuance.

What is seen as the prettiest does not transpire as being the most popular.

In our realm, we can merrily make gains with this slant.

Indeed, we could even negate our competition by deliberately framing them as the most pretty.

One buyer’s meat is another one’s poison?

If a key alternative option is cheaper – yet crucially will not earn the returns of ours – then they have the prettiest price. The inference hopefully being that the value we will untether must become the most popular choice.

If that competitor is dearer – with a surfeit of features that whilst admirable are overkill – then they have the prettiest top-end offer. The inference hopefully being that we bring only those bells and whistles you actually require to make your plans reality.

Pretty could even be a synonym for a trait not necessarily commensurate with solution fit and subsequent deal victory. ‘Market-leading’ immediately springs to mind.

Pretty is one thing, popularity quite another.

How are you fixed for being the most-liked among your buyers?

Let’s not finish runner-up.