Understand Your Company's Essence

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By John Bernardi

A Lesson On How To Kill Your Brand

Is Your Company Doing What It's Known For?

Not too long ago HP was branded as a technical innovation leader - not by itself, but by its customers.  Its tailored products were expertly aimed at a well-defined target market [not all things to all users]. Prior to 1990 I always marveled at the strong affinity that  customers had with the HP brand.  I learned this from my experience competing directly with HP while working for Texas Instruments and Tektronix.  HP customers were passionate about HP and willing to engage in verbal battles defending HP.  I remember how HP's RPN scientific calculator language created vociferous arguments between HP customers and TI's customers who preferred TI's AOS calculator language.  HP's engineering workstation was the market leader.  HP minicomputers owned the manufacturing automation marketplace. HP OpenView was the leader in IT systems management.

HP always competed on value, never on price.  It's prices were always higher, but perceived value was too. The new HP tries to blend the old HP with its acquisitions - Digital Equipment, Compaq, and others.  Now HP competes on price and tries to sell to everyone.  I don't think HP has that passionate brand appeal of days prior to the 90's.

I'm disappointed to be greeted with a commodityish home page when I visit www.hp.com.  I'm sure Mr. Hewlett and Mr. Packard would feel the same way I feel.

Big Sales Opportunities Need Winning Competitive Strategies

Strengthen Relationships By Beating The Competition

Past Relationships Are Trumped by the Winning Strategy

Great experiences at your touch points during a customer's buying cycle will earn you an invitation to begin your selling cycle and a mutually advantageous business relationship.

Developing insight into the customer's products, business model, politics and culture will prepare you to adeptly navigate their power base and beat the competitor's strategy - keys to winning a large sales opportunity.

The customer power base will take notice of your strategic approach.  Many will want their sales teams to emulate your process.  You've already proven that your strategy is aligned with their best interests, so they'll invite you to compete for future opportunities so they can watch you in action.

According to Holden International, only 3% of B2B companies vie for large opportunities at a strategic level. Just 17% earn political support.  [24% compete at the feature/benefit level; 56% at the value-added level.]

If your company is "strategically competent", you will improve the probability of winning.  Strong relationships and loyalty will become byproducts.

If not, you'll need a strong change agent to address the high level of resistance by managers and sales reps who won't want to expand their comfort zones.  Motivate a "strategically favorable" emotional response by rationally engaging them to believe that status quo risk is greater than moving forward.

Watch this 7-minute video on Holden's Power Base Selling.