Ryan Dohrn explains why raw statistics don't work in sales. Instead, use a differentiating factor: a specific claim about what you do better, paired with a bridge statement that shows the prospect what it means for their business. Stick to three core factors per call and always link them to outcomes.
Hey friends and fans, we're talking sales and marketing today, and we're talking about your differentiating factors. Hey, it's Ryan Dohrn here. Love talking sales, as you know, on our podcast and our videos and everything that we do. And one of the most common questions I get is, Ryan, you talk about your D-factor, your differentiating factor or factors. Really, what does that mean besides the obvious? Well, what's interesting is it's pretty easy for most of us, whether you're selling media, whether you're selling software, digital, whatever you're selling, it's It's pretty easy for us to give facts and stats and things like that. The problem is less than 5% of people will remember a good statistic. Okay? So when you think about people's lack of understanding about statistics, we in the sales business, we love statistics. It's like, hey, print those statistics out. I'm gonna take them to every meeting. I'm gonna overwhelm my potential customers with all these great stats and facts about our products. Unfortunately, stats just are not as meaningful to people as they once were. Now, you might disagree because you'll say, oh, I love I love stats and facts. Well, you gotta think about people like me that are more emotional buyers, more emotional sellers. I love a good story. I could really care less about a fact or a stat. It's not that I don't believe it, but I just like things wrapped into a good story. But I also feel like from a differentiation perspective, we need to make sure that we're doing a really clear and great job of not only differentiating ourselves, but also sharing with that customer, potential customer, why that differentiating factor, why that D-factor, is actually important to their business. Okay, so let me explain for a second. I could say that I'm the number one software on the market that's a CRM. I could say I'm the number one magazine in the market. I could say I'm the number one television station in the market. But what does that really mean to the business owner that you're talking to? See, differentiating factors, your D-factor, Are the things that you do better, you do different, things that would be beneficial to the customer. Differentiating factors aren't just declaratory statements or declarative statements to make you feel better about yourself. And I think it's an important piece to talk about. Okay, so let me give you an example. If you are going to say, uh, we offer permission-based media marketing options. Okay, great. So what your advertiser or your customer is probably saying, okay, and I mean, what, what does that mean to me? So there is a bridge between a differentiating factor and the understanding of a client as to how that differentiating factor actually benefits them. So as we talk about this, it's important to understand you can give a declarative statement, you can share your differentiating factor, but if you don't explain how it's going to impact that customer's business or that potential customer's business, Your differentiating factor will fall flat. It'll feel great to you. It'll be really meaningful to you, but it's going to fall flat and almost fall deaf on the ears of the person that you're meeting with. Okay, so let's walk through a scenario. If you were to say— I sell a lot of media, as a lot of you know. If I was to say, we offer permission-based marketing options, then I need to bridge. So there needs to be a bridge statement. What that means to your business is... And then I offer an explanation of how my differentiating factor, permission-based media, is actually going to benefit their business. Okay, so let me throw this scenario and walk it through completely with you. I'm on a sales call. I have 3 main differentiating factors, one of them being we are permission-based media. What that means to your business is, unlike Facebook that's intrusion-based, unlike Instagram that's intrusion-based, unlike a lot of medias where people just throw ads in front of you, People pay to receive our media product. So because of that, they're not only paying, which means they're really paying attention, but it also means they expect to see advertising as a part of the total experience, as a part of the total equation. That means you typically will get better return on investment from your marketing dollars. So what I did is I started with a de-factor statement: we are permission-based media. I bridged that statement to understanding what that means to your business is, and then I explained the differentiating factor's impact upon their business. It's important, friends, that you follow that entire process, but you typically only want 3, maybe 4 at the most, but 3 would be perfect. 3 differentiating factors. And you want to make sure that those differentiating factors on every sales call and every prospecting email that you're not overloading somebody. You might want to break it up into 3 separate emails or 3 separate conversations. You want to make sure those differentiating factors aren't just facts and stats. Now, if they are, you do need to bridge and you need to create understanding of how what you're saying, what your differentiating factors are, what makes you different, actually makes sense and prove to the customer you're talking to that not only does it make sense to them, but it will impact their business. Saying that you're number one, how's it going to impact their business? Saying that you're permission-based, how does that impact your business? Saying that you're the number one software out there, how does that impact their business? Saying that you've got 13,000 users, how does that impact their business? Differentiating factors are only great if you bridge the gap of misunderstanding to help them see how what you're sharing with them will definitely impact your business. Okay, their business. My challenge to all of you: first, identify 3, 6, 8, 10 differentiating factors. Then whittle that list down to 3 where you can really bridge the gap of understanding or misunderstanding and explain to them the impact on your business. When you do that, friends, you have a winning scenario that will help differentiate you from all other options that are out there on the market today. Friends, I love to do this. I love to train. I love to teach. I love to strategize. Love to come and inspire your team at your national sales meeting. Please reach out to me over at ryandohrn.com. Stick around and stay close. More great sales advice, at least I hope it is, coming up next.
