The Bidding War: Support vs. Sales

Let’s face it, many of you sort of fell into snow and ice management. You added it on as a service, or saw an opportunity to keep good employees on year-round. And through the years, you have grown the business, cultivated relationships, and built a reputation; only to see it challenged in an industry with virtually no barriers for entry from new folks. You are most likely seeing your bid numbers go down, just to play the game of bidding on price. Call it a bid, call it a proposal, the word doesn’t matter; it’s the difference between sales and support that can sheds some light on how we look at things moving forward.

Let’s start with definitions (from dictionary.com):

Sale: The exchange of goods or services for an amount of money or its equivalent.

Support: To maintain by supplying with things necessary to existence.

Which definition fits your business model and bidding process currently?

Here are some tips on how to implement supporting your customers, and even your staff:

• Ask One Question: How can I (we) support you? It sounds so nice, and it actually means something. Of course you actually need to talk to someone to do this, instead of sending them a bid on paper
• Focus on those you can support, not those you have to sell: Driving revenue is the goal, and I’m not saying that you should turn away money that walks through the door. What I am saying is that you should focus on the core group of people and companies who you can support, and cultivate those relationships to be mutually beneficial, symbiotic ones.
• Support = Following Up: Adapt to their modes of communication, but make sure you do follow up with them. A short email or note, a quick phone call, that can make the difference.
• Ask Questions: You can’t support if you don’t know anything about them. You can learn all the superficial facts on a website, and plug a few lines into your pitch, but you still don’t know the person, or the company, you only know what they do. Find out what they love, and what they hate, and what they are passionate about. And take good notes or have a good memory.
• Meet Them Where They Are: We are all in different places, and you’ll get an instant impression from them, whether they are bored, in a hurry, engaged in your conversation, etc. If they are very detailed, than supporting them means providing many details. If they shoot from the hip, then so do you!

Here are some other examples of Sales vs. Support:

• Sales is trying to make someone pay for some kind of ketchup Popsicle with, um, gloves on? Support is finding out what their favorite condiment is, and handing them a juicy cheeseburger slathered in it, with a napkin and a nice little wet nap.
• Sales is making loud jokes, talking a lot, and generally acting like you know everything. Support is facilitating, encouraging,  listening, and even respectfully challenging.
• Sales, too often, is fake; don’t be a fake. Support is your real self (polished nicely), meeting a specific need for a specific client.
• Sales is a method and a tool, and useful in many situations. Support is a paradigm that you use to approach all your interactions with people who support you.

Article by: Brian Birch, SIMA Assistant Executive Director

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