Photo of red stickman in a group of grey stickmen, representative of differentiating yourself from the competition.

A Cut Above: Differentiate Yourself from your Competition

Sales | August 2020

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Use these effective ways to differentiate yourself from the competition.

One of the biggest challenges facing distribution representatives is how to differentiate yourself from everyone else in the marketplace. After all, your product lines are relatively similar. So, when it comes to a competitive advantage, it may seem like the best you can do is offer a special that your company is running this month, this quarter, this year. But competing on this basis is a win-lose proposition. You might win with the right special, but you generally lose when you do not have a special running. It just is not sustainable.

In my previous columns, I have attempted to demonstrate how leadership skills, rather than the typical sales tactics and techniques, can set you apart in the marketplace. There is no doubt in my mind that you can build loyalty and lasting relationships by using what has been referred to as the PAR skills when interacting with your prospective and current customers. I have explained the elements of those skills and then left it to you to decide if they would help you.

However, you will not succeed by skill alone. A butcher and a neurosurgeon might be equally skillful with a knife. Would you let your butcher operate on you?

So, while the old axiom “knowledge is power” is true, “knowledge plus skill” is even more powerful.

Increasing knowledge

I suggest that you might further differentiate yourself and add to your own sustainable competitive advantage by getting a little outside your comfort zone and increase your knowledge of issues beyond your products and services. For instance:

  • What is the latest compliance success story?
  • What do you think about animal health care becoming an “omnimarket”?
  • What are the implications for your customers given the increasing speed of consolidation?
  • How has the COVID-19 pandemic impacted your practices?
  • What changes driven by the pandemic are likely to become the new standard operating procedures for your practices?
  • Is virtual veterinary care the shiny new thing or does it have staying power?
  • What do you think is the current state of nutraceuticals in animal health and where is that market going?
  • What is your take on predictive diagnostics?

My point is these questions and the others are important to your customers and to practices across your territory.

You will enhance your position with them if you are able to skillfully discuss the important issues of the day in addition to your vaccines, preventatives, immune health, weight management, or the 101 other products you and every other distribution rep are detailing today. So be interested in your customer’s overall business instead of trying to make your product and services interesting to them.

Photo of vet on the phone differentiating himself from the competition.

Think outside the box and outside your comfort zone.

You will enhance your own sustainable competitive advantage by expanding your knowledge and then combining it with your skill to transition from just another distributor rep to a trusted advisor.

Try it and find out for yourself. It works.

Patrick T. Malone is a business advisor and leadership mentor based in Blairsville, Georgia. He is the co-author of the best-selling business book “Cracking the Code to Leadership” and may be reached at ptm4936@gmail.com or 706-835-1308.

Photo credit: istockphoto.com/Auris; istockphoto.com/Wolf Images

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