Becoming the Obvious Choice (Part 1)

How do you become the vendor your customers never even think to replace? In Part 1 of this short series, Bill and Bryan break down what it actually takes to become the obvious choice — not through last-minute discounts or closing tactics, but by building that clarity from the very first interaction.

They cover three foundational moves: filtering your pipeline through the right lens (are they an obvious fit for you?), getting pristine on your message including who you're not for, and articulating a clear payoff — not just ROI, but the tangible transformation clients can expect at different stages of the relationship. Plus, they discuss the power of multi-threading — bringing multiple people into the conversation on both sides — and why the obvious choice is often the one that does the most work before the final decision is ever made.

If you're tired of scrambling at the close, this episode is your reset.

The Insider program is open for enrollment. To check out our small learning group, go to http://advancedsellingpodcast.com/insider

If you haven't already, join 14,000+ other sales professionals in our LinkedIn group at advancedsellingpodcast.com/linkedin

Is it time to make a BOLD move in your business? If so, download our brand new book, "12 Bold Moves - Insider Secrets to Reinventing Yourself and Your Business." http://12boldmoves.com

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:06

Welcome everybody to the Advanced Selling Podcast, the longest running sales training podcast in the history of all podcasts. My name is Brian Neal.

SPEAKER_00 0:14

My name is Bill Kaske, and Brian, we are celebrating 20 years this year.

SPEAKER_01 0:18

Can you believe that?

SPEAKER_00 0:19

Oh believe it.

SPEAKER_01 0:20

We mentioned this last episode. We are in the midst of planning, if you want to call it that. We thought about having a big 20th anniversary episode, but we like to hear from you. So uh, Bill, this is uh we don't do a whole lot of prep here. I don't know the mechanics of the best way to do this, but here's uh so I'll just tee up the idea. We can mechanically do this throughout the summer. I want to hear from listeners in video form of what the advanced selling podcast has meant to them. That's awesome. I want to do a whole big montage from you listeners of just you know picking up your phone and saying, Hey, Bill, hey, Brian, just want to thank you for the 20 years. And here's what's stuck out, or here's what's meant the most to me of being a listener to the advanced selling podcast. And let's get all those in one place, and then we can make like a collage and play them, play them on air and play them on a website like that. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Or just you know, even even like hold them until the end or something, but we'll collect them as we go. So uh you can send it an email to listener atvanced selling podcast.com in short order. Some of you are antsy to do this, you might do it today, and then we'll we'll find a way to uh get those allated.

SPEAKER_00 1:27

If it's too long, it might not go through on an email. So if it's uh if it's a hundred meg video, you can put it on Dropbox and then send us the link to it or Google Drive or whatever, whatever cloud box, there's a lot of them. Just put it up there and then that way we can download it with ease and we're not clogging up people's mailbox. But uh if you want to, if you're not comfortable with the video, if you want to send us a blurb, that's fine. But we'd love to see you. We want to see for sure. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:53

Or audio if you're in between, you know, you're in between, do a voice memo that's doable. Make sure just make sure you got good audio, good mics. That's all we ask. It's all we ask.

SPEAKER_00 2:02

That's all it's funny. Simple, simple people. Okay, so we'll start that. We we'll even make an announcement in the uh LinkedIn uh ASP group, too. Love it. We'll do that. Yeah. Um, I had, you know, my grandson is nine years old and and he's a twin. And his uh sister, twin sister, I've helped her put a YouTube channel together. And she is very spotty in how she how she produces video, and they're they're okay. I mean, she she's cool, she likes telling people that she has a YouTube video channel, but she really doesn't do much with it. She's nine, Bill. She's nine. She's she's spotty. She's getting her. Um he wants to do it now because he's seen his sister do it. And Evan is a tall kid, and he's he's wild because he's a boy and he's a good kid. He just he's delightful. I love being around this kid. He's a good baseball player, too. And so I love that. But um, he's he says, I want to do a channel where we do Roblox where I I play the game, and and you know, what you watch me play the game, we'll film me playing the game. It's like, oh God. Um that requires now it requires screen recording, and it requires this, and it requires a lot of editing. And these kids do not like editing, so guess who the editing falls to? Grandpa. Yep. So um, but he was at a game the other day, uh a volleyball game of his sister's, and he loves to go chase the ball. So if the ball is hit and it goes out of bounds, man, he's like a bat out of hell going to get the ball, fetching it. He's like the fetcher. And then he throws it to the and as he's doing this, and I'm recording it, I'm like, oh, this is the YouTube channel. This is it. And and so kids would love to watch him because he's crazy. So I've got a clip here of afterwards, I interviewed him. So we're just trying to build some copy here. So I thought you'd like to see this. Uh so here it is. All right, so here we're talking to never stop to the ultimate volleyball chaperine. When that ball goes up, what are you thinking? What are you thinking when you see that ball? I noticed you always have your eye, even on the other side of the court, you're ready to go.

SPEAKER_01 4:09

I'm just like a sister.

SPEAKER_00 4:15

Now, when you are running and somebody else is in your way, do you ever have a temptation to shove them out of the way so you can get the ball?

SPEAKER_01 4:22

Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_00 4:23

Okay, we'll see you next week. I can't believe how big he is. Oh my God. He's huge. Yeah, I can't believe he's a full head taller than most kids his age on the baseball team. He's a full head taller. But um, so I'll keep you posted on it. We we've got some good video, so we're gonna try to do it. And I, you know, it'll take a little bit of editing, but not much if he's just chasing the ball. But he has some he has some great chases, man. He is, and he's always ready. I mean, he's watching that game to see what that ball's gonna eclipse the out of bounds. So he's on it, and he does. He sometimes he runs and somebody else grabs it and he just turns around and shakes his head. He doesn't fight it.

SPEAKER_01 5:04

He's like the uh Wimbledon ball kids, exactly a volleyball, of uh young travel volleyball. Oh, that's awesome!

SPEAKER_00 5:12

So, topic today. Um, I brought this idea to Brian and he changed the the title, which I really like. And that is how do you become the obvious choice for your customers? How do you become that that choice that it's really not a decision, it's a no-brainer. It's just like, oh my gosh, why would we ever do business with anybody other than these guys? And I think there's a I'm I'm sure there's a way to do it. We've had clients who are the obvious choice, but I don't know if we've ever really broken down, well, what does it take to get there? And that's what we want to do this episode and the next. We'll do three or four ideas this one, three or four ideas the next one, and we'll do a little quick series on it.

SPEAKER_01 5:48

Yeah, I think the um the the interesting thing to think about, and this is where you teed up the topic, Bill. You said we spend so much time trying to win at the end. We try to do all these things at the end, like, oh, let's do this or change that, or let's say this, or let's pull in a some, you know, uh give them a gift to add things to the offer, give a discount. There's all things all we do all the stuff at the end, which tells us if we're having to do that, that we're not the obvious choice. So let's roll it back and say, how can we start to become the obvious choice from the very first interaction and kind of cycle through the whole sales process that makes it really clear that we are the obvious choice um to our customers.

SPEAKER_00 6:39

Yeah, yeah. And I think that the mentality here is don't how am I say this? It's like don't try to don't try to do this, just do it. Don't try to become the it's like don't try to get somebody to do something, do all the things that would cause them to want to do something and do the things that are required for them to see and hear and experience so that it is the obvious choice, but we're not trying to, we're not saying things in the sales process like we want, we're the obvious choice. We're not doing that, we're just doing the things that are required to make it that make it so. Glad you said that.

SPEAKER_01 7:18

Glad you said that because that is, and you've heard Bill and I talk about this for years and years and years. That's our intention. Our energy starts everything off, and we our the intention is not to become the obvious choice, the intention is to to me be the obvious choice when it's right for me to be the obvious choice in the right scenario with the right timing.

SPEAKER_00 7:37

Um love that. And I also think there's uh we're kind of doing the customer a favor because if we're not doing this, then there's a lot of fretting on the customer's part at the end. Well, do I choose A, B, or C? I I don't want them to fret. I want them to become so so uh immersed in what we do and so compelled that it makes it easy on them. So this is, I know that sounds a little bit of a stretch, but I want to make it easy on my customer. And if I'm not the obvious choice, and if there's somebody else, then they should go do that. But I want to really make it so that it becomes apparent and it's a it's a help to them, it's serving them.

SPEAKER_01 8:16

That's so interesting. So uh I don't know if we're in it already, if we're in the end of the lesson, let's go. So I'm gonna take that one and I think just say it slightly different differently. Um if it doesn't feel like they're the obvious ideal customer to us, we should strongly consider tapping out. Now there's a phase, there's steps to this. It's not like you talk to them in the first 45 seconds and then like, okay, they're out. Um, and I think because all salespeople are taught bad intention, I truly believe that. I truly believe that sales leaders reinforce bad intention for the most part in B2B selling. They're all trying to get everything. You're listening, you're trying to get everything. If you flip that like we did earlier, and then say, okay, so part of what I'm looking for and listening for is this customer an obvious, great customer for us? And that an obvious means obvious, not like, well, they could, you know, lipstick on a pig kind of stuff. Well, they could do. I know they're they're tough. I mean, they you know, they've they've not shown up for a couple meetings, but they you know, they're not we can like the wife and the husband. We can we can change the other. We can do that. That works out well. Yeah, it's great. That'll cost you half your assets. Not better. Um uh I'm not really not. Uh so I I think that's a first step is what's the lens through which I'm listening and hearing and processing things? And is the lens I'm listening through the lens of I'm only looking for customers and clients where it's obvious to me that they should be a client of mine? Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 10:00

Yeah. So it's it's at first to you and then to them. And if it's not, if it's not obvious to you, it might not be obvious to them because you will either hold back or you'll give off a vibe like, yeah, we'll we'll do business with you, but you know, really not. I don't want to give off that vibe. I want to give off the vibe of, oh no, you would be a great fit. Now the only question is is do you want to be a great fit? Do you want to? Yeah. Uh Naval Ravicant, who I I think you probably know, he he did about a 20-minute uh video the other day. I think he was being interviewed. Do you know who he is?

SPEAKER_01 10:29

Yeah, did he write uh Love Yourself Like Your Life Depends? No, that's his brother.

SPEAKER_00 10:33

His brother wrote that. But Naval has been an investor in eBay and all these things, he's a very wealthy man. But they were asking him about selling, about when he goes to pitch an investor on investing in one of his companies. And he actually has a VC fund now that uh he he collects money from with. Um, but he his attitude is exactly like ours. He says, look, if it's if the if the customer has too many questions or they have too much resistance, I will just tell him, look, it's not right for you. If if you're asking these questions at this time, it is obvious to me that this is not a good fit. And I would propose we table it until it becomes a good fit. And he says, his his investor or the people around him can't believe he does that. It's like, no, these people were ready to invest. And he's like, No, they aren't. I can tell. I know it's a sixth cents. And if you have a chance to go, I don't know if it's on YouTube, I know it was on Twitter. It's a 20-minute really masterclass in how to prepare your mind. And he used the word detached a couple of times, but it's uh he he's really he really kind of brought it to life again. So I think that's interesting.

SPEAKER_01 11:42

So can you spell his name for the listeners and your co-host, please?

SPEAKER_00 11:46

Yeah, uh Naval N-A-V-A-L Ravi Kant R-A-V-I-K-A-N-T. Naval Robbie Kant. I can't remember his brother's name that wrote Love Yourself, but yeah, uh sidebar.

SPEAKER_01 11:59

That's a if you're if you're ever in a really tough life place, yeah, love yourself like your life depended on it is a phenomenal book that pulled me out of some dark spaces. Love that book. Me too.

SPEAKER_00 12:08

It was written about 2020 when a lot of us were in kind of weird, weird spaces. Yes. Okay, let's get to work. Why don't you um why don't you and I just take turns and we'll rattle off three or four of these things.

SPEAKER_01 12:18

Do you want to go one? I just did mine. My first one was uh no, you go ahead. Okay, I'll go. My second one then is going to be. That's a dramatic pause, Bill. And or me debating on which one I want to go with first. Okay, here's where I'm going first. Um I've got to be um pristine in my story about where we're good and what we help with to lead me to be an obvious choice for someone. If my message isn't clear for me, it won't be clear for them. And that would include this is where I take this a different place, not like for me, but I just think we we do so much of like here's where we are best, or here's where we fit the most. I also love to add to that, here's what we don't or won't do, or can't do, or shouldn't do. We shouldn't do these sorts of things, we shouldn't do that, or we shouldn't do this. Uh, there are people that are as good or better or cheaper or whatever. So we don't do that, we do do this. You get hyper, hyper locked in. You can become an obvious choice when there's a more clearly defined, limited set of choices. So, example would be um why is iPad the obvious choice for a tablet for most people? I think I have to fact check that. I think there's more of these than there are surfaces. Oh, I think. Why is it the obvious choice? One of the reasons is it's very clear on what the iPad does and doesn't do, and there's only three to six choices for an iPad. There aren't very many choices for an iPad, which helps me become the obvious choice. If if I can customize my set, my my tablet and I can get in any shape, any form, now it's less obvious to the buyer. So you become more obvious when you're more pristine and um focused on what you do and what you don't do. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 14:20

So you're saying that somewhere in that meeting, you say to that you verbally uh depict this and say that this is what we're good at, this is who we're for, this is who we're not for. If you're looking for something that does X, Y, and Z, that's probably not us. You're saying actually say that to the prospect. 100%, but you have to be clear about that too. And it can't be some kind of a move. Like, you know, we're we're for people who want to grow up, we're not for losers. Uh, you can't say that. I mean, I know that's tempting, but that's good. So be clear about the message, who you're for and who you're not for. All right, good. Uh that's number one. What was your first one?

SPEAKER_01 14:56

The mentality? The yeah, the the the lens to see I see all my prospects through the lens of are you obvious for me? Are you an obvious ideal client for me? Okay.

SPEAKER_00 15:08

Let's make those first two, the one I said and the one you said, kind of the foundational mentality, then. And let's say that one that you just gave us, that's number one. Perfect. That's number one. Um, I think the thing that goes along with message is are we clear about the payoff? I think sometimes we drop into this. Well, it's the process, because we we have a process that when you sign up as a client or when you engage us, here's the process, step one, step two, step three. I'm all for that. I think that roadmap philosophy is really good. If you decide to work with us and we decide to work with you, here's what it looks like. I think that's really kind of two. And then two A is make sure that there's a payoff there somewhere for them. What's the payoff if they decide to do this with you, go through the process, you be, you, you be their guide. What's the transformation? What's the payoff? I don't think we spend enough time on that. And sometimes people will say, well, I can't promise that because I don't know if they're gonna, yeah, you can. You can say, look, directionally, here's what most people will find after working with us for 12 months. They will find this gets easier, this gets more financially whatever, whatever those payoff elements are. If we're not, if we're not talking about those, they're not talking about those. And you can call that benefit, I don't know, feature benefit. It's it's just more payoff. What if you work with us? What can you expect to see at the end of us working together?

SPEAKER_01 16:39

I think that gets misinterpreted as ROI. Everyone wants to know what's the ROI if I spend a dollar with Bill for coaching, what's my ROI? And ROI tends to be a longer-term deal. So the payoff in the beginning of working with Bill is different than the payoff after 12 months. The first two months of payoff might be more clarity of language, more focus on goals, whatever the thing is. The 12-month then becomes sales cycle has dropped from 78 days down to 42 days, and closing percentage has you know risen from 18 to 27, whatever the thing is. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 17:19

So you can have several different payoffs here. It doesn't have to be just one. ROI seems to be the catch all, but but sometimes people don't believe ROI. And sometimes you have to have them be a part of that ROI conversation so that it doesn't sound like too too good to be true kind of thing. Yes. But you can, there's also different categories like how is your work product going to change? How is the time you spend doing the thing that you help them do better going to change? You can point and say, you will typically you'll find you'll save about 50 hours a month if you do it the way we recommend. And I don't know what your FTE you know assignment per hour is, but over the course of a year, that's about six. You can feel free to do that if it's true. It's gotta be true. Gotta be true. Yeah.

unknown 18:05

All right.

SPEAKER_01 18:05

We have time for another one on this episode, or we'll do one more. Okay, one more for this episode. Um, let me see. This one, I'm gonna go. What makes you the obvious choice? One of the things that will make you the obvious choice is how you handle pulling multiple people in your team and your customers' team into the process. Um, I think finding um perspective and input from multiple people on the buying side and bringing input perspective from multiple people on the selling side enhances your idea of obvious choice. I still have way too many clients that are very myopic in this, and they think I'm the seller and you're the buyer, and they make it worse by saying I'm the seller and you're the decision maker. I just don't believe exists at all. Thank you for making that noise. It doesn't. Um, it's always multi-threaded. There's way too much data about this, and there's got multi-threaded means there's multiple people on both sides. And I think the more strategic you can be with who those people are, who you ask to bring in or command-demand bring in from the buyer side, and who you bring in on your side and your team, all of those things enhance the the chances of you being the obvious choice.

SPEAKER_00 19:21

Yeah, it's good. That's good. And the a plus to that is if you're going to bring people in on their side, which you should and you will, understand what each person's role in this is and understand what they're what they're trying to get out of this. The CFO is going to have a different set of expectations than a VP of marketing if you're calling on both of those people. And I want to know from each of those people what is your interest in this? What does this mean to you? If we could get this humming, what could that change for you? What's the payoff for each one of those people? What's what's their pain and dilemma? What are they going through? You you'd be shocked at how much great information you get. Sometimes you say, Well, you know, the the marketing director really doesn't have much in here. Well, if you're inviting him to the to the meeting to be at the table, you do need to ask him or her the question. Yes, yes, yes, yes. So I like those three. So let's let's cut it there and let's come back next week and talk about maybe three or four more.

SPEAKER_01 20:18

Any uh insider update for the listeners here at the end of the show?

SPEAKER_00 20:22

Uh I'll have to give you that next week. Oh, I don't have the I don't have yeah, I don't have the uh agenda for June, but it's the first Friday in June, so it'll be what's that, June 8th or something like that. I'll get that next show. But yeah, that's great.

SPEAKER_01 20:34

Yeah. So join insider if you haven't already. Advanced sellingpodcast.com insider. Just go, just go join. What are you waiting for? So all right, we'll see you next time.

SPEAKER_00 20:41

Yeah, let us know in the LinkedIn comments too. I know a lot of you are LinkedIn uh members of our uh ASP group. So make sure you hear tell us. I mean, you have some ideas too. I'm sure you've had some situations where you've become the obvious choice and you've done something that we just haven't thought about yet. So make sure you connect with us there. See you next time. Bye.