{"id":19702,"date":"2023-04-06T14:01:01","date_gmt":"2023-04-06T14:01:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aligntraining.com\/blog\/2023\/04\/06\/why-is-the-status-quo-your-biggest-competitor\/"},"modified":"2026-08-22T12:36:49","modified_gmt":"2026-08-22T12:36:49","slug":"why-is-the-status-quo-your-biggest-competitor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aligntraining.com\/nz\/blog\/why-is-the-status-quo-your-biggest-competitor\/","title":{"rendered":"Why is the status quo your biggest competitor?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

We tend to think that our biggest competitors are our closest industry rivals and possibly the new disruptors in the market. But just as often, we\u2019re up against a less obvious and even more confounding challenge: the magnetic pull of the status quo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This might explain why, in a recent webinar, sales leaders told us that their biggest sales challenge is opportunities that initially progress but then lose momentum. As many salespeople have discovered, no matter how great your product or service is, and no matter how perfectly matched your solution is to a client\u2019s needs, the reality for many customers today is that doing nothing is still the easiest and safest choice. All that interest and enthusiasm they showed early on in the process fizzles out, and a once-promising deal stalls out indefinitely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So how do you compete with inertia and close the sale? It helps to take a step back and think about what really motivates someone to make a purchase.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Understanding Why Customers Buy<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As most salespeople who\u2019ve been brought up in the world of consultative selling know, people don\u2019t tend to buy product or service features; they buy end-result benefits \u2014 the specific outcomes that satisfy their needs. But while salespeople intellectually know this, a lot of them still spend most of their time talking about what their solution is rather than the benefits the customer is going to enjoy as a result of having it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Crucially, we\u2019re not just talking about any benefits. It has to be the benefits that the customer individually wants and needs. And the only way salespeople can really find out what those are is by having the selling skills to interview their customers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But here again, salespeople can fall into a product- or transaction-focused trap. One obvious clue: They spend most of the time in the first half of their contact talking about their product or service and its features and advantages. Another tipoff: Their main goal is to get the person to say \u201cyes\u201d and buy whatever it is they\u2019re selling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A customer-needs-focused<\/em> salesperson, on the other hand, reverses the ratio, with a goal of understanding what motivates that person. They ask questions that focus on the customer\u2019s needs, and they spend at least 80 percent of their time listening. They paraphrase back what customers tell them to make sure they understand them. And they make no attempt to sell anything until the following steps have been accomplished:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  1. The customer admits needs, wants, problems or objectives they want filled, satisfied or solved.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. They agree that not only do they have needs, but that they are open to solutions.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. They agree to talk about a solution.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. They confirm that they can make purchase decisions.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    And if people don\u2019t<\/em> admit that they have needs or a desire for a solution? Then that\u2019s a good sign that either they aren\u2019t a good prospect, aren\u2019t the real decision-maker, don\u2019t have a compelling reason to take action, or aren\u2019t favourably disposed to buy from you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Uncovering a Customer\u2019s Buying Motives<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Let\u2019s say the customer does agree to the above four steps, but things are still at an impasse. In this case, the salesperson needs to figure out more about the customer\u2019s main reasons for buying. People are driven by one or more of the following buying motives:<\/p>\n\n\n\n