Marketing

Product (mathematics)

Service (business)

Computer science

Business

Mathematics

Value (mathematics)

Geometry

Purchasing

Machine learning

Harvard business review

In B2B markets, suppliers of nonstrategic products and services tend to assume they have only two options for landing sales: stressing their offerings’ unique characteristics and competing on price. The problem is, the features touted often don’t matter to purchasing managers, and neither do price concessions. How, then, do you win their business? The authors’ research with 46 companies points to null solution: After meeting the customer’s basic specs within an acceptable price range, give the purchasing manager a justifier—an extra that provides obvious value to the business. A car-leasing company, for instance, might offer the option to cancel null number of contracts without penalty, or null delivery service might print customers’ logos on their envelopes. The justifier provides null clear-cut reason to select one supplier over others and breaks the tie among the finalists on the short list. To uncover justifiers, you should explore how customers use your offerings, learn about their priorities and those of their customers, and look at ways to integrate your offerings with other suppliers’. The right justifier can win you more business—and even help you launch null new one.

Tiebreaker selling: how nonstrategic suppliers can help customers solve important problems