Once you’ve got through to the person you would like to speak to, this is when the fun really starts. This is the part that we can get creative, we can start discussing the solution that we have come to present and we can discuss the need that we have identified for that particular customer. But you will always come up against objections when the customer says they are happy with their incumbent supplier.
So what should you do then? Quite simply, you should ask them why they are happy with their incumbent supplier – open questions – and this is important because this then strengthens your understanding of their need.

And for this, I’m going to take some inspiration from Steve Jobs where he stated “People don’t realize what they want until you tell them“. And the reason why I say this is because actually whilst you’re listening to why their incumbent supplier is so good you can analyze and suggest where we can add value on top of what they’re already getting. And this is something they may not have considered. And this then should lead on to further discussions about the USPs of NCAB, what we do to control our factories and what makes us unique as a company.
So when you consider, the biggest challenge you can get is when someone says they have an excellent supply chain and you can still overcome that adversity to offer them a solution that they may not be aware of – anything is possible!

So be brave, be bold, be confident and push the boundaries even when you feel that there may not be an opportunity for us. Be persistent. It may happen on the first call, it may happen on the tenth call – the soft sell is the best sell.