How to compete against giant corporations--and win

Watch neighborhood kids choose their teams, and you'll see an emotionally brutal process unfold. Everyone gets to participate, but biggest, oldest and fastest kids are selected first; friends are second. And unknowns usually are among the last. In the world of sales, a similar sandlot process happens, except not everyone gets to play.

When companies are looking to purchase products or services, they also consider their options by weighing the vendors' size, experience, specialization and, of course, relationships.

You'll notice that the unknowns don't even make the list. And that's the problem: How do you break into a new market or into a new buyers' table if you are relatively unknown compared to the other players? You have to move aggressively to get yourself high up the list. That requires looking at your company the way your prospect sees you. Now think about what you can do to change its perception. Control their lens and you win.

Here are some strategies:

1. Make yourself seem bigger. 

Not one of the Fortune 500 companies? Change the perception of yourself as minor league player by showcasing how you lead in your niche. For instance, a construction company bidding on a hospital project was the smallest of the three finalists. What they did was note they built more medical facilities in the region and employed more local labor than the two other bidders.

2. Show that your experience is unsurpassed in a critical area.

Your company may not have been in business as long as the competitors, but you want to stress how the experience you have is targeted to their precise problem. The construction company, for instance, emphasized its superior skill in handling medical gases. The point was that all of the bidders would use similar construction materials and method, but the only place for differentiation would be in handling the mechanical contracting for the medical gases. And in that area, this company was unrivaled. 

3. Stress your speed.

In the world of big deals, being able to deliver a service fast is a major plus. Let's say all six bidders are certified as qualified to provide a particular service. You can differentiate your company by making this argument:

"If you need your project completed in a year, any of us can do it. If you need it in six months, there are 4-5 companies that can. If you need this completed and fully functional in three months, you're stuck- we're it. We are the 3-month company." Changing the language away from capability and moving it to specialty changes the lens.

4. Don't rely on your "friends."

Friendships and relationships are great. They will get you a nibble, a seat at the table. However, when it comes to bigger deals, this is not where you end the conversation; it is where you start it. Everyone on the finalist list has relationships with the buyers. If you rely on that to get the deal, then you will, at the very best, get scraps.

If you are entering new markets, new areas or are selling to new buyers in your old clients, you will need to change your buyers lens to put your company in the best light possible. Get the lenses right and the picture will come into focus in your favor.