Understand Your Buyer > How to connect with your buyer > The Additional Supplier Effect

What is it?

When faced with the “we already have a supplier” objection, suggesting the person should have more than one supplier can help to make them think.

 

Why does it work?

It works because it’s essentially a dead end question. We’re asking them who else they deal with, knowing they probably don’t. This changes the conversation from it being stopped at “we don’t need you” to becoming “maybe we should have more than one supplier…”

 

How can you use it?

Quite simply – the next time you are faced with the incumbent supplier objection, remember to ask them who else supplies them….?

 

Example

What we’re doing here, in theory, is talking about a “tendering” model where the supplier is chosen from a pool based on commercial needs at the time, rather then just having 1, static, supplier. Tendering provides a better commercial outcome for the buyer and as such should be an attractive proposition.

 

 

See also

•  The Defensive Model
• How to differentiate

 

 

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