In B2B sales, few phrases are as discouraging as “We already have a supplier” or “We bank with someone else.” It often feels like a closed door. But it shouldn’t. In fact, these statements can be the start of a different kind of conversation—one that seeks a soft entry point, builds trust from the inside out, and ultimately helps you get competitors’ customers. Here’s how three different teams turned rejection into opportunity, and discovered that the real win is rarely in the hard sell—but in the soft nudge.
1. Corporate banking’s soft entry strategy to get competitors’ customers
“We don’t get fazed as we used to when a prospect says they are already in business with a competitor. Now, we seek a soft entry point, slowly grow bit by bit from within, and I’m happy with the success rate,” so a Head of Corporate Banking shared. And for us, being in corporate banking, that is a big deal. You see, every intuition has a primary bank it works with; that is, gets its corporate loans (facilities) from. The more intricate an instanton’s operations are, the more entangled it is with its primary banker. For instance, a manufacturing entity has significantly more banking needs than a corporate in the services sector.
Either way, it’s a marriage with kids involved and disentanglement is not easy; it can be a messy divorce. The more if the marriage is working. So, when they say they are already in a relationship with a bank, we are careful not to disrupt that relationship. Equally, we do not tuck tail. In any case, being a tier 3 bank, we cannot compete with the big boys in tier 1. So, what I ask my team to do, and which they do very well, is to find a chink in the armour.
And for us, what we have found is that there almost always is a facility they require, but are unable to access because the tier 1 primary bank is asking for much more security than we are. The amount usually is not much for the bank but is important to the corporate and we are happy to oblige.”
2. Fuelling the sale from a different angle: selling around the objection
“In the energy sector, long-term contracts are the norm. But, if there was a statement we dreaded to hear was, ‘We already have a supplier for our fuel needs.’ Others would add: ‘We have been with them now for five years and our contract runs for ten.’ This is typical in our industry, and we used to acquiesce every time a prospect raised it, and resignedly put it in the sales report – ‘prospect said already has supplier’. I now realize how defeatist that was.
Today, we take, ‘We already have a supplier for our fuel needs’ in stride or, if already know they have a contract, avoid that discussion altogether; instead, we address a different prospect-the HR Manager. And to her we talk about staff motivation via buying our solar lanterns from us and deducting the amount over time from the staff via check-off.
Sometimes, even if they are not using our fuel, they may be open to using our lubes, and if so, that is what we pitch. The objective, we discovered, is to find a foot (if not, toe) in. It does not always work of course but that’s the thing about selling, isn’t it? Not all pitches convert but you don’t know which one will until you try; and then informed by feedback, you keep perfecting the pitch, prospect and conversion rate.”
3. From free air to new business: the small things that get competitors’ customers
“At one of our service stations, a small incident sparked a bigger opportunity. I noticed my attendants in an altercation with a customer in a Prado inflating his tyres. After he had left, I asked my staff what that was all about. ”Madam, huyu customer amezoea kuja hapa kutumia pressure yetu baada ya kununua mafuta pale.” (That customer buys fuel from the competition across the road and only comes here to fill his tyres, which we don’t charge for). I asked them to call me next time he shows up which they did.
It turned out he was a driver and the reason why he fuelled ‘there’ was because he was using a company card. It was policy. All company vehicles were fuelled at the competitor’s service stations. The reason why he filled his tyres at our station was because ours filled his tyres faster and, unlike the competitor’s, was always working.
With this knowledge, I encouraged him to continue doing so, assured him of cooperation, told him about our restaurant, and asked about his company’s fleet size and Fleet Manager. As with most drivers he was a goldmine of information. Long story short, today (a month in) he still uses our ‘pressure’ but every so often buys tea at the restaurant too.
As for me, I escalated the information to our Card Manager, pointing out to include our ‘pressure’ as a Unique Selling Proposition. From what I gather discussions are very promising and the driver could soon be fuelling at our station. It’s proof that even small acts of service can be the starting point to win over the competitors’ customers.”
Want to acquire competitors’ customers? Use the power of the soft entry
If your goal is to get the competitors’ customers, don’t knock harder on the same closed door. Look for the open window. Plant a seed via a soft entry point. Find a need the incumbent doesn’t see at all, or see as important. Whether it’s a neglected facility, a quiet HR need, or a tyre pump that just works, the secret is to position yourself as a quiet, dependable alternative.
You don’t always win fast—but if you listen well, you often win in the end.
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