Overcoming the Price Disadvantage
August 24, 2007
By Betsy Cummings
"We close fifty to one hundred accounts a month," says Marx Acosta-Rubio, CEO and founder of Onestop, an office products firm in Los Angeles. That quick close rate, much of it by phone, has led to sales of $18 million a year. When your industry is a commodity-based market, winning deals is often driven by price, with the lowest bidder claiming the prize. Not so at Onestop, Acosta-Rubio says. His company's key to closing a large deal recently with a phone headset manufacturer happened not because Onestop lowered its price. In fact, that sales strategy is never a focus for Onestop's reps, Acosta-Rubio says. In his business, "toner cartridges, IT supplies, pens, pencils—it's all the same thing," he says. "So we have to come up with some way … to uncommoditize our product."
He did that for this West Coast client by tapping into its biggest concerns. When Acosta-Rubio sat down with the company's executives, he made sure not to ask certain questions. For example, Onestop never asks about what the toner is used for or price, he says.
"I'll never win on price" over big box retailers like Staples or Office Depot, giant companies that can operate on high volume and low margins. Instead, Acosta-Rubio says, he asks only one thing: What are your goals as a company? In this case, the firm had two main operational concerns: To consolidate vendors and be environmentally friendly. Fine on the first point, he says, pitching his firm's ability to supply all products the company needs.
As to the environment, Acosta-Rubio proposed a solution in which Onestop would pick up old printing cartridges from the company and recycle them. That personal touch landed Onestop a $350,000 yearly contract—a strong showing against the company's average $30,000 deal.
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