Why do people choose you over your competitor? Usually it’s going to be because of one of three things:
- They already know and trust you.
- You can do a better job than the other guy for the same or better cost.
- You can bring more value than the competitor.
Get one (or more) of those and you’re going to be in a good position. #3 there is why silos are bad. Let’s say that you are part of a company that does 5 things really, really well. Better than your competitors in every area. But every time you pitch a client you only pitch 1 area at a time. You are now basically 5 independent businesses. That’s not what added value is about.
Breakdown the wall and allow yourself to bring any of the 5 to the table anytime you need with no hassles around contracts, transfer costs and who’s in charge – now that’s a value-added winner!
Silos are shorthand for “we don’t know how to make people play nicely together.” That’s a message to clients that you don’t ever want to send. It’s a quick and easy way for an integrated competitor to step in and take charge of the market.
Explain silos, please.
Silos= business lines within an organization that function independently. For example, if Google’s Search team and Advertising team operated without communication or working together they would be silos. Silos imply that the functions do not cross even though they are in the same organization and could have potential for something different if they worked together.