Ask five customers why they buy from you and you will often hear the same thing: "You are reliable", "The service is good". That is probably true, but your competitor says the same about themselves. A win point is something else. It is a concrete moment in the customer journey that you do just a bit differently, in a way a customer remembers and passes on.
What a win point is, and what it is not
A win point is an action, not a trait. "We are customer-focused" is not a win point. "After every first quote we discuss it at the table, never by email alone" is. The difference: you cannot check the first one, you can check the second.
A good win point meets four requirements:
- Concrete. Someone who was not there can see whether it happened.
- Distinctive. The competitor does not do it, or not this way.
- Repeatable. It can be done for every customer, not just the biggest.
- Tied to your promise. It delivers on what you promise.
Why win points work
Customers do not remember a whole relationship. They remember a few moments. The moment someone did something they did not expect. The moment they felt relieved.
If you leave those moments to chance, they happen sometimes. More often with one sales rep than with another. With win points you make them a fixed part of how you work. Every customer gets them, whoever the sales rep is.
There is another advantage. A win point gives your sales reps something to talk about. "We do things differently" becomes: "After the quote we come by to walk through it together. That way you know exactly what you are buying." That is a story a customer can retell.
The workshop in four rounds
Plan a three-hour afternoon with four to eight people: sales reps, inside sales and someone who knows the delivery side. Put the phases of your sales process on a long strip of paper on the wall.
Round 1, collecting (45 minutes). Everyone writes down, on separate cards, moments when a customer was ever surprised or relieved. One moment per card. Stick them next to the phase they belong to. After forty-five minutes there are usually thirty to fifty cards on the wall.
Round 2, clustering (30 minutes). Merge cards that are about the same thing. Give each cluster a verb as its title: "discuss the quote at the table", "visit within 48 hours".
Round 3, testing (45 minutes). Run each cluster past the four requirements above. Whatever is not concrete or not distinctive drops out. Be strict: a moment the competitor also delivers is a basic promise, not a win point.
Round 4, choosing (30 minutes). Everyone gets three stickers. Choose the moments that contribute most to your promise and that you can carry out tomorrow. Keep three.
From thirty to three win points
Three feels like few, but that is exactly the strength. Nobody remembers ten win points and nobody delivers them every time. Three you can train, check and celebrate. What dropped out is not gone: put it on a list for the next quarterly check.
For each moment, agree who carries it out and in which phase. A moment without an owner happens enthusiastically in the first month and less and less after that.
A fictional example: three moments at a wholesaler
Take a fictional wholesaler in fastening materials. Their promise: "Your building site never comes to a halt because of us." After the workshop they keep three moments.
- In the orientation phase: a site visit. The account manager comes to look before writing a quote. He sees how people work and where things get stuck today.
- After the first order: a call on day three. Inside sales calls the site manager. Was everything delivered in full? Is anything missing?
- For emergencies: a fixed emergency line with a name. Not a general number, but one colleague who knows the customer.
All three are concrete, repeatable and deliver on the promise. The competitor delivers fast too. But none of the competitors calls back on day three.
What dropped out? "Fast delivery", for instance. Customers find it important, but everyone in the market promises it. It is a basic promise. It has to be good, but it does not set you apart.
Common mistakes with win points
Writing down a trait instead of an action. "Personal contact" sounds good. But what exactly does someone do? Keep asking until you have a verb and a moment.
Choosing moments that only work for large customers. Dinner with the board is nice, but you do not do it for every customer. Then it is an exception, not a win point.
Letting only sales come up with the moments. Many strong moments sit with inside sales, the technician or planning. If you do not invite those people, you miss half.
Not measuring whether it happens. A moment nobody checks fades away. Keep track of how often it was carried out, for instance as an activity in your CRM.
How to start tomorrow
No free afternoon? Start small. You can take these steps this week.
- Call three customers. Ask: "What has stayed with you from working with us?" Write the answers down word for word.
- Look for the moments. Which answers are about something you did, at a specific moment?
- Test against the four requirements. Concrete, distinctive, repeatable, tied to your promise.
- Pick one. Agree who carries it out, in which phase, from when.
- Plan the workshop. Put the afternoon with the team in the calendar six weeks from now.
How win points connect to the other building layers
Win points belong to building layer 3, the customer journey. They build on your promise from building layer 1 and on the phases from building layer 2. Without a clear promise you do not know which moment matters. Without phases you do not know where it falls.
From there they carry through. In the activity matrix of building layer 4 a win point becomes a fixed activity per phase. In building layer 6 it comes back in the onboarding program and in coaching conversations. And in building layer 7 you can measure how often it happens.
Frequently asked questions
What is a win point in sales?
A win point is a concrete moment in the customer journey that you do differently from the competition. It is an action customers remember and pass on, and that delivers on your promise.
How many win points should you have?
Start with three. That is enough to make the difference and few enough to deliver every time. If it works, you can add one later.
What is the difference between a win point and a USP?
A USP is a trait you claim. A win point is something you do, at a fixed moment, for every customer. A good win point shows your USP instead of just naming it.
How do you know whether a win point works?
Listen for whether customers mention it, for instance in win/loss conversations or during an evaluation. Also check whether it is carried out consistently. A moment nobody mentions may not be distinctive enough.
Capturing and keeping track
Capture the three moments in the Win points building block of building layer 3, with for each moment the phase, the role and one sentence on why it belongs to your promise. From there they come back automatically in the activities per phase, in the playbook and in the card set you share with the team.
Check every quarter whether the moments are still being carried out and whether customers mention them. In win/loss conversations you quickly hear whether a moment works: customers who mention it have remembered it.