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What does it take to move the needle? I recently discovered this concept in business. My company is an IT managed services provider and reseller. We sell Apple, Dell, HP, etc products and we offer them below the competition. The simple thought here was: sell them for less and customers will buy from us. Makes sense, right? I mean, why wouldn’t a business (small or large) want to buy the same hardware they’re buying for less?

Turns out, this simple theory is flawed.

We had a lead on a very large Pennsylvania-based company this past spring. They wanted to purchase 5,000 iPhones. We were up against several big box sellers (which the customer was unhappy with), and the customer had never done business with us. In an attempt to win the bid, we came in low — below Apple’s cost. There was no way the big box companies would sell for that low because the hit to profit was too great. We wanted the business, we were willing to sacrifice a large part of our profit to win. If the customer went with us it would have saved them tens of thousands of dollars.

We lost. The reps from the customer didn’t feel like filing the paperwork to add us as a new vendor. It wasn’t worth tens of thousands of dollars in savings. It didn’t move the needle.

Think about it the next time you post on social media, pitch whatever you’re selling online, or wanting to get someone else to act on — are you moving the needle? Is the value proposition given to someone enough for them to act?

Moving the needle is the only way to win business in the age of company procurement people buying with a few clicks of a button from Amazon or CDW or other established vendors. If a request comes to their desk, there’s a well-worn rut of clicking a few familiar links and placing the order. No real thought expended. No effort required. Short and sweet. To disrupt that, you have to move the needle. You have to register with such force they can’t ignore you.

The value proposition has to be so good it’s worth trying something new.

August 20, 2025