by Bill Brooks
Special to Realty/Builder Connection
One thing that everyone in sales knows for sure is this: you will always have some sort of competition for the business that you are seeking.
That competition could be inertia, a lack of awareness, or a competitor who is vying for the business that you are attempting to win. There is little doubt that the most effective salespeople are those who are extremely competitive and interested in forging ahead and being successful against whatever competition it is that they face.
Clearly, everyone knows that it is never good smart business to “bad mouth” your competition under any terms. By the same token, it is important for salespeople to understand that there are some fundamental things that you need to know about your competition in order for you to put yourself in a position to be successful.
In order to help you better understand the things that you need to know about your competition, let’s take a look at the following 10 tips or ideas that can help you more fully understand and be in a position to defeat the competitors you have for your accounts.
1. What is your competitor’s marketing philosophy?
You need to know whether they have positioned themselves as high quality, timely delivery, low price, or strong customer service provider. There is little doubt that the marketing premise of your competitor is something that you are going to have to contend with and understand in order to be successful in your battle for the account.
2. What is your competitor’s unique selling proposition?
What do they sell as their differential advantage? What is their position as it relates to differentiating themselves from everyone else in the marketplace? Although this may appear to be tied to the marketing strategy, it is really part of a sales strategy in that a selling proposition is one that allows salespeople to differentiate themselves from other salespeople in the marketplace. You need to know what your competitors’ philosophy is so that you can successfully counter it.
3. Who is the sales representative against whom you are selling?
What are this person’s strengths, weaknesses and relationship to the customer? How long have they been selling or attempting to sell to your customer, either for a home sale or a listing? What is their strength within the sale? Being unable to ascertain this information will yield nothing but long term aggravation for you as you get blindsided by someone who is out-maneuvering you inside of the account.
4. Does your customer have a history as being a price, quality, delivery or value-added provider?
Although this is tied closely to the marketing strategy, it really deals a lot more with existing customers as it relates to the actual experience that they have been having with your competitor.
5. What must you do to differentiate you from your competitor?
Although this is a fundamental question, it is one that needs to be addressed. For example, in the absence of a value interpreter or differentiation, everything is perceived as being equal or as a commodity. It is your job to ensure that your product or service is never perceived that way.
6. How can you allow an apple never to be compared to an apple?
The bottom line here is that you must never allow your service to be compared directly to your competitor’s. You must always find ways to differentiate what you have so that you are not perceived solely as a commodity.
7. Who has stronger internal advocacy – you or your competitor?
How do you develop better, deeper and richer advocacy? There is little doubt that the stronger advocacy someone has inside of an account in both depth and quality, the more likely they are to be able to persuade others to deal with them. It is essential for you to understand not only the level of advocacy that your competitor has, but the quality of it as well.
8. Are there impending events or business drivers that favor you or the competition?
Business drivers are things that are occurring in the marketplace that have a significant and direct impact on the timing, quality, quantity and process of the decision as it relates to you. Impending events, for example, will force someone to make a decision faster than they would at any other time. You need to know these business drivers and understand elements like budgeting cycles, marketing strategies, etc. for your prospect or customer.
9. Are there impending events within your competitors’ organization that could help or hurt you?
There is also little doubt that reorganization, restructuring and downsizing are occurring in every industry in all parts of the world. It should also be obvious that your competition is not going to escape this type of restructuring. In some cases, it will significantly weaken them in the mind of your prospect, while in others it may enhance their strength. You need to be aware of how this relates specifically to you and the relationship you have with your competitor.
10. What will it take for you to win the business against the competition?
Perhaps this particular point is one that encapsulates all of the previous nine. There is no doubt that only one will win the account and you need to develop your specific strategy that will allow you to be seen as the preferred provider in the mind of your particular prospect or customer.
Yes, knowing your competition is absolutely critical. But knowing your competition is only part of it.
You also need to know your own organization, your own personal strengths and weaknesses, your ability to deliver whatever it is that you promise, and your ability to address the specific problems, needs or irritations that your prospect may have. It is also essential to understand that you have to position all of these not only to the prospect, buy you have to position them in opposition to and separated from your toughest competitor.
Again, one of the vital characteristics of effective salespeople is that they are competitive and they take on all competition without hesitation. My question to you is simply this: are you someone who thinks you can walk and talk your way through any sale without knowing anything about your competition, or are you someone who understands that knowledge is power and that applying this knowledge, particularly as it relates to knowledge about your competition, can yield a tremendously successful sale for you and a long term successful sales career?
— Bill Brooks has spoken
or consulted in over 300
different industries. He is the
author of nine books,
including the best-seller,
“High Impact Selling.” He’s at [email protected]