If you are new to sales, you’d imagine this to be the question where you can nail down your competition and get your ticket to show the greatness of the company and the product that your represent.
But before we get on how to answering that question, let’s first understand why this question is even asked:
1. Getting to know your competition: The prospect wants to know what their options are and what better way to do this than ask you directly. The other option is to do the research themselves, and that’s just an extra effort they can avoid.
2. Gathering proof for their decision: Any prospect within a technology organization doesn’t take a standalone decision. There are multiple stakeholders who are involved in the process. There’s a business team that is responsible for the revenue the company generates. Then there’s the IT team that is responsible for the execution of the plan or the project as directed by the business team. Next is the financial team which controls the budget for the entire organization, and they direct on how much of these funds are available for use. No matter how small or big the project is, you’ll find these organizations playing some role in the sales process.
a. The chances are that you as a sales person are primarily interacting with one of these groups in which case this group has an obligation to prove to the others that they have made the right choice by going with you or someone else for that matter.
b. In case they want to go with someone else other than you, by getting to know the “negative points” from your answer, they now have useful information to negotiate with the your competitor.
The prelude to this blog might have already given an answer on where we are headed. The answer is very simply – It’s not a good idea to bash your competition no matter how tempting the opportunity looks’.
Why you may ask? Read on.
Contradicting prospects’ opinions
Unless you are selling to a fresher in the industry (which has a lower possibility than winning the lottery ticket) the chances are that your prospect already knows about your competitor and possibly has even worked with them before. In the event of you trashing your competition, you run the risk of contradicting your prospect.
Imagine this scenario in your head with different roles. You have met an acquaintance who introduces you to a new person. This new person is exhuberant but then he picks up a topic and goes on a viewpoint that is diametrically opposed to yours. And he talks about it so passionately while you just sit and cringe at what is being said. After the meeting he wants to meet again. What do you do? If you are like any prospect in the same situation, you’ll make some excuse and probably make it a point to never meet that person again. This is why you shouldn’t bring up controversial topics (politics and religion are some of the many that should be avoided in this context) during any of your prospect meetings. The same line of thinking is applicable while talking about a competition, as you do not want to ruffle any feathers in your prospect’s organization by going on a rant about them.
People avoid critics
This is more of psychology than selling. But hey, selling is all about understanding people’s emotions as much as it is about knowing the subject matter of your product or solution. Society generally frowns upon folks who crib about others. That’s true irrespective of whether your claims are true and known to the public. We seldom appreciate people who rant about others. One of the reasons for that is the general notion that if someone badmouths others in front of you, then it might as well be expected that they’ll do the same to you when in the company of others.
What to you do then, if asked the question that forms the topic of this blog?
While all that’s been said about not criticizing your competition is true, it doesn’t mean that you totally side step the issue or change the topic completely. By letting your prospects know about the pitfall they should avoid and the things that they should pay cognizance to while choosing a partner, you are being the trusted advisor they are looking for. This is an important quality that customers are looking for, especially in an industry that doesn’t have too many benchmarks as the technology landscape evolves continuously. But always do it gently and in a way that you steer clear of the ‘complainant’ tag.
Things you can do instead:
Talk about the value your product has to offer:
First, you must praise the competitor. Yes, you read that right! Praise the competitor and the product they have. The reason their name is even being mentioned is because they hold some value to the customer, hence its imprtant that it be acknowledged. Then you can get back to the values that your product/solution has to offer. This will typically be the points in which you are better than the competition. But, again it has to be done subtly without slamming the opponent.
Example: ABC’s dashboard is supposed to be the best in the market. What we have to offer is a dashboard that covers not just all that’s present with them, but also include an Aritificial Intelligence component that can reduce the efforts that your team would have to put in in order to derive insights from the data that’s being presented.
Use your references:
I have an exhaustive blog on this topic which dwelves on how to use customer references. Testimonials and references are among the most underused tools in the sales profession. Use them at an appropriate stage and you’ll see a material difference on how your sales change. This again goes to the psychology of buying. Every consumer is looking for validation of the decision they are about to take. That’s the reason we are constantly looking for approval through the reviews that are available on a product we are about to buy. When faceed with a question on your competition, you can easily provide the references you might have to offset the advantage your competition has on you.
CONCLUSION
When faced with a question on competition, whether direct or indirect, can be a tough path to navigate. The first and foremost rule is to not bash or berate your competition. But, instead of avoiding the question altogether, use tact to bring in the positive aspects of your product or solution. References can be a good factor to consider to help your prospect’s decision making easier.
