We believe most sales are lost when people start addressing the competition. No other subject uncovers our soft, white underbelly quite like what our competitors are doing, and it is here where we often unwittingly display our insecurities, our lack of character, and our self-serving, dishonest tendencies (if we have them).
The first error we make when discussing the competition is reflexively trying to overcome what we perceive as an objection but is, in fact, a neutral statement on the customer’s behalf (or investor’s, in the case of a fundraising round). The most powerful buying motivation is relationship, and if your prospect, customer or investor has a good relationship with a competitor, trashing their product or service will only make you seem petty. If they do not yet have a relationship, you’ll only be revealing an animalistic, insecure side that can be off-putting.
We have to understand that the most important part of the sales process is communicating character and trust. Shortly after that point. we need to communicate confidence and competence. Going out of your way to undermine a competitor’s credibility undermines all of these things. It makes the audience think you’re in a position of weakness, focusing on bringing others down rather than focusing on your own elevated intentions and abilities.
It’s just business, so any attention to competitors should be totally non-judgmental and not personal. The best road to take is to acknowledge the competitor, objectively summarize who and what they are in the marketplace, and get on with demonstrating why your firm decided to be different based on the conditions you observed in the marketplace. The point of discussing competitors isn’t to discredit the competitor—it’s to build yourself up.
A great dialogue to rely on is, “There are a few competitors you’ll probably run across as you conduct your due diligence. I want to briefly summarize what it is they do well, what separates us from them, and why I think those points are important based on the situation you’re in.” It’s neutral, transparent, confident, and most importantly it tees up the part that’s most important: why are you the right fit?
The next time your competition comes up in a presentation, take the high road and focus on the positives. Your audience wants to work with someone who shoots them straight, who is secure enough to stand on his/her own merits, and who is willing to focus on the relationship rather than solely on finagling the sale.
Question: Have you ever felt the air get sucked out of the room during a discussion on competitors?
