A big part of sales success is knowing your competition. Without that knowledge, you cannot expect to sell well against them. Knowing who they are is step one, but knowing what they do, how they act, and how you can work that, are all crucial if you are to be a real winner.
Why does this matter, exactly? Because you want to be able to highlight the benefits that are uniquely yours. How are you supposed to know that unless you know precisely what your competitors can offer? The more you know about them, the more you can position the areas in which you are best. Furthermore, the more you know them, the more you are able to pre-empt their pitches by ‘anticipating' what they might say.
‘Anticipating?' Yep. It is a little sneaky, but as long as you are telling the truth and being completely honest about everything you say, it is just good sense. If your product does (A) well and you know that your competitors will focus on (B), you have the opportunity to highlight the importance and availability of (A) even though they may have already attempted to muddy the waters. Be honest about this though. (A) has to be something that genuinely offers value.
Ok, so you can manipulate their thinking, right? No. Look, the whole idea here is to make a sale by proving the benefits of your product or service. You only do that by telling the truth and by being completely up front. The point we're making here is that by knowing your competition inside out - even when they have the same honest agenda as you - you have a good idea of the points you are able to highlight with complete confidence.
So how do you find out about the competition? Ever hear of the Internet? Seriously, read about them wherever you can. But here is an idea that may not have come to you yet: why don't you call them and ask? Your competition is quite capable of selling itself and it shouldn't be threatened by your enquiry. On the contrary, if we accept that a real sales professional only tells the truth, there is nothing but upside for your competitors in you knowing their strengths for real because that means you aren't going to make their lives any more difficult by misrepresenting them - either deliberately or by accident.
What do you need to know? As much as possible. But in particular focus on how they shape up against the areas where you are strongest. Do you have great warranties? Make sure you know how great they are when compared to your competitors so that you can attach some measurement to them. It is all about comparison. How can you really claim to be the biggest, fastest, cheapest or most powerful unless you know what else is out there and can speak about it intelligently?
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Why does this matter, exactly?
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