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Competition is the reason your salespeople and many of your
company's other employees have work to do. If it weren't for
competition, businesses would lack the strongest incentives for
change - new products, new processes, new markets, new
strategies, new organizations, etc. Competition also encourages
companies to introduce innovations that benefit their customers.
And changes often mean new work and new opportunities for
employees.
Information about your competition also makes it possible for
your company to gauge sales performance in the marketplace. By
comparing your company's performance with that of the
competition, you can identify potential strengths and weaknesses
of your sales program or of your product and services.
If your team has a process and strategy for gathering and
analyzing competitive information, competition can energize your
salespeople. Your customers can be an excellent source of
feedback about the competition, if your salespeople know how to
dig for it. Knowing the competition enables your salespeople to
target their efforts, to approach prospects and customers well
prepared. Without thorough information, your salespeople are
working blind.
Identifying the Competition -
Defining and prioritizing the competition is the key to the
success of your program. Rank your competition from strongest to
weakest. Competitors in your same market are easy to identify.
They are also easier for you to know about and understand since
many of the same external elements affect both your
organizations. Pay special attention to the strongest
competitors - who present the biggest threat - and the weakest,
who can be targets for opportunity. In doing an analysis of
these firms, consider these factors carefully:
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How does the
customer perceive your company in relation to the competition
in the overall market?
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Where does
your specific product fit into that perception?
So how do your people find out whom you're competing against
with a particular client? One way is for them to ask, "Are you
talking to anyone else about this project?" or "Who else is
bidding?" You will end up with some names, which you can compare
against your knowledge about those companies. But you still
won't necessarily have a clear idea of which of those companies
poses the greatest threat to your company in this situation, or
why. So try an indirect approach:
Salesperson (to the client):
Bill, what if we were out of the running on this project. If you
had to make a decision right now, which of the remaining bidders
would you choose?
Client:
Probably Company DEF
Salesperson:
Sure, I can see that. They're good. But I would have thought
you'd go with Company XYZ. What made you pick DEF?
And with the answer, you find out not only who you're up
against, but why and what. If your company is working with
several people at the same company, take them through the same
"what if" exercise and see if you come away with a better idea
of how to target your sales effort.
Whether your people are planning for a presentation to a major
prospect or the introduction of a new product, they need to know
who and what they are up against in order to strategize.
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