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Running up against competitors is a green light, not a red light. Here’s why.

Several years ago I was working with a salesperson and we made a planned call on a prospect. The prospect told us that she was buying from competitor X and there probably wasn’t a reason to talk further. What did this salesperson do in the face of competition? He put his tail between his legs, meekly said “okay” and ducked out of the prospect’s office.

Why did this salesperson run for cover when he was up against the competition? He had no good answers, but I think I do. I have observed that this kind of reaction to competition is common.

Do you feel you or your company aren’t capable of taking on the competition? Do you feel uncomfortable in assertively making your case with a prospect in the face of competition? Very few prospects are going to roll out the red carpet for you if they perceive they are happy with their current supplier. You’ll have to fight for the business. We have to be confident in ourselves and our company. We also have to be able to assertively persuade prospects of our value if we realistically hope to steal business away from the competition.

When we find a prospect that is buying from a competitor we instantly move from home plate to first base. Why? If a company is buying from one of our direct competitors we are virtually assured that we have a qualified prospect on our hands. How convenient.

We’ve all heard this before, “But we don’t stand a chance against X at that prospect because we can’t match their prices.” Virtually every study that has ever been done on why decision makers buy from a particular vendor places price as the fifth or sixth most important criteria. People buy primarily because of quality, service and limited risk. Simply stated, if you can demonstrate to the prospect that you’re stronger in those areas, you’ll get the business.

When you know who your competition is (and therefore their strengths and weaknesses) you know exactly where and how to strike. Competitors lead you to qualified prospects. People buy on quality, service and limited risk, not just price. Now get that tail out from between your legs.

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Tags: aggressive, assertive, competition, Prospecting, prospects

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