Most salespeople have been correctly taught never to speak ill of their competition. Doing so will only make the salesperson himself or herself look bad. Unfortunately (in my opinion), most salespeople have been taught not to say anything good about their competition, either. I disagree with this counsel and have found just the opposite to be true in my selling career.
Whenever I’m speaking with a prospect and they bring up my competitor, I go out of my way to say something nice about him or her. Why? Because I’m a nice guy? No, not at all (although I do hope I’m also a nice guy) J. The reason is that by complimenting my competitor, I’m actually building myself in the mind of my prospect. If your prospect brings up the name of your competitor and you speak highly of them, what does that tell your prospect about you?
#1 You are Confident: You must have a lot of confidence to, not only not speak ill, but actually speak highly of this person.
#2 You are Successful: If you are confident, you also must be successful. After all, unsuccessful people don’t have that type of confidence in themselves.
#3 You are Safe: “Wow”, thinks your prospect (correctly, I might add), “If he/she speaks that well of their competition, I never have to worry about negative things being said about me or any of my staff.”
Obviously, if you know for sure that your competitor is a thief, you can’t lie and speak well of them. But, that aside, if you can possibly say something nice about him or her, do so. It will only reflect well on you.
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Excellent advise, Bob. Of course, it helps to already be “confident”, “successful”, and “safe”. Then, it flows out of you naturally as a by-product and is most effective. Practicing this even if you’re not there yet, helps you get there much faster.
Great article Bob. I totally agree with it. It’s always a good idea to say nice things or not say anything at all because you never know who that person might end up being.
Hi Bob,
I agree with all of your points but there is an important point you have not mentioned.
Knowing your competition is essential to success. A salesperson ‘must’ understand the strengths and weaknesses of their competitors products, services and the organization itself. Doing so allows that salesperson to leverage their own strengths and shore up their own weaknesses. Of course, this goes along with an intimate knowledge of one own products, strengths and weaknesses. This knowledge is empowering and allows for intelligent and pertinent commentary when engaging a prospective client.
In my experience, most companies do not spend the time or provide sufficient collaterals to ensure that their reps are well versed in either area. The companies that do usually lead the pack.
Cheers,
Gil Namur
Hi Gil, thank you for your comment. Regarding not mentioning “knowing your competion is essential to success” as a point in the article, it wasn’t not mentioned for any reason other than that aspect of the sale wasn’t really the topic of the article. What you said is extremely important and I’ve written articles about that in the past (and, indeed, it would make an excellent topic for another blog post). The sole issue of this posting was on why we should not only not speak disparingly of a competitor but also why we should speak well of them.
Thank you again. Glad to have you as a reader of the blog.
Thank you, Al, I agree with you; practicing it even before you feel it is essential. Action precedes feeling! Thank you, my friend.
Hi Bob and Al! Once again, you’ve hit the nail right on the head. What an awesome tip to insight a feeling of confidence, success and security in your client or prospect. I agree with both of you, it’s not enough to just not diss your competition (excuse the triple negative). There has to be a form of acknowlegement here and if there are not crooks 😉 find something to say that will show them in a good light! 🙂
Cindy, I apologize; it looks as though yours was the first response, and I totally missed you. Thank you for your comments. That’s right; you certainly never do know who is going to hear what you say; might as well say something nice. 🙂
Kirsty, Thank you for your kind comments. Remember, there is also a “selfish” (for lack of a better word) aspect to this; complimenting your competition places *you* in a positive light to your prospect. Yet, it’s not a “one or the other” type of thing. That’s why I said earlier, “it’s both the right thing to do…AND it’s good business.” :-). Thanks again!!
Hi Bob,
Thanks for your reply. I too have written on this subject. I would post a link here but its your site and so I don’t do that unless asked. I was simply tying the two together in that to speak well of a competitor one should have a good knowledge of them.
I appreciate your work here Bob and the spirit of your endeavor!
I wish you and your readers success and good health!
Cheers,
Gil
Thank you, Gil. Please feel free to post a link to your article. That would be fine, and most welcome. I’ll look forward to reading your article.
That is very generous of you 🙂 I will leave you 2 links that speak to the subject.
Comments are of course welcome!
Product knowledge is essential to your success
http://www.synaptici.com/2009/product-knowledge-is-essential-to-your-success/
and
Know your competition!
http://www.synaptici.com/2009/know-your-competition/
Again Bob, thank you so much. I will return the favor!
And, for what its worth in reference to your article, I think you ARE a nice guy!
Cheers,
Gil
As usual, Bob you hit the nail on the head! Best wishes, barry
Great posts and comments. I’ve enjoyed reading all these and will start saying nice things about the competition – only if I truly know the competition.
Whilst its true that we have to know our competitors, but is it possible to know all of them, especially in my industry where there are so many springing up?
Thank you, Gil, for your kind words and the links to your two articles. They were both excellent, and I posted comments on your page.
Barry, thank you, my friend.
Mauco, thank you; I believe this is your first time posting a response. Welcome. Regarding your question about knowing *all* of them, I think that it depends on your own unique industry and situation. Without knowing what you do in terms of industry, I cannot provide an answer based on knowledge. I suspect though, that there are certain players (companies, people products) you need to know about very well and others where a certain “working knowledge” will suffice and be optimum use of your time. Again, depends on the context. Perhaps Gil or another reader can come up with a better response than this to your excellent question.
Hi Bob,
Thanks for reading my articles and commenting on them. I will post replies soon.
As for the kind words, I’m just telling it like it is!
Hi Mauco,
Bob’s answer is 100% on the button. All I can add is this. When I was in the IT space, trying to keep up with the ‘speeds and feeds’ of companies like IBM, HP, COMPAQ etc. was very difficult. What worked well for me was to be familiar with the number 1 player, the player just ahead of me, and the player nipping at my heels! I made use of every publication available to me to learn about their products but most of my insights came from networking with clients, re-sellers and the competitors themselves (its AMAZING how much competitors will tell you!). I focused on learning their strengths and weaknesses (product AND company). Doing so allowed me to shore up my weaknesses and really leverage my strengths.
Bobs mention of ‘optimum use of your time’ is key. Trying to learn it all at once will take your focus away from other things. Spending a bit of time every day is a much better strategy.
I hope this helps.
Good luck and good selling!
Cheers,
Gil
Hi Bob,
Greetings from Indonesia. I ‘m glad to come across your article today. Every salesperson must put confidence in the products they sell. Although it’s human to speak highly of ourselves, especially in this ‘me-me-me world”, people will appreciate our fairness. Put everything into perspective, just say it, as it is.
Thank you, Maria. I appreciate you sharing your thoughts with us!