Sales Presentations For Dummies. Julie M. Hansen

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      ✔ Familiarity breeds assumptions. With so many new things to contend with each day, people often overlook that which they already know. That tendency to undervalue a competitor, “Oh, they’re not a big threat,” or operate off of old data “They’ve never been competitive in this niche” can lead to unpleasant surprises. Shifts in strategy, new product launches, or marketing campaigns can impact your prospect’s perspective. Check your competitor’s website and industry reports to get the most current messaging. Social media is a valuable resource for finding out what customers are saying about working with your competition. Approach each competitor with a fresh eye to maintain a competitive edge.

      ✔ Bias blinds you. Being critical of your competition is easy, but if you look at your competitors objectively, you can notice that they probably do some things well. In fact, they may even be able to solve your prospect’s problem – maybe not as quickly, smoothly, or thoroughly as you – but they can probably do it. It’s to your advantage to be as objective as possible about your competition in order to outsell them.

      ✔ Direct competition: Direct competitors are the companies you probably compete with on a regular basis. You typically share an industry, product, service, market, and/or niche.

      ✔ Potential competition: Although not direct competitors, these companies may overlap with you in a specific area, or they may be a less obvious choice. For example, if you’re selling insurance, you’ll certainly compete with other insurance carriers, but in certain cases you may also find yourself up against firms that outsource HR services as well.

      ✔ Invisible competition: Many salespeople often overlook this category and major player. Your invisible competition is all the other priorities that are competing for the time, attention, and budget of your prospect. For example, your prospect may be considering a big capital investment in equipment, opening a new office, or sponsoring a community project. Getting a clear picture of who or what is competing for the same piece of the pie gives you greater insight into the decision-making process and helps you position your product or service.

      ✔ The status quo: This may be your toughest competitor. Regardless of the business challenge that you’re addressing, the status quo is almost always a major contender for two primary reasons:

      ● Many products that require a sizable investment, such as infrastructure, construction projects, or enterprise software, often lead to additional investments in other areas like training, staffing, or upgrading other systems. Change at this level can be overwhelming and lead to procrastination.

      ● The status quo is the path of least resistance. People get comfortable with the tried and true, no matter how flawed. In this case, the pain of not changing has to be greater than the pain of changing. Always treat the status quo as a favored competitor to avoid being blindsided.

      ✔ Product: What are their primary capabilities and how do you rank against each? Are they a specialist in your prospect’s niche or industry or do they lack experience in this area? How does that compare to you?

      ✔ Service: How do their service models, prices, and response times compare to yours?

      ✔ Pricing: How do you compare in terms of base price, add-ons, upgrades, and so forth?

      ✔ Delivery: Are they fast, reliable, and on time? Are their prices for these services clearly disclosed and competitive?

      ✔ Resale: How does their product hold its value?

      ✔ Support: What type of support staff do they have when problems arise? How does it compare to your support?

      ✔ Marketing messages or themes: What marketing promises are they making or expectations are they reinforcing in the market?

      ✔ Unique selling proposition (USP): What is their USP and how is it different from yours?

      ✔ Company outlook: Are they poised for growth or taking a loss? Consider mergers, acquisitions, and hiring activity.

      ✔ Customer experience: What are their customers saying about them in social media? Are they able to deliver on all promises?