I promised more "tricks" in my previous post on tech salespeople. Here are some around how salespeople talk about competition and how buyers react.
a) "One of us does not belong". The line usually translates to - I cannot believe you are looking at a smaller competitor. When I was at PwC, we were taught to say "we have 40% of the market we choose to go after" as a rejoinder to the objection that our market share was less than 5%. Well, may be it is the buyer's version of "Fantasy Football" when they mix and match and make you compete against a vendor you do not consider a peer. Your choice - you can either compete or not...try not to change the buyer's rules or fantasy.
b) " Just wanted to make sure you saw this about competitor XYZ". Usually it is something unflattering from the press or an analyst. I tell my buyer clients to respond: "Attached is what that a competitor sent us about YOUR company". That stops the negative traffic pretty quick. Negative selling usually boomerangs - few buyers find dirt about your competitors that titillating.
c) The opposite of b - "we have very worthy competitors" - smothering them with respect. Buyers do not expect you to respect your competitors, just differentiate against them. Focus on features, performance where you are better. You spend a lot of money on competitive intelligence. Share it effectively, positively.
d) The start up sales pitch: " We do not believe we have any competition". In that case your category may be still immature. Few buyers want to be that pioneering.
More to come...
