A Quick Guide to Your Competition

Not for the first time, I was recently asked to name my strongest competitor. I imagine the inquirer expected me to share a company name and then offer some “salesy” explanation of why I was the better choice. My answer was definitely NOT what they were expecting. My biggest competitor? I’m keeping that to myself for now. But let’s look at the competition we all face at one time or another.

Direct Competitors. Companies/people that offer something similar. These are the competitive choices a buyer has when considering your proposal. The MPS provider down the street. The local supply company. The contract stationer. The “expense recovery” company that brings in the lowest “price points” but rarely the lowest true cost. You get the picture. When we think about competition, direct competitors are often what come to mind first.

Attention and Focus. In most selling situations, there will be many things competing for the buyer’s attention. Your contact on the big bank deal is finally realizing how mega the megabucks are that your nifty MPS program can deliver. They see the need. They believe you can deliver. Your contact even has the authority to sign an agreement… BUT they are also deeply involved in new regulation issues and undergoing a massive software conversion. You, the new regulation issues and the software conversion are all in a competition for the attention and focus of your buyer.

Skepticism. Chances are high that you have received an email offering to cut you in on millions of dollars IF you quickly send your bank information. You aren’t buying into any of these scams. You know better. And friends, prospects are skeptical. Even when it comes to dealing with such a fine company as yours. They have learned to be. Promises were made, and promises were broken. Most five-year-olds know the difference between good and too good, and your buyer is probably shrewder than the average toddler. This is a tough area, because the buyer rarely comes right out and says, “Hey, nice story there, Scooter, but the bottom line is, I don’t believe you.” And if they don’t believe you, if they don’t believe you can do what you say you can do, or deliver the results you’ve promised, they aren’t going to risk their job on bringing you in. You wouldn’t either.

Group Decision-Making Dynamics. There are all sorts of writings, trainings and insights into how complex B2B buying decisions are today. The common thread through all of them is that there are more and more people involved in getting the buy-button pressed. The decision makers and influencers are harder to reach, harder to gain consensus from and harder to get to make a commitment to move forward. Each of the stakeholders has competing things vying for their attention (see above). All of this is a major cause, not of a “no sale,” but a “no decision.”

Self. Before you dismiss this one too quickly, consider a few of the reasons that you may be your own biggest competitor. Your head may tell you that you can’t really win. Your body may be worn past its ability to compete strongly. Your skill sets may not be at the level you need to compete at the top of the game. And even if you have those skills today, you better be building them all the time. Your other competitors certainly are.

That’s a LOT of competition! So how do you beat every one of them every time? Check back next installment as we look at each. Ok, just kidding. There is no way I could cover everything in every one of those areas, even in a series of monthly installments delivered over years. Therefore, let’s look at the best way to improve your odds.

Self: You as your own competitor can be broken down into three components:

1. Mental: Do you really believe that you can win in general? What about the specific deal you are working on? Are there some beliefs holding you back? What do you need to believe to succeed?
2. Physical: Like it or not, the state of your body and physical health absolutely will have an influence on your ability to put in the effort, the activities and the hours necessary to be victorious. What needs to change? What’s your outcome and how will you get there?
3. Skills: The biggest games aren’t won by rookies. Sure, there is the occasional and exciting underdog victory that everybody talks about. But they talk about it because it’s rare! Do you want to try to beat the odds (look at a casino, it isn’t built on the winnings of gamblers) or do you want the odds stacked in your favor? What is your learning and training regimen? What does it look like now? What should it look like?

Attention and Focus: Even the best ideas aren’t implemented if something else is more important or urgent for the prospect. Do you know what else is on your buyer’s plate? Do you know what other initiatives are competing for their attention? Do you know what their real constraints on implementation are? Have you asked?

Skepticism: If they don’t trust you, your idea, your solution or your proposal, are they really going to buy? Are they even going to truly consider buying? Do you have evidence that you can strategically use to back your claims? Do you have people who will speak on your behalf? When people are faced with making a decision in an area where they haven’t made decisions before, they look to other people with experience (whether they know them or not). When people venture out from their comfort zone, they look to the advice of just about anyone… anyone EXCEPT the salesperson (I know, YOU always sell as a “consultant”… but unless they have experience with you, they don’t know that – they are skeptical).

Group Decision-Making Dynamics: Say there is an average of five or more people involved in the decision process (or “no decision” process). How many of them are you engaged with? How many of them do you even know? For any product or service, there are certain roles within an organization that are likely to have some interest in the outcome. Do you have a list of the typical decision makers, influencers and other stakeholders? Do you create a list of the actual people during each sales opportunity?

Direct Competitors: I know, I know, you are entirely differentiated and the biggest, baddest mammer-jammer in the market (your marketing material says so!). But just for a moment, let’s pretend that maybe you do have at least one worthy direct competitor. Who are they? What are their strengths and weaknesses? How have you fared against them in the past? In each specific deal, do you know who you are competing with? Why not? Do you have a game plan to separate yourself from the rest of the pack?

In an informal poll, here is how salespeople rank the “competition”:

1. Direct competitors
2. Group Dynamics
3. Attention and Focus
4. Skepticism
5. Self

Per another informal poll, here are the ranking results of many post-mortem lost deal assessments:

1. Self. Never believed they were truly going to win. Maybe made a big noise about how sure they were, but in the end they lacked the emotional game or the skill sets needed to compete.
2. Skepticism. While the rep believed that they were getting traction and moving forward, the prospect never believed them enough to do more than pay lip service to the deal. The rep made big, sweeping claims, but none of them had the teeth to move the prospect from “skeptical” to “convinced and trusting.”
3. Attention and Focus. The buyer was just too busy on more urgent (though not necessarily more important) initiatives and was not invested in the journey to completion.
4. Group Buying Dynamics. The rep was relying on the “internal champion” to explain and sell the solution to the rest of the phantom stakeholders.
5. Others Like Themselves (direct competitors). Generally, the first to be named as the reason for the loss, but this is rarely the case.

Disclaimer: If you would like the actual stats of both informal polls, they aren’t available because I made them up – based on three decades of competing, coaching, managing and hanging out on the field of battle. Oh, my strongest competitor? A guy named…