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Are you sure you know who you're competing with?

Guest post by: Mike LeMaster

Article Overview: In past times competitors clashed often enough to develop a sixth sense on each other's strengths, weaknesses and strategies to win business. In today's environment your competitor could be an adversary that you have no knowledge of whatsoever. The competition could be an international company, a new start-up, an internal customer team willing to do the work, or have the mandate to do nothing because of business pressures. The competition landscape has changed and will continue to offer challenges to all companies.

Are you sure you know who you're competing with?

A recent trend is for companies in differing product/service suites to be competing for scarce monies. This is the case where a business has to decide...Do we use our monies to buy new technology or train our sales organization. Do we conduct a marketing campaign or purchase a new machine. Do we conduct a telemarketing campaign or hire a consultant to uncover our systemic needs. Thus, limited funds and their prudent allocation becomes a competitor of a different kind.

Qualifying the competition has taken on a new meaning. This responsibility for qualifying the real competition often resides with your salespeople. Their ability to qualify the real competitive pressures has a tremendous impact on your company's ability to respond with maximum effectiveness and results.

Here are five competitive situations your salespeople need to be pristinely aware of:

• Direct Competition • New Competition • Do Nothing Decision • Internal Resources • Limited Monies

Today's sales professional will not unearth the real competition unless they open up their aperture of vision and question the choices that customers are now making as it relates to purchasing decisions.

Do not assume that the decision is between you and your traditional competitors. The competitive landscape has changed. Have you?

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Article Tags: aperture, br, choices, competitor, decisions, internal resources, landscape, limited funds, marketing campaign, maximum effectiveness, monies, new technology, s sales, sales organization, salespeople, service suites, telemarketing campaign, traditional competitors



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