So there you are in a situation, where you know, definitively, that you are one of several companies, competing for an account.

Beware of these 5 mistakes;

1. Don’t assume that you have to sharpen your pencil (even if you are told you need to). This puts the focus on price, and focusing on price leads to “sales malpractice”. How? Well for starters, you might short change the needs analysis step or miss opportunities to truly help your prospect. And besides, why should someone get a better price, just because they told you they want one? How is that fair to your actual clients? You know, the ones who’ve been there for you all along?
2. Don’t Badmouth (Duh), Educate Instead! Please note, that when I say “educate”, I’m not taking badmouthing and simply giving it a nicer suit, I mean help them to make the RIGHT decision. Do you ever feel like people make sh*tty buying decisions? Of course they do! This is why you have to assume the role of “teacher”. Teachers (unlike any of my algebra teachers in High School) are respected and appreciated because they HELP! In what ways can you HELP your prospect make an informed decision?
3. Lack Of Balls. There’s a famous story about advertising legend, David Olgivy. When Ogilvy, first hung out his shingle, he found himself in a really competitive situation, with a first degree AHole. The person was demeaning and pompous and told him ( I’m paraphrasing a tiny bit) “When I ring this bell, you will have x amount of time, to pitch us. At the end of your allotted time, I will ring the bell again and you’ll be on your way. From there, will be in touch. Anything you’d like to say before we begin?” David stood up and said “Yep. Ring the bell” and he walked out. While that’s an extreme example, you need to remember that as much as your prospect is going to judge you . . .You have every right to judge back. Not everyone is going to be a good fit for you and your company, but you can easily lose site of that, if your inner competitor is too busy trying to win.Part of the “lack of balls” thing, is also our hesitation in asking the questions, that need to be asked, but might be more intrusive.

   The proverbial “elephant in the room” doesn’t go away just because someone told you they’re taking other bids.

   Sometimes we need to tell people (respectfully of course) that the way their going about their selection process, or just the way they currently do things, isn’t in their best interest.

4. Allowing The Prospect To Over Simplify or Over Complicate The Selection Process. Many times, during a competitive situation, a prospect will oversimplify the process by shutting you down during the needs analysis step. They’ll say things like “There’s no need for a bunch of questions because we know exactly what we want” and then they proceed to tell you. That’s awesome but, imagine a Doctor that allowed their patients to tell them “Dock, let’s save some time today. Looks like I need heart surgery so just give me your best price”Now prospects can also over complicate the selection process when they create some of these ridiculous RFPs. They want to know your financials, the blood and urine samples (sometimes) and all kinds of other irrelevant things; instead of focusing on things that actually matter.

   Sometimes they complicate it by adding a kazillion unnecessary meetings, conference calls and steps.

   I once had someone considering me to be their sales coach. They laid out this ridiculous process they wanted me to go through that included speaking with 3 different people, filling out a 30 question questionnaire, they wanted to speak with 3 of my clients. While I appreciate their thoroughness, we’re not buying a billion dollar mega corporation here. I tried to meet them halfway, when they wouldn’t budge, I showed them the door.

   Understand, that you are allowed to (politely) ask why they need certain information and then educate them on how to REALLY make the right choice.

   My experience has been, that many buyers include some of this ridiculous criteria, simply because some consultant told them to do it.

5. Don’t Let Your Competitors Force You Into Playing A Defensive Game. This can happen when they badmouth you and you feel a need to defend yourself. It can also happen when your competitors are educating the buyer and you aren’t.

One of the things we’re going to be talking about, in our upcoming Selling In A Competitive Environment webinar, is how YOU can set the rules of engagement.

We’re also going to be talking about how you can outmaneuver your competitors and have them play defense for a change.

Have you taken a look at the webinar yet?

Have you enrolled?

Please click HERE and have a look.

I have a ton of ideas and tactics I’m going to be sharing and perhaps its time for YOU to bring your sales skills up a notch.