Keep Your Friends Close and Your Enemies Closer Part 4

Guest articles > Keep Your Friends Close and Your Enemies Closer Part 4

by: Daniel Milstein

Having a better understanding of how the competition performs will help you refine your own overall sales strategies. I believe that mystery shopping and other techniques can be valuable parts of a salesperson's ongoing education. However, it is a matter of balance.

Some salespeople do get overly consumed with the competition and lose sight of what they should be doing to develop their own programs. I am convinced that one of the reasons certain companies imploded during the lending industry's meltdown was their emphasis on reacting to what competitors were doing, rather than concentrating on what was best for their own organization. For example, many firms saw others get rich from the subprime bonanza and rushed to cash in by creating similar products. They were intent on chasing other bankers' short-term successes, rather than being true to their own original business plans.

While we do spend time in sales meetings and other company discussions reviewing competitor strengths and weaknesses, this is a small percentage of our daily and weekly activity. We generally don't react to a competitor's product or pricing strategies by significantly changing Gold Star's business practices or otherwise altering our long-term plans. One of the significant signs that a salesperson or company CEO has matured is when they know not to be overly concerned about a competitor's successes, or waste much time gloating about a competitor's difficulties. I must admit, though, that I never get tired of hearing that we're one of the best in the nation.

It is important to gain competitive insight, but don't loose sight of your sales goals. You should observe and gain knowledge from competitors, but also keep your approach consistent.

Daniel Milstein is the bestselling author of ABC of Sales. For more information, visit: http://amzn.to/ABCARTICLES.

Contributor: Daniel Milstein

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Classification: Sales

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