If You're Not Researching Your Competition, You're Losing Deals

When I first started selling, one of my coworkers had been a Biomed before he became a sales rep (these are the folks who fix the equipment on the customer side). Because of this, he knew EVERYTHING about the competition. For 15 years, it was his job to understand all the equipment in the hospital. Going on sales calls with him was amazing. All the customer had to do was tell him which competitor they were using, and he knew EXACTLY which questions to ask. He knew their vulnerabilities, and they were different for every competitor. It was like watching a surgeon at work.

He made me realize how important it is to really know your competitors. You MUST know their strengths and weaknesses AND how they compare to yours. If you don’t, it’s like operating without a CT or MRI. How will you know where to cut? The good news is that these days, with the help of AI, it’s easier than ever to create a thorough competitive analysis report. And it’s YOUR job to memorize it and stay up to date with any changes.

You might notice that I did NOT say he talked negatively about the competition. If you’ve been following me for a while, you know that’s a major customer pet peeve. Stay positive, be interested in what they have to say, and ask questions that get the customer thinking. When they walk away, they will think to themselves: “I have a lot of questions I need to ask the competitor. There’s a lot I hadn’t thought to ask before.”

And when they DO ask those questions of your competitor, it will become very clear where the competitor falls short. That’s so much more powerful than you TELLING them where they fall short.

Do your research. Ask the right questions. Blow your quota out of the water year after year.

What do you think? Share with me in the comments!

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