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Never go into
battle without preparing yourself for the fight. As in any war you must
analyze your foe and learn as much about them as possible. You'd be foolish
to ignore your opposition, or to under-estimate them.
Pre-Approach:
The pre-approach
phase of the selling process gives you the opportunity to make sure you
have all your bases covered, so you can have a level playing field and all
the right conditions for making the sale. Use this time to analyze
yourself, your business setup, your selling methods, your products and your
target market. It's not enough to just know who your competition is. You
must know all about their goods because your prospect sure does.
Note all the
strong points of your competitor's products as well as the weak points in
comparison to your offer. Write them down. Give credit where credit is do.
Capitalize on the strong points of your competitor's goods by making yours
even better. Look at their weak points and try to figure out how to improve
upon them.
Knowing your
competitor's goods will help you avoid mistakes they may be making. You
want to be able to meet, or beat your competition at every angle no matter
which direction they come from. If your prospect mentions a great asset of
your competitor's product, or service, you want to be able to go one
better. Here's an example of what I mean:
Mrs. Smith:
"I saw an ad
by the Jone's Company in The Evening Telegraph. They're cleaning three
rooms of carpet for $69."
Salesman:
"Yes. Mr.
Jone's Company is offering a great deal on carpet cleaning. In deed, you
can have three rooms of carpeting cleaned for $69. Our company goes one
better than that Mrs. Smith. We will clean three rooms of carpeting for
$59.95 and throw in another room free."
"And when it
comes to our guarantee we can't be beat. The Jone's Company offers a 50%
refund within 30 days if you are not satisfied. We offer you a 100% refund
within 30 days if you are not satisfied and all of our employees are
licensed and bonded and have been with us for a minimum of 5 years."
Mrs. Smith:
"That's the
best offer I've received. How soon can you start?"
Salesman:
"I can
schedule you for today if you'd like Mrs. Smith."
The salesman met and
beat every aspect of his competitor's proposition because they did their
homework during the pre-approach phase of the selling process.
Now you are under
no obligation to point out the good features of your competitor's goods, or
service, but it will be an advantage for you in many ways if you've done
your homework. It's your opportunity to show your confidence in your own
products, or service and to convey your unique selling proposition.
Never bad-mouth
your competitor's products, or service. Your prospect will see this as a
character flaw on your part and may think of you as resentful and
untrustworthy. If you feel the need to bad-mouth your competitor's goods,
maybe you feel your products are inferior to theirs, or you lack confidence
in yourself as a salesman who can deliver a real service to your customer.
In the above
example the competition paved the way for the salesman. His competitor
unknowingly left the door wide open. All the salesman had to do was walk in
and make the sale.
Stay mindful of
the fact that your competition may also be looking at you, so keep
re-inventing yourself. Keep polishing your offer and keep a keen eye on
your competitors.
Copyright © 2005
Gloria Whitehorn and Dovemang.com All rights reserved
About The Author: Gloria Whitehorn is the
owner of several online businesses. She is the author of two books,
freelance writer, business coach and an authority on salesmanship and
business practices. Check out her site that's jam-packed with the exact
information you need to start, build, and grow your very own profitable
Internet business. I highly recommend visiting her website http://www.dovemang.com
She knows what she's talking about.
Subscribe to her free weekly online ezine at http://www.dovemang.com/newsletter
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