Sales, Business, InvestingBetter practices through better knowledge

In business the more you know about your competition, the more effectively you can respond to any actions made by them.  I compare the business world to a war.  When you know the actions of the enemy you are able to respond to it effectively or even catch them off guard by making an unexpected assault at them.  Just like in a war, intelligence is crucial to knowing the actions of your enemy.  The more that you know about your competition the more likely you are going to be able to make critical decisions that will allow you to compete. 

The method in which you gather information is completely different from one type of business to another.  This makes it incredibly difficult to make a blanket statement on how to generally obtain intelligence on the competition.  The method of attainment is also going to change depending upon the type of information you are trying to obtain. 

Probably the easiest method of obtaining information about your competition is to simply call them.  It is amazing how much information the secretary will give you about the company.  If you are looking to gain information about their pricing, their products, and other information that is somewhat available anyway, then this method can be quite effective.  If they have a storefront you could easily walk into their store and look over things this way as well.  In fact, many will take small cameras into a store location so that they can take pictures of the different products, in store marketing, and layout.  All of these things can have a major impact on the success of a business and it is important to know these things.

Sometimes the basic information just isn’t enough.  For this reason many businesses will install an insider to obtain further information about the company.  This is typically done by having a loyal get a job with the competitor.  By doing this you can discover information about training.  You can learn about their computer systems.  You can even learn about the different strategies that the company has in the near future.  The loyal would know what types of information they are looking for and would attempt to listen carefully so they can get this information.  They would then report back to explain the details.  Depending upon their position they could even have access to customer lists, product information, pricing, and a variety of other details that could be competitive secrets. 

Also, having someone on the inside can allow you to obtain information on marketing details for the company.  If you know when your competition is having a sale and know how they are promoting it, you can run a promotion the same day that is slightly better ultimately taking some of the thunder away from your competition.  Imagine seeing a commercial advertising 10% off everything and you put out a commercial advertising 15% off everything.  Those interested are most likely going to take advantage of the 15% off.  This would be a huge coup.

Another way that you can obtain information about your competition in an outside sales environment is by inviting them to your house.  For example, if you own a pool company and want more information about your competition, have them come over and give quotes.  By doing this you can hear more about their presentation.  You can find out about how they price things out.  You can even ask questions that could get the employee to give you far more information than they realize. 

While many say that competitive intelligence can be running the line of what is ethical and what isn’t, sometimes in business you have to do what is necessary to take the competitive edge.  The only way to do this is to know what your competition is up to and find a way to strike first.

Trust is the ultimate building block towards creating a sale. Without the ability to gain your customer’s trust it is highly unlikely that they are going to sign the papers to finalize any deal with you. This is especially true the higher priced the item or service may be. But if you communicate with the customer, stay confident, and truly develop the sale for that customer, then trust will come with time and will ultimately help you to fuel the closing of the sale itself with relative ease.

Probably the most important part about being able to close a sale is developing the trust of the customer. However, for many sales people, they are too focused on the closing part of the sale, that they completely skip past the most important aspects of the sale itself. If you never take the time to know what your customer needs, then it is doubtful that you can effectively make a sale. But before you can even begin, you truly have to know what you are selling the product. After all, a sales person without product knowledge is just a guy that is dressed nice that hangs out on the sales floor. By knowing about your product and knowing about competing products you are able to show your customer that you know what you are talking about. This ability gives you a professional knowledge in the product, and will create a great deal of trust from the customer. if you have a lot of hesitation and lack confidence while communicating to the customer, they are going to most likely discount everything that you say as being made up on the spot. The more you know about the product or service, and the more practice you have talking about it, the better you will be able to communicate without fumbling around. This will truly help to boost your credibility with each customer.

Now that you know your product or service, you need to know your customer. By talking to you customer as if they are a friend, you are able to take the business deal down to a more personal level. Ask questions that are open ended so that you can find out about the customer and their family, where they work, things of that nature. For example if you are selling a car, you could ask, “Wow, the Mustang, your kids will be begging to drive that.” Sure you may not know that they have kids or not, but making the statement will get them to open up. They might respond with, “Well, our oldest is only 14, so they have some time yet before they can drive it.” And Boom, you just got yourself a great piece of information. Now that you know that they have more than one child and that the oldest is 14, you can counter with, “Oh wow, mine is only 2, but I can’t wait for the driving age, should be exciting.” This is great small talk, because you are showing that you are more than a sales person, you are just an ordinary guy. Plus, you are creating small talk which allows you to know your customer better and them to know you.

Another major thing that you need to remember is that you should always find out the name of your customer. Introduce yourself, and then while you are walking around with them, and talking with them, just simply ask them for their names. You can just flow right into it, in this manner, and it will help to pull them more into the process than they were when they walked in. Before that they were customer #1 and customer #2 or whatever, and now they are Bob and Cindy. The key however, is that you need to use their names and remember them throughout the sales presentation. If you are selling a car, you could say, “Bob why don’t you come check this out.” or “Who wants to take this baby for a ride, Cindy?” By using their names, you are treating them as if you’ve known them and established a personal relationship with them. This will pull them in even more and will show you as a much more relaxed, tactful sales person.

You should also take into consideration that rather than always telling them about something, show it to them. Showing is a lot less like selling, than telling is. If you are telling them about something, it sounds like a sales presentation, but actually showing it to them while using their names is going to create a much more relaxed environment for the sale. While they realize that you are attempting to sell to them, they are going to be much more relaxed with the sale than if they felt the pressure that the telling method adds.

Another way to build trust is to give the appearance that you are fighting for the customer. If the customer wants a red car and all you have is blue, tell them that you are going to talk to the sales manager and see what you can do. Just taking this extra effort will make them appreciate you that much more, and will help to build the trust level between you and the customer.

In reality, there are numerous way to build trust, not just on the sales floor, but even through calling your customers with great news or responding to their questions promptly. The trick as a sales person however is to know when to use each of these methods in order to further the sales process and make the best impression possible on your customer. The harder you work throughout the process, means a much easier sale for you at the end of the deal.