A good friend of mine, Jonathan Colehower, CEO of Optiant, reminded me the other day of the old saw: "It's not the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the fight in the dog".
He was exhorting his sales team to push harder against well-established competitors in selling Optiant's clearly superior products to customers. The software sales arena is definitely a dog fight these days, with few rules and less ethics. And the size of the fight in the dog is also being redefined to reflect the new realities of software sales processes.
More than ever, sales strategies need to involve extended networks of supporters--board members, investors and old friends who can call potential customers and vouch for the capabilities of the products and the executive/support teams. Companies, especially smaller software providers, cannot expect to close sales without exploiting their networks. I was glad to see that Jonathan's newsletter recognized the critical role of his extended network "partners" in winning sales at new customers.
But another, more disturbing trend is also emerging in the sales process. A number of my CEO's have caught competitors telling outright lies about their companies to potential customers--lies that could easily be countered and exposed if the customer called the purported source or the company.
I know, you are thinking that Dave is getting too old and is not connected to reality. Lying about competitors in the sales process has gone on for ages, right? Well, perhaps in some forms, but not as blatant as it is today. The recent lies were meant to undermine the credibility of the management team, question the financial stability of the company and detail the alleged dissatisfaction of their customers. In the past, falsehoods generally focused on the performance of the company's product--falsehoods that could easily be proved wrong in product demos or pilots. The new breed of falsehood is worrisome in that people's and company reputations are being sullied by executives of competing companies.
I guess such behavior is to be expected in a highly competitive world, but I find the trend troubling. Existing customers may tip you off to such behavior, but potential customers are more reluctant to tell you about non-product related falsehoods which competitors may be spreading. How can you make sure that competitors are not secretly undermining your relationship with existing or potential customers?
Establishing open and honest relationships early with current and potential customers may be the best way to avoid being tarnished by lies. Have an upfront, frank discussion with the customer about wanting to know if competitors are saying things about you or your company so that you can have a chance to counter the argument. You do not have to say that you suspect falsehoods are being spread, but you can say that you have nothing to hide and want to be sure that the customer has all the right facts before making any decisions. It is important to repeat this discussion about once a year, or more often if you find a competitor has been lying to other customers.
Clearly, the size of the fight in the dog has to keep increasing to stay ahead of these less than honest competitors. Customers generally appreciate frank and open relationships with vendors. Remember, however, to make sure that you take the high ground when it comes to "gossip" about competitors during lunch with valued customers. Do not initiate any negative discussions, lest the customer think that you are also a member of the liar's camp.
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