I am better at what I do than my competition and I am not afraid to say that.  It is not cockiness or arrogance that persuades me to say such a thing, it is simply a well known fact that if I were to think differently, I would be out of business.  In saying this though, at what lengths should I go to show my expertise over my competition’s incompetence?  Let’s face it, most of us are not vying for Stephen Harper’s job, so why it is then that so many of us feel the need to diss the competition to win the business?

Earlier this week I submitted a water sample from my home for testing.  The results indicated that I needed to get my well serviced, so I started researching.  A good friend of mine suggested this one place to call as she had received excellent service from them, so I eagerly called them first.  Within the first two minutes of the call, all I wanted to do was hang up the phone and call the next person on my list.  Why?  Well, before he even started talking about his system and recommendation to solve my problem, he began telling me why I shouldn’t call anyone else and told me horror stories of his competition, making me feel like I would be stupid to go with his competitor, after hearing what he had to say about them.  Let’s face it, no one likes feeling stupid.

Unfortunately for his guy, he began to diss a supplier I use quite regularly.  When I told him that I was already a satisfied client of this company he was dissing, his comment was “well I’m very sorry to hear about your misfortune”.  Needless to say, I hung up.  I was referred to this guy and called with every intention to purchase his services, but not now.  If his only form of salesmanship was to tear apart his competition by trying to make them look inadequate, he failed miserably.  He actually accomplished quite the opposite because he insulted my intelligence by indirectly telling me that I was stupid to have purchased his competitor’s services. 

I believe in healthy competition, it is the one thing that keeps us all honest and fair.  But you and your company should be able to stand on your own two feet and unique ability to succeed in the marketplace.  I am all about features and benefits, but if your only feature is to diss the competition, you need a new business.  I realize that it is very important to know who the competition is so that if a potential customer asks you questions about something specifically you can intellectually answer it, but in an informative way, not a competitor bashing kind of way.   

When I see people dissing their competitors, I actually feel sorry for them.  If these people had enough confidence in their own business or brand, they wouldn’t feel the need to try to make themselves shine at the expense of others.  Even if you know deep down that one of your competitors does not deserve the business, do yourself a favour – zip it.  If what you know to be true actually is true, it is only a matter of time before your competitor closes shop.  The more you diss your competition, the longer that competition will be around because you are driving your potential clients to them.  You should look to win the business by what you have to offer and having the confidence to tell potential customers exactly why they should work with you - period - but that’s just my 4 cents!

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