What You Don’t Know May Shock You
Unfortunately, in politics it seems that negative campaigns have an effect. Some candidates that are willing to do or say anything to win have been successful.
Locally, here in Virginia Beach, the cable company began – a few years ago – using negative (negative against their competitor) and extremely effective television commercials. Actually, in the true sense of the word, the ad campaign used by the local cable company may not accurately be described as negative. It could be described as just stating the facts about their competition.
Two Ads used by Cable Company
First TV commercial: One man to a listener: “Did you know that last year Verizon raised its rates by 20 percent?”
The listener: “NO. I did not know that.”
Text appearing on the screen: “What You Don’t Know May Shock You.”
Second TV commercial: One man to a couple listening: “Did you know that during the past five years the satellite company has raised its rates every year?”
One of the listeners: “NO. I did not know that.”Text appearing on the screen: “What You Don’t Know May Shock You.”
How Can You Use Something Like This For Your Business?
How can you present negative facts about your competitor in a way that will not cause the listener to regard YOU in a negative way? One way is to not criticize your customer’s judgement in his/her choice of vendors and at the same time, communicate facts about your company that will benefit the customer. As an example, let’s say you are a wholesaler of imaging supplies calling a reseller.
Script:
(Important: This requires real knowledge of the competitor.)
Sales Person:
“Hello Mr. Smith, this is Mary Jones calling from XYZ Imaging Supplies Warehouse, calling about our competitively priced line of Panasonic supplies. Do you have customers who use Panasonic supplies?”
Prospect:
“Well, actually, we already buy our Panasonic supplies from the ABC Company.”
Sales Person
“The ABC Company is a good competitor of ours. Actually their line of Panasonic supplies does not include developers and we carry a complete line of Panasonic supplies, including developers. That would be an extra service you could be providing for your customers – and an extra source of profit for you.”
Important: Knowledge of the Competition is Critical. If you give the prospect incorrect information you will lose their trust.
How do you sell against your competition? Please share your experiences below. I would love to hear from you!
About The Author
Ann Barr is a telesales marketing success coach with a passion for teaching. She loves helping people who are starting out in new telesales careers and working with experienced sales reps who are looking for new ideas and tips. In addition to presenting monthly e-classes, she writes and edits direct-mail marketing letters and emails for clients. Sign up today for Ann’s free Weekly Sales Tips and get marketing tips and ideas to increase your sales!
6 Responses to “What You Don’t Know May Shock You”
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I am a frequent reader of your blog posts. I liked the recent one and other posts on your blog so much that I have subscribed to the blog’s RSS feed in Thunderbird. Even thinking of stealing some ideas and put them to work. Keep all the good work going by posting more informative posts. Thank you. Time well spent on this post.
Thank you for your comment, Carma. I’m glad you like the blog posts!
Nice post…Thank you for sharing some good things.
I appreciate your comment. Thanks for visiting!
Thank you for another great article. Where else could anyone get that kind of information in such a perfect way of writing? I have a presentation next week, and I am on the look for such information.
Thank you, Deon. Good luck with your presentation!