The Worst Thing a Seller Can Do In a Competitive Situation (+ More Takeaways From Our Latest Webinar)

A few days ago, I had the pleasure of hosting a webinar that featured Crayon’s VP of Strategy, Chris Pope, and Aircall’s Director of Sales, Tommy Jester. We talked about the mistakes that sellers make in competitive opportunities and the things that you — whether you’re a sales leader or a competitive intelligence leader — can do to help them win more often.

You can watch the webinar here. If you’d prefer a quick recap, here are 3 key takeaways:

1. When buyers tell your sellers that they like your competitors' products, that's a GOOD thing.
2. Call recordings are at their most valuable when they're consumed in a group setting.
3. The best sellers almost never schedule dedicated differentiation calls — because they proactively differentiate from the get-go.

Takeaway #1: When buyers tell your sellers that they like your competitors’ products, that’s a GOOD thing.

Every time a buyer says "I like this about Competitor X" or "I like that about Competitor Y," it's a golden opportunity for the seller to do additional discovery and learn more about the buyer's goals. The WORST thing a seller can do in this scenario is feature dump; the BEST thing they can do is say "Tell me more about that.”

Takeaway #2: Call recordings are at their most valuable when they’re consumed in a group setting.

Both Chris and Tommy recommend that you create a library of exemplary call recordings — recordings that show how to handle specific situations, like when a buyer reveals that they have a demo with Competitor X next week.

But it's not enough to show your sellers what good looks like; they also need to know why certain responses are better than others. That's why you should schedule recurring "film reviews" where your sellers can watch call recordings together and discuss why some things work and others don't.

Takeaway #3: The best sellers almost never schedule dedicated differentiation calls — because they proactively differentiate from the get-go.

Sometimes, a buyer will be so torn between your product and a competitor that the seller has no choice but to schedule a call dedicated specifically to differentiation — and that's OK. It happens.

But it shouldn't be a regular thing. Because from the earliest stages of each sales cycle, your sellers should be proactively educating buyers on the differences between your product and its competitors. As soon as a buyer reveals a pain point, the seller should show them how your product relieves it in a way that no other solution can.

Make your sales team your competitors’ worst nightmare

I’d love to recap all the insights that Chris and Tommy shared, but that blog post would be far too long — so make sure to watch the recording of the webinar.

And if you want to learn how Crayon battlecards can help your sellers navigate competitive opportunities with confidence, schedule a demo today.