I recently started receiving newsletters from Sales Engine -
a company started by a Booth professor, Craig Wortmann. One of the
points the most recent newsletter made was to “Praise your competitors’
strengths.” After being a little surprised by the counterintuitive
statement, I began thinking about how we do things at matchist. On our
calls, we often talk about competitors like oDesk and eLance. What I
realized is that I often praised these competitors. Why? Well there
were a number of reasons:
1) It’s better than saying nothing. When our
clients bring up other freelancing sites like oDesk, there are three
ways to go – to praise the competitors, disparage the competitors, or
say nothing at all. Saying nothing makes it seem like you have
something to hide – or worse, that you aren’t aware of them. We are
well aware that freelance developers have other options, and that our
clients have other options. We want our clients to know that we are
aware of their other available options.
2) Disparaging your competition makes you seem weak. While you could disparage your competition, many clients will this as a turnoff. During Craig Wortmann’s class, he asked to do word association with the term “salesman”. Some words were nice, but others, like “liar,” “smooth talker,” and “scumbag” all came up. This is what you are when you insult your competition. Insulting your competition makes you are worried about them, and clients will be less interested in working with someone who is so negative. Which bring us to why you should actually praise your competition:
3) Praising your competition helps differentiate your brand. Other freelance sites like oDesk and eLance do a great job of delivering freelance work at a discount. They also have huge networks, so your web apps, mobile apps, and API integrations will get more views from developers on those sites. Why do I mention this? Because it helps matchist show how we are different than them in the market. It gives merit to our claims of quality, stronger results, selecting the perfect developer for your project, and giving you the proper customer service required to do so. It’s much more believable to make these claims when you give them context.
At the end of the day, it is your competition that defines who you are in the market place. Appreciate them for what they do, and you will recognize what makes you shine.
2) Disparaging your competition makes you seem weak. While you could disparage your competition, many clients will this as a turnoff. During Craig Wortmann’s class, he asked to do word association with the term “salesman”. Some words were nice, but others, like “liar,” “smooth talker,” and “scumbag” all came up. This is what you are when you insult your competition. Insulting your competition makes you are worried about them, and clients will be less interested in working with someone who is so negative. Which bring us to why you should actually praise your competition:
3) Praising your competition helps differentiate your brand. Other freelance sites like oDesk and eLance do a great job of delivering freelance work at a discount. They also have huge networks, so your web apps, mobile apps, and API integrations will get more views from developers on those sites. Why do I mention this? Because it helps matchist show how we are different than them in the market. It gives merit to our claims of quality, stronger results, selecting the perfect developer for your project, and giving you the proper customer service required to do so. It’s much more believable to make these claims when you give them context.
At the end of the day, it is your competition that defines who you are in the market place. Appreciate them for what they do, and you will recognize what makes you shine.
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