Why You Shouldn't Knock the Competition

Don't knock the Competition.

Recently, I saw the CEO of a large tech company go on the offensive against one of their competitors, who had suffered a public issue. In theory, this should have been a win. They can look good while their competitor is looking bad.

But theory doesn't take into account human psychology. And we ALL know that we hate it when people knock their competition.

There are a few reasons:

1. It comes across as insecure
2. Your customer may disagree with your perspective, hurting your credibility
3. You have limited airtime, so why waste it talking about your Competition's weaknesses instead of your strengths?

Those reasons stand universally.

But this wasn't a normal situation. This was the CEO of a public company directly attacking another company via poorly executed PR while their competitor was dealing with a major issue. Not only were the attacks in bad taste, but they inspired an army of neutrals to spring to the defense of the CEO under attack.

Industry experts debunked inaccuracies in the attack. Customers on both sides questioned the integrity of the attacker. Overall, it would be extremely hard to argue that their efforts had a positive outcome.

It would have been better to just stay quiet. In fact, I heard that the CEO of another competitor instructed their team to do just that. Perhaps this is just me, but I actually think the best thing the CEO could have done was to support their bruised competitor. It would have been admirable. It would have radiated confidence and integrity. Painting them in a positive light. Instead, they chose to throw stones.

All of this is not to say that you shouldn't fight your Competition. If you aren't offended by the mere presence of your rivals, then you are probably working for the wrong company.

But as Jim Rohn said:

“There are two ways to have the tallest building in town. One is to tear everyone else’s building down, and the other is to build your building taller.”

The sales version of building your building taller is to make your Competition:

• look like amateurs by always being hyper-prepared
• look like rookies by always being hyper-researched
• seem docile by making sure you uncover and Implicate Pain first
• look like novices when it comes to value by building a business case
• fall into traps by influencing the Decision Criteria toward your strengths
• look disorganized by following the Decision Process you helped curate
• sad because your Champion is stronger than theirs, and
• mad because the EB doesn't know who they are

I don't believe there is a more effective tactic for overcoming competitors than influencing the Decision Criteria toward your strengths and towards your Competition's weaknesses.

No amount of FUD will ever come close .