So says the wise Thumper. Who’s Thumper? Ah come on, you remember Thumper. Bambi’s rabbit friend and spiritual guru? He sang the greatest little song.
“If you can’t say something nice, Shhh, say nothing. Take a bit of good advice, shhhh, say nothing.Think of friendly things to say, that’s the path to follow. When you think an unkind thought, button your lips and swallow.”
I loved it as a kid. It’s still great advice – personally and professionally.
It’s great advice for paying attention as well. After all, what we pay attention to is what we expect, and we experience what we expect. So saying and thinking positive things is part of paying attention to control our world.
But that’s not what I wanted to talk about today.
If You Can’t Say Something Nice
Thumper was right. If you can’t say something nice – say nothing. That’s especially true when it comes to dissing the competition. I know, we’ve all been taught to throw negative againist the wall to see if it sticks. That’s bad training.
When you speak negatively about the competition, you take yourself down a level in your audiences’ eyes. Think about it from your own personal perspective.
- Do you like it when a sales rep starts telling you how bad all the alternatives are except the thing he wants you to buy – his product.
- It probably ticks you off and makes you want to go buy one of the other options, just to spite him. Especially if that sales rep is really aggressive.
Business buyers are no different. They want to hear about you and your capabilities, your customers’ solutions – the value you provide. They don’t want to hear your opinion about the alternatives. After all, it’s a tainted perspective, now isn’t it?
Why Give Your Competition Time?
Why would you bring them up in a conversation with your customer? Think about it. When you talk about your competition – other than when positioning alternative categories vis a vis your solution – you’re spending scarce time and resources helping a customer to pay attention to your competition.
You’re imprinting your competition into your customer’s mind. Now why would you do that?
Instead, minimize the attention spent on the competition. At the same time, show your customer a behavior that draws their attention to why they really want to do business with you in the first place. how?
“But what if my customer asks me about a competitor?” That’s the perfect opportunity to position them exactly where you want them. Here’s how:
Use Thumper’s Advice
If you can’t say something nice…. find a way to say something nice.
- Tell your customer where a competitor excels. Give them kudos for a very specific piece of the market, a very specific expertise, or a very specific solution. Pigeon hole them.
- Give them a segment that they can own. Make sure it’s a segment you don’t want. Better yet – give them that nice juicy segment that looks so appealing, but in reality is quicksand.
- Show your customer that you’re fair, objective and someone who they can trust. After all, customers want to buy from trusted resources, not people who bad mouth other people. Think about it; do you trust someone who immediately starts to badmouth another option that you have researched and find compelling? How does that make you feel? Warm and cozy or wanting to walk away, fast?
The result? You say something nice, you impress the customer with your openness and honesty, and you position the competition exactly where you want them. Out of your deal.
I guess Thumper was a pretty smart business bunny after all, huh?
