by Jason Stewart
Just got a great email from MarketingProfs - one of their "Get to the Point" emails called "Peripheral Vision."
"...if you let your vision get too category-specific, you might miss
the fact that you're also competing with companies that offer products
and services quite unlike your own."
It reminded me of another article I read recently at CrunchGear called How Microsoft Will Lift Us Out Of the IT Spending Dumps, talking about how the impending arrival of Windows 7 could single-handedly spark an IT spending frenzy.
"...a number of IT guys I know are genuinely excited about installing
Windows 7 in their shops, guys for whom Vista didn’t even register.
We’re about see an IT renaissance, and it will be driven by Microsoft."
True, a lot of companies will be spending money on Windows 7. And there will also be a lot of money spent on hardware and peripherals. But consider this...how much money will be left for other projects?
The bottom line is that when people ask you who your competitors are and you rattle off a few companies that do what you do, you are missing the point. Always keep in mind that what you are competing for when you market and sell your products or services is budget. And you are not strictly competing for that budget against your direct competitors - you are competing against all the projects that everyone in that department (or even across other departments) are campaigning for.
And in Q4 you might be competing against Windows 7.
You need to emphasize the benefits of your products and services to your customer, and focus on why you are the best move for their company at the highest level. Don't forget to talk big picture. Sell why they need this type pf project more than any other first, and then (and only then) talk about why you are better than the other guy.
Or how the ROI on your project could pay for that Windows 7 upgrade in Q1 2010.
