Offence vs Defence (What does your approach to sales and competition say about your company?)

They often say that the best form of defence is a solid offence but does this ring true for business and sales in particular?

Opinions will vary but I strongly believe that adopting an offensive approach to both your sales process and the way you handle competition for your services says an awful lot about how YOU operate as a company. 

Its one thing to be competitive but its another to actively slate a rival as all you succeed in doing is promote them as a brand and rival for the same service of which you hope to provide. Consider a shoe manufacturer (for want of a better analogy) who has a rival in the 'sports trainer' sector-this company actively slates their rival brand's quality, cost and delivery-great way to promote your brand isn't it? No of course it isn't-why focus on what your rivals don't do well when your energy is better served promoting why YOUR brand is the better solution (or shoe).

If I was told by a shoe manufacturer that their rivals sports trainers were of bad quality, were too expensive and would not be delivered to me on time I would naturally be inclined to find this out for myself-so I go to the rival manufacturer and ask to try out their product-I end up preferring their brand and I go with them instead! So the first companies offensive approach only served to push me towards their rivals. They have been the architects of their own destruction.

However, what if this fictitious sports brand turned to me and said-'you have many choices of sports trainers but we believe that our product offers you maximum comfort, longevity of wear, is economically priced and can be delivered wholesale as and when you need them.' They didn't mention their rivals, they didn't try to promote their product by comparing it to what they considered an inferior option and they solely (pun intended) focused on themselves as a brand and what makes their product so enticing to consumers. This company defended the consumer's (me) right to choice but urged them to respect the quality of the product that they hoped to provide me.

Now I may, as a consumer, decide to perform due diligence on which brand I should adopt but crucially-the first sports manufacturer I've met has not mentioned their rivals and therefore-have not led me into a decision to consider an alternative. They have not been the architects of their own destruction.

Further to the above-what kind of impression do you give off if you focus on your rivals product or service instead of your own? It makes you look fearful of competition, scared that their product is better and terrified that your own product or service is inferior. Its reminiscent of the school yard bully who abdicates violence against others as a way of masking their own pain or inner turmoil. I don't believe that this is an attractive quality in either a person or a company.

So to summarise, don't waste energy on your rivals-spend you energy wisely on your own brand, product or service-in the long run-both your consumers and your profit margins will thank you.

Thanks for reading.