Monthly Archives: June 2022

For decades, salespeople have been taught that there is only one possible reason for lost sales: that salespeople have failed to defeat the customer’s status quo.

Perhaps the customer doesn’t fully appreciate the problem that their solution is designed to solve.

Or maybe they don’t yet see enough daylight between their company’s solution and that of the competition.

So, salespeople break out their arsenal of tools to prove to the customer the many ways their solutions will help them win. And, when all else fails, they dial up the “FUD” — or, fear, uncertainty, and doubt — to tap into the customer’s fear of missing out.

But, as time-honoured as the techniques are, research shows that they don’t work as well as they once did. In fact, they aren’t just unproductive; they can be counterproductive to the goal of getting the customer off the fence.

Instead, salespeople should focus on customer indecision — and, specifically, apply a new framework to situations where indecision is the biggest blocker.

When it comes to engaging with competitors, most brands take an antagonistic approach — think the age-old rivalry between Coke and Pepsi, or the memorable “Mac vs. PC” ads.

However, new research suggests that praising the competition can actually boost a brand’s image and profitability.

For example, in one study, consumers who saw a tweet in which KitKat praised Twix were 34% more likely to buy a KitKat in the next two weeks. This effect is driven by consumers’ perceptions of a brand’s warmth: Praising competitors makes brands seem more thoughtful, kind, and trustworthy, ultimately making consumers more likely to buy their products.

Of course, this approach won’t work for every brand in every context — but the research suggests that praising the competition can substantially benefit brands, both in terms of consumers’ perceptions and bottom-line sales (not to mention the side-benefit of adding a bit of positivity to a world rife with conflict and negativity).