How to Win Over A Competitor's Customer

BY Jessica Helinski
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Got your eye on a potential client who is currently working with someone else? Wooing him or her away from the competition may not be as difficult as you think. How you position yourself to the client will determine if they change vendors, but first, you need to understand a few things about them. Entpreneur​.com contributor Ed Hatton advises readers to rethink their current selling strategy and consider his ideas for winning over potential clients.

First, make sure you consider things from their perspective. Regardless of value, money almost always plays a role in a decision of what to buy. Before you can sell to the prospect, you first need to understand where the money needed will be coming from. Familiarize yourself with current vendors or products they are using. “Once you understand this, you can change your value conversation to address the client’s perspective, instead of your own,” Hatton explains.

You also must understand just why the prospect trusts your competitor and what they sell. Often, sellers wonder why buyers continue to use inferior products or services. Many times, the answer is simply that making a change is difficult. You’ll need to understand their level of trust with the provider and begin building your own. Then, you can move on to creating value, highlighting how what you sell offers more value and delivers what they currently aren’t getting. Remember, buyers must see advantages to leaving their current provider!

These are just two of Hatton’s suggestions, and all four should help immensely in your journey of winning over the prospect. Attracting business from a competitor shouldn’t be approached like any other sale; you need to examine your strategy from a different angle, as he suggests, and adjust your tactics to that the buyer will see the benefit in moving on to you. 


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