Improvising Business
by
Stevie Ray
Want to Help the Competition? Bad-Mouth Them
Some time ago I conducted a workshop for an executive retreat for Really Big Company, Inc. Charles, one of the committee members for the retreat, had e-mailed me to inquire about my programs, fees, etc. Rather than e-mail him the information, I followed the advice of a colleague who said she rarely replies to an initial e-mail with an e-mail response. She picks up the phone and calls
them back within an hour of the e-mail, if possible. So that’s what I did. Charles was surprised at getting an actual phone call.
At the end of the call he said, “Okay. We’re down to you and (he gave the name of another company that provides similar training). I’ll call you in a week or so and let you know who we decide to use.” Isn’t it funny? Even though we business owners know we are constantly being
compared to the competition, we almost never hear about it. We rarely hear that the job is down to just us and one competitor. I waited anxiously by the phone for two weeks. I didn’t eat, I didn’t sleep (my wife did make me shower occasionally). Finally Charles called and said, “I spoke with the committee and we decided to go with you.”
I thought we would jump right into the details of the event. Charles
surprised me by saying, “We at Really Big Company, Inc. like to give feedback to our vendors. Would you like to hear why we choose you instead of your competition?” Would I? How often do you get a chance like that? Charles said, “I presented both you and your competitor’s information to the committee, but I also gave my immediate recommendation that we go with you.” I started thinking of all the reasons why he would recommend me; price, my experience, he was more familiar with my
company, client testimonials. “I told the committee,” he continued, “that when you call Stevie Ray, you get Stevie Ray. Not some assistant who will take a message; leaving you wondering when you will hear back. Heck, Stevie Ray even picks up the phone and calls you! We have enough work to do putting this event together; wouldn’t it be nice to have one element that doesn’t cause stress?” That was it. I didn’t get the job because I am experienced, effective and devilishly good-looking; I
got it because I picked up the phone.
Two weeks later I met with the committee to work out the details of the workshop. When I arrived Charles pulled me aside and said, “Like I said before, Really Big Company, Inc. likes to give feedback to vendors. I already told you why you got the job. Let me tell you what your competitor said when I told that them they didn’t get the job. Since the head guy is
never in the office, I had to talk to his assistant. I told him the reason they lost the job wasn’t because they didn’t have a good program. They didn’t get the job for two reasons; they were difficult to get in touch with, and they seemed really arrogant about their program. Their attitude was like, if we didn’t go with their system we were fools.”
Charles continued, “When I told him we were going with you,
he lost it. He said, ‘Stevie Ray. We never lose business to him. We work with bigger companies, higher level executives, and offer a broader range of services.’”
Charles looked me straight in the eye and said, “I stopped that little puke mid-rant and said, “We at Really Big Company, Inc. have a philosophy; we never allow any of our employees to bad-mouth the competition. Negative comments are
usually untrue, and always unacceptable. We don’t allow it among our staff, and we certainly do don’t business with anyone who does that.” Now Charles smiled, “You should have heard him try to back-peddle his way out of that. ‘Well sir, I didn’t mean to imply anything negative about Mr. Ray. I’m sure his programs are really good.’ But I had heard enough. Not only did they lose this job, but they are off my list for good. By the way, Stevie, you have grounds for slander, since none of the
statements the guy made were true and could hurt your business.”
I was certainly not interested in going to court over some administrative assistant’s ranting. I was interested, however, in learning from my conversations with Charles. The first lesson, an e-mail can never sell you better than your own sweet voice. People don’t buy services or products, they partner with people. Second, say only nice things
about your competition. I am a member of the National Speakers Association (for professional speaker/trainers). I had a phone call from one prospective client who said she was considering me or a couple of other speakers in my field. She added, “When I mentioned that you were in the running, they both said “You can’t do better than Stevie Ray! Whether you choose me or him, you will have a great event.” She added, “Their willingness to speak so highly of you made me trust them all the
more. It actually made the decision more difficult because now I wanted to hire all of you.”
Sometimes the old advice can’t be beat. Don’t be lazy, pick up the phone. And if you can’t think of something nice to say about someone else, say something nice anyway.
Stevie Ray is a nationally recognized corporate speaker and trainer, helping companies improve communication skills, customer service, leadership, and team management. He can be reached at www.stevierays.org or stevie@stevierays.org.
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