"There ain't room enough for both of us in this town pardner"

The title of this blog posting reflects the way a lot of sales people look at their competition. Like most good sales people I am very competitive. I want to get every nickel of my customer's advertising budget. Unfortunately this is both unrealistic and unfair to my customers. I have competitors and though I believe my product is superior in many ways, I know they have readers and offer value to their customers.

Sometimes our competitive spirit gets in the way of making a sale. By giving the customer an either/or choice we sometimes force them to put all their eggs in the competition's basket. If some consumers are reading the daily paper and others are reading your shopper, it makes sense for the advertisers to split their budget between the two publications. When making a proposal I talk to the customer about allocating their budget between me and my competitor. This tells them that I am being honest with them and that I have their best interests in mind. It also gets them to think about the wisdom of giving their entire budget to the competitor. Most people are reluctant to change, they are more likely to buy if you don't recommend completely dropping their current program and making a 180 degree turn to buy from you. Advertising is not a zero sum game, advertisers should invest in any product which produces sales in excess of the money spent to advertise.

Keep Smiling, Keep Selling!

Thanks

Jim Busch