Portable Sanitation Association International

26 I PSAI Association Insight, July 7, 2021 If cold calling others' customers makes sense to you, do it legally and ethically. • Communicate with potential customers truthfully and in a manner that is consistent with the Code of Excellence. Focus on what your company can offer rather than detracting from the current provider. • Recognize that if you choose to compete on price with an established customer you are leaving money on the table. You are also creating low price expectations and it will likely take a long time to regain the ground. That hurts everyone in your market, including you. • Accept that many competitors do not view cold calling their customers as honorable. This may result in unintended consequences for your company such as competitors not being interested in collaborating with you on larger jobs or helping you during breakdowns. What about the Effect on Customers? Imagine a portable sanitation company representative saying something like this to a customer: "Yeah, how [competitor] does it is nothing like what we do. It's totally messed up, and they don't care at all about their clients. I actually met their owner once. He was a real jerk. And he kicked a dog as he walked away." Whether you are the company that is cold calling saying this about the existing provider, or you're the established company responding to news that a competitor approached your client, smack-talking is a bad idea. Sure, it may feel momentarily satisfying. But it doesn't play well with customers. It comes off as insecure, petty, and vindictive. No matter what they may say out loud, your customer (or prospective customer) is likely thinking, "Wow, who knew there was such drama in the world of porta-potties? I don't give two hoots about a war between the Hatfields and McCoys of portable sanitation. Get me out of here." Customers want facts, respect, and trustworthy business partners. They want their time to be honored. So stick to how you can help them whenever possible, and avoid discussing the competition as best you can. If you feel you have no other choice to differentiate your company from a competitor, it is okay to bring up factually correct negatives. But be clear that you are only doing so in order to give a complete and honest picture, and that if you left the negatives out, you would be giving incomplete information. Example 1: "I understand you've been using XYZ company for a while now. Here are some things to consider about switch- ing to ABC company. Our equipment is newer than XYZ. They have not invested in new routing technology as we have. So we can provide better equipment and service for a similar cost. We also have a 24/7 call center, so you can get assistance at any time. XYZ can't offer you that." Example 2: "Thanks for letting me know that ABC company pitched to you. It is true they have some newer equipment and use a routing system that is a little more advanced than ours. On the other hand, it is only fair that I tell you we have had some other customers leave us for ABC, only to call back after a few months because ABC raised their prices and their service didn't meet expectations. Here is my personal cell number. If you call it, you'll get me – not an answering service located out of town." Focus on providing customers with facts, and you'll be better able to give a fair assessment of why they should choose you over a competitor. If the facts aren't enough, you have a bigger business problem to solve than how to talk to this one customer. It's also important to remember that customers can sense insecurity about your product or competitive position. A refusal to acknowledge that a competitor's product/service is any good, or that they can do well any of the things that your company can do, will likely backfire. The customer will suspect you are exaggerating at best and aren't being completely truthful at worst. That will make them wonder what else you aren't being truthful about. In general, approaching both new and established customers from an unbiased, help-people-first standpoint, will probably serve your company better over the long run. Be a great relationship manager, and you will likely preserve or gain more sustainable business than by using gorilla tactics. The moral of the story: whether you believe in calling on others' customers or not, it happens. So handle your customer interactions in a way that means the best company for the job wins. With good enough relationship skills, and a good enough underlying product/service proposition, there should never be a need to 'bash' a competitor – even if they are using tactics of which you don't wholly approve. It's the right thing to do, it is good sales, and it is good for the portable sanitation industry. Calling on Competitors' Customers: A Hot Idea that Leaves Some Cold (continued from page 25)

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