Here’s the pitch: you work for ACME Inc, supplier of fine hand-crafted purple chair wheels since 1471. You and a potential client share good vibes that could lead to a juicy contract. Everything is fine in the best of the worlds, then you realize the client is also talking with one of yours competitors, EVIL Inc. Ohmygod.
Of course there is the vast subject of corruption, but that's not my point here; I'm always surprised to see how often these dated methods are used:
- Bitch about the competitor without logical reasoning: “We’ve heard EVIL Inc. is evil, don’t sleep with them”
- Make the client feel guilty: “We did everything for you! What did we do wrong? What makes you go elsewhere?”
- Serve your worst sticky brownish bullshity corporate sauce: “Unlike EVIL Inc, ACME Inc values customer satisfaction above all, never gonna let-you-down, blah blah”
For all of them: DON’T. To the latest news, capitalism is about free competition, meaning your selling key point is none of the above, it is “be valuable and bring to the client what he wants”. If you honestly think you're more valuable, show it, prove it. If needed, shift the debate towards a more favorable axis.
What I described above belongs to our early recreation grounds. It is business-spam, and we all hate spam. Do this and my inner Bayesian filter will automagically blacklist you. Said differently, please compete in honest direct terms or go live in the mountains.
All of the above could be obvious for you. I thought that too, then learnt that it’s not for lots of people, learnt to recognize it when it surfaces and learnt to politely refuse such behavior.