ventox35

Sales Leader

Bashing the competition--where do you draw the line?

A team member of mine sent this email to a prospect...long story short, our company hired this prospect's old salesperson. my team member figured they'd leverage that.

The boss-boss caught wind of this email (via a tattletale), and my team member was told to not send emails like this anymore..."we want to have a more positive message. it takes time to build these relationships, and emails like that can ruin any chance at a relationship."

I politely disagreed. I think it's a solid email.

Thoughts?

Is that email appropriate & effective?

Attached poll

yes no risky, but potentially effective the boss-boss is a relationship seller who i shouldn't take advice from

*Voting in this poll no longer yields commission.

💌 Cold Emailing

😌 Email Templates

27 comments

Sort by:

Diablo

Politicker

Sr. AE

It’s a good email but it’s too too direct and at times this might backfire or get you no response. On top, your company might be positioned by the prospects in the wrong way and words fly.

ventox35

Politicker

Sales Leader

@Diablohow would you modify?

GingerBarbarian

Opinionated

Lead Sales

Competition bashing can be done the right way, but this does not feel like it. A company can be the right fit for a customer but not a great place to work or vice-versa.

GingerBarbarian

Opinionated

Lead Sales

Can I ask why this employee left? Was it a better comp package or a better product? If it was just a better comp plan that does not mean shit to the customer.

ventox35

Politicker

Sales Leader

@GingerBarbariannot really a better product, but for an expanded role at our company which is less established, more exciting, and in a high growth stage.

GingerBarbarian

Opinionated

Lead Sales

It sounds like the right move for him then. But I will say that doesn't really sound like it is something that would make a customer excited for. In the worst case customers can see it like a Division 1 player transferring to a D3 school so they can be a starter.

detectivegibbles

Politicker

Sales Director

Not a fan of leveraging that. People leave jobs for reasons unbeknownst all the time.

I think painting a competitor in a bad light speaks more about the character of the one writing the email than it does said competitor.

Totally understandable but just not a card I'd personally play.

ventox35

Politicker

Sales Leader

@detectivegibbleswas the competitor painted in a bad light in this email? if so, how?

detectivegibbles

Politicker

Sales Director

That's fair. Appreciate the call out. Bad light was probably wrong choice of words.

I think this could have been approached a bit more tactfully.

Maybe CC'ing the colleague and letting them voice their reasoning rather than name dropping and saying "hey, they left that company because of xyz"

I don't necessarily think it's wrong, I think it just leaves the door open for certain personalities to take it the wrong way.

ventox35

Politicker

Sales Leader

Interesting idea @detectivegibbles
I'm certainly good with that!

CuriousFox

WR Officer

🦊

Ehhhhh 🤔

Pachacuti

Politicker

They call me Daddy, Sales Daddy

Its risky. It can be easily taken the wrong way. People don't like to hear the negative unless they request it.

An apples-to-apples comparison is a better approach. Obviously the competitor does "something" better. So sandwich that between two negatives.

I often will say about "product x" - yes it works, yes its good. But its also prohibitively expensive for most organizations. There are alternatives which are less costly to implement, maintain, and for the overall Total Cost of Ownership.

HVACexpert

Politicker

sales engineer

If you ran it by the new sales person you hired away from the competition, and asked their permission to use them as a reference, I see no issue with it. If you threw their name in without them knowing that is where the problem lies.

ventox35

Politicker

Sales Leader

Fair

Sunbunny31

Politicker

Sr Sales Executive 🐰

The phrase that would put this into a positive light rather than negative is "ask xxxx why she decided to join our company!" Saying the same thing, but in a more positive way.

I mean, if the boss-boss is saying "please don't", then don't. But there are ways to accomplish a similar message through different phrasing.

sketchysales

Politicker

Sales Manager

No offense but I hate pretty much everything in that email.

Would illicit no response from me and it's not even the sentence you are talking about.

ventox35

Politicker

Sales Leader

@sketchysaleshow would you change it?

sketchysales

Politicker

Sales Manager

Its hard to say without more context in what you do and what you sell. But to me the whole thing seems like its you telling me what to think.

Further to that, you make a lot of statements but nothing to really interest me. Again im looking at this without context but its all very well saying no price increases for 2 years but what if you are 50% more expensive to start with? Thats the thought that comes to mind as an outside reader.

Lastly, i would never end with that finish in regards to the ex-employee of the competition. Speak about customers you won and why they buy from you, shouldnt that mean more?

sketchysales

Politicker

Sales Manager

I should add, thats all my opinion and if its working for you as it is, then go for it, why listen to me lol. But if its not working then maybe worth trying something else.

RandyLahey

Politicker

Account Executive

There are a few key details here; what kind of product is it that you are selling? Sounds like services. If it is, this does seem risky.

ventox35

Politicker

Sales Leader

@RandyLaheyservices, yes. why is it risky?

TennisandSales

Politicker

Head Of Sales

is this the first email?

I would try to not LEAD with this. but mention you have specific reasons of why groups choose you over them.

drtendo

Politicker

Enterprise Account Executive

If I was receiving this email I would like and be responsive to every part of it, except for that last line. Feels like unimportant information to a decision maker, so a bit petty.

FoodForSales

Politicker

What competition ;)

ASP23

Good Citizen

Founder

It’s a bad email because all it’s doing is talking about costs. Very little about the prospect. From what I’ve seen, prospects don’t care about the sales person moving from a competitor. I have seen it help the salesperson in general be more knowledgeable though.

This angle could be helpful, but only if used to position the seller as a trusted advisor

Maximas

Tycoon

-2

Senior Sales Executive

To me the email it's very effective but risky a bit!

sketchysales

Politicker

Sales Manager

Bravado is a community of trusted sales professionals endorsed by their customers.

Products

The War Room Jobs Salary Guide Tech Sales U

Company

About Us How It Works Blog Bug Bounty

Contact

Press Careers

If you are hired as a contract sales rep by a Bravado customer, we may ask you to prove access to the employee email account provided to you by that customer. This data will be shared with customers to track your sales productivity; customers can use this data to confirm you meet the minimum activity requirements to pay out your ramp stipend and commission.

ventox35

Bashing the competition--where do you draw the line?

Is that email appropriate & effective?

27 comments

Related posts

How do you when to draw the line??

Customer teaching me how to do my job? When to draw the line?

Over-used line