Comments on: Against Whom Am I Competing? http://insight.onesource.com/against-whom-am-i-competing/69 The Resource Center for Business Professionals Tue, 27 Oct 2009 16:05:10 -0400 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.5 hourly 1 By: John T http://insight.onesource.com/against-whom-am-i-competing/69/comment-page-1#comment-25 John T Mon, 16 Feb 2009 16:05:26 +0000 http://insight.onesource.com/?p=69#comment-25 Some "rules" If you are surprised by the issuing of the RFP, you probably don't have a chance Answer all the questions as if they are "God's wisdom". Remember the RFP writer loves to be told how smart he/she is Remember there is a diffference between winning the RFP and negotiating the contract Some “rules”
If you are surprised by the issuing of the RFP, you probably don’t have a chance
Answer all the questions as if they are “God’s wisdom”. Remember the RFP writer loves to be told how smart he/she is
Remember there is a diffference between winning the RFP and negotiating the contract

]]> By: Mark D http://insight.onesource.com/against-whom-am-i-competing/69/comment-page-1#comment-12 Mark D Thu, 15 Jan 2009 16:32:07 +0000 http://insight.onesource.com/?p=69#comment-12 In situations like this I have found the best thing you can do is listen to your prospect. When they talk they will often lead with information they have received from the competition. A lot of times it is easy to tell. The key is to know what traps your competition will set. In situations like this I have found the best thing you can do is listen to your prospect. When they talk they will often lead with information they have received from the competition. A lot of times it is easy to tell. The key is to know what traps your competition will set.

]]> By: Kristi D http://insight.onesource.com/against-whom-am-i-competing/69/comment-page-1#comment-11 Kristi D Thu, 15 Jan 2009 14:46:54 +0000 http://insight.onesource.com/?p=69#comment-11 A couple of additional points I would add: 1. Especially in industries where there are a few key players and it is not too fragmented, it is definitely worth the investment to have someone in your organization do competitive profiling and share the knowledge across the business. This should an ongoing process, or at least updated annually. It will make it much easier to figure out your competition for a specific prospect's business if you have a general sense of the marketplace going in. 2. In addition to finding out who your competitor is for a particular prospect, finding out their renewal cycle (or trying to determine when the end of the product lifecycle is near) is key to being in the right place at the right time. A couple of additional points I would add:

1. Especially in industries where there are a few key players and it is not too fragmented, it is definitely worth the investment to have someone in your organization do competitive profiling and share the knowledge across the business. This should an ongoing process, or at least updated annually. It will make it much easier to figure out your competition for a specific prospect’s business if you have a general sense of the marketplace going in.

2. In addition to finding out who your competitor is for a particular prospect, finding out their renewal cycle (or trying to determine when the end of the product lifecycle is near) is key to being in the right place at the right time.

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