A competitor’s lens

How do your competitors view your strengths and weaknesses?

By Allon Raiz

I’ll never forget the level of frustration I felt a few years ago when I arrived at my monthly meeting with my mentor. My team and I had pitched for a major deal, attended meeting after meeting following the pitch, and were then shortlisted for the final round where we had to present once more.

At the final presentation one of the awkward questions we were asked was to define why we were better than the other two finalists.

Initially I resisted responding to this question, and instead answered by highlighting the strengths and benefits that we as an organisation offer. They pushed and pushed for an answer, but I stood firm on my decision not to answer the question directly. Like a scene from a movie, where two suspects are being interrogated simultaneously in different rooms, they turned to me and said, “But your competitors answered the question without flinching.”

I settled into my seat at the table and asked my mentor how he would have approached that particular question. “Secretly answer the question from your competitor’s point of view.” The confused look on my face encouraged him to elaborate on that comment. “You did the right thing by not slating your competitor in public, but ironically the gift is in the scenario. You need to be able to anticipate what their answer would be if asked about your weaknesses, and then ensure that you acknowledge, list and work on those weaknesses.” After a long pause, in which I sat and considered his advice, he then looked up and concluded, “Most importantly, also anticipate the answer they would have when answering the question ‘What does your competitor have that you do not currently have to offer?’”

Place yourself in your competitor’s shoes (company B), and then answer the following questions about your own business (company A), from company B’s point of view:

  1. What does company A actually do?
  2. What makes company A better than company B?
  3. What are company A’s weaknesses?
  4. What should company A be concerned about?

You’ll be surprised by the information you evoke by doing this exercise.

Too often entrepreneurs suffer from ailments of drinking too much of their own marketing kool-aid, and as a result become blinded to not only their weaknesses, lack of competitive edge and product flaws, but also ironically end up failing to identify and highlight their less conspicuous strengths, competitive edges and product benefits.

Entrepreneurs often follow a mechanical routine of only selling the strengths that are listed in their “marketing brochure” to investors or clients, and very often forget about their other strengths, which their competitors are all too aware of and have listed as notable threats. As a business owner, you should be selling and driving all of your strengths even if they are not all listed in your brochure!

When planning your next pitch, don’t be focused solely on the script of your marketing brochure. Spend the day in your competitor’s shoes and use this new lens to identify and list your strengths and weaknesses as your competitors may view them. This is vital information that must be added to your next pitch.