Being in an industry with several service providers can be good for the industry because the competition yields increasingly better services. But, it can also be detrimental to your selling efforts when the proverbial bad apple spoils the bunch. What do you do when you're met with the following?
"No thanks. We used company X and it wasn't for us""We used a service like yours and it was a waste of time.'
"We tired something like that before and the company still owes us money. No thanks!"
How do you differentiate your service when your prospect has a preconceived notion of what your service is and does? How to you separate your company from those that offer similar products, especially to merchants who have used other services previously?
Look for ways in which your service is different from your competitors and stress them. For example: Have you been in business longer?Do you specialize in certain merchant types or industries?
Have you received any awards or publicity?
What specific services make you unique? (Multiple check, sales saver, premium approval...)
Apply the merchant's thinking to another industry. For example, all car companies manufacture cars but that doesn't mean all cars are the same. Many companies offer phone service but consumers definitely have their favorites.
Stressing the diversity within your industry can help your prospect see how unique your company is and what you can offer that your competitors cannot.
