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Should You Connect With Competitors on LinkedIn?
February 24, 2014 |Estimated reading time: 2 minutes
I get asked this question all the time, usually by someone who is very nervous about the whole idea. Let’s look at a couple of the obvious arguments and then a less obvious one I think the decision should really be based on.
They'll Scoop Up All My Customers
There is one word that describes salespeople who want access to a competitors connection list to steal customers. And that word is not brilliant, devious, or sneaky. It’s "lazy." If you need to see competitors customer lists to figure out who your customers are, well, I want you as a competitor, because you're a loser.
Unless you are a lousy salesperson, no one is going to scoop your customers.
I Have 500 Connections; My Competitor Has 200--That’s Not a Fair “Trade”
Who's say it is not a fair trade? What quality are the connections? If his or her 200 connections are each connected to 10,000 people, you are getting access to a pretty nice network. Or what if his or her 200 connections are tightly focused on your industry, while 400 of yours are college alumni with no ties to your industry at all?
It's not what you have, it's what you do with what you have that's important.
Am I Better at Using LinkedIn Than They Are?
This is where the decision should be made. Most salespeople look at a competitor's connections, see they are connected to 50 prospective customers, and get depressed ("Gee, they're already connected at all the good prospects in my sales territory). But wait a minute. Let’s have a closer look. Yes, there are four companies with which the competitor is heavily connected. We will assume those are indeed customers and tip our hats to the competitor. But in almost every other instance they are connected with only one person and, in most complex sales these days, being connected to one person usually means a sale has not been made. There are even a number of companies where the person is not connected to someone in the right department.
What I've done here is made use of the intel provided by these connections. I know which accounts appear locked up and which ones are not. I have intelligence I did not have before. I know who the prospects are in my sales territory so I am not learning anything new there. But I am learning what relationships my competitor probably has...and does not have. And that makes the connection with the competitor worthwhile.
...And You Have the Hammer
In making a decision on connecting to a competitor, I always remind people they have the hammer. “Having the hammer” is a term from the sport of curling. The team having the hammer throws last and thus has a big advantage. They have the last say. And I remind my clients that they can disconnect any time they feel being connected to someone is not worthwhile. It takes five seconds. I like an agreement that I can end anytime I feel that it is not working to my advantage.Bruce Johnston is a sales consultant specializing in social media and especially LinkedIn. He has over 25 years experience in high-tech sales and management. He can be reached at brucej@practicalsmm.com or through his profile on LinkedIn.