Win 'Em Over All's fair in love and war. Go ahead, woo your rivals' clients.

Looking for new customers? It pays to consider who's alreadyusing your competitors' services or products. If you'rewondering why those customers should do business with you, well,that's exactly the question you'll have to answer if youexpect them to make a vendor change. So before you attempt to woo acustomer away from a competitor, you must ask yourself thesequestions: What can I offer that's different from mycompetitor? How can I bring more to my customer's business? Howcan my product or service add more value to the potentialcustomer's business?

Once you've answered all these questions, there's onething left to ponder: What is the competition doing that you can dobetter, and what isn't the competition doing that you can offerthe customer? Suppose your prospective customer has been buyingfrom Acme Widgets for a long time. It's likely Acme is takingthat business for granted or even becoming complacent about theservice they provide. That's a perfect opportunity for you tooffer your new prospect a "teaser," such as a week-longfree trial (or 30 days, or a discounted price, or whatever makessense for your business) so he or she can see that the kind ofvalue you offer makes your company much better than thecompetition. Then you can say, "If we don't proveourselves, stay with your present vendor. I promise you, once youtry our product, you'll understand why changing suppliers isgood for your business."

Approaches That Work

There are many ways to woo customers, and some are more directthan others. Here are three methods, starting with the mostdirect:

• Don't let the "we'rehappy with our current vendor" statement stop you fromcourting the customer. Say something like "Just outof curiosity, did you use someone else before you chose yourcurrent vendor?" When the customer says yes, ask "Whatwas the reason you changed?" After she tells you, you can say,"Just as your present vendor offered you differentopportunities and benefits from your old vendor, there may bebenefits we have that you're not aware of. How does Thursdaylook for me to visit and explain them to you?"

• Stay in touch even after he or shesays no. You never know when a company may be looking tomake a change. Of course, you don't want to keep calling andcalling, but you can keep that company in an "automaticsend" file. Then, whenever you have new information-whetherit's the introduction of a new product, an importantannouncement about your business, or a piece of informationthat's relevant to the prospect's industry (even ifit's not directly related to your product or service)-thepotential customer is automatically included in the list of peoplewho get the fax, e-mail or mailer.

• Concentrate on becoming so successfulthat customers eventually come to you. If your wooingtactics are not panning out, move on to a new business. Generatepositive word-of-mouth. Use testimonials from present customers inads and promotional materials. When there's a buzz in theindustry that you're the best around, the account you'vebeen pursuing will be knocking on your door.

There are no magic tricks to wooing customers away from thecompetition. It's done by understanding what they need andfinding out how you can best add value to their businesses. Oncethat happens, your energy, enthusiasm and success with others willeventually persuade your competitors' clients to make theswitch.