Explaining competitive intelligence

[Eric Garland]

It takes energy and patience.

Based on a true story...

[Vivek Raghuvanshi]

Ha..ha..ha............LOL

[Eric Garland]

Worse yet is that I took these quotes from actual conversations.

[monica nixon]

Eric,

I fell off my chair laughing and then started crying and sobbing inconsolably.... I think we have all had these conversations with field sales more times than we care to admit. Typically they don't understand strategic CI at all, and why would they?

Sales is focused on selling what they have today, this is how they are rewarded and where their incentives are, hence the mentality is therefore naturally very short term (ie this Q). Sales doesn't normally have much view into R/D and product development, and don't think about how the products/services they sell even came into being, or how long they might remain comeptitive if those of us upchain weren't doing our jobs anticipating new products, channel shifts, M/A, technological change, etc.

Now, most sales folks do have experience with the tactical CI/competitive response teams which are current focused, who write their sales tools around existing products and feed them day to day business information, etc but right they miss the piece about how they ultimately end up with the right mix of products for the future...

MN

[Eric Garland]

There will be a followup conversation with finance. Names will not be changed. Everyone is guilty.

[Jason Katraouzos]

I predict the finance person will repeatedly ask "But where is the ROI?" during the conversation...!

[Nathan Marlar]

Very nice, I like it!

[Glenn A. Deacon]

Hope she has lots of Bourbon, as I think she is going to need it. Sad part is "based on a true story". How often doesn't a conversation like this/similar take place within Co's? Have recommended the clip to Samantha Kelly.

Regards
Glenn

[Babette Bensoussan]

Excellent Eric!  I have heard this so many times too.....Like Monica I felt like crying....totally depressing!!  However like Sisyphus, I am still pushing that boulder up the hill!!

[Eric Garland]

For catching my reference to Sisyphus, +1000 points.

[Melanie Wing]

Good thing I like Bourbon.

[Suki Fuller]

Eric, once again...you have made my week. I laughed so hard, my contact lenses fell out!!!

[Andrew Beurschgens]

Hilarious, thank you Eric.....I noticed that the company was already dead based on no other colleague passing through to the water cooler or unload the snack machine behind the chap....he came across as being the personification of the platform and iot might have been better if the lady recommended that 'he get out some more'.  Would you have bought from the salesperson??!?!?  Very good.