Most of us find ourselves in competitive situations where we need to do some homework to understand specific competitors better. Here are a few thoughts on how to do this well:


Create a POSI grid about the competitor. Look at their company data, and any information you've been able to gather, and fill in the quadrants. What are some key elements of their profile (heritage, mission, solutions, customers, competitive advantage...), their primary business objectives, strategies they are implementing to accomplish their objectives, and key business issues that they are facing?
Leverage your network (including other sales reps who may have competed against them in the past) to conduct research meetings and uncover insights.
If you know the name of the specific salesperson you are competing against, see what you can learn about them. Look them up on LinkedIn and see how they are positioned and how they engage with their network.
Ask a contact or coach some questions about a competitor of yours that they are working with. This is helpful but also tricky. We need to make sure that the questions we ask are positive, and not seen as us attempting to "dig up dirt" on them.


Here are some questions to consider:


How did you originally select them as a provider?
Who was involved in that decision?
What were the characteristics that led you to select them?
When you assess your relationship, what are the factors you consider?
What is the best thing that they do for you?
What is something that you wish they were able to do for you?


This last question is designed to build on the positive questions, and still uncover gaps in their solution or relationship management capabilities that you may be able to leverage as your build your competitive strategy.