A common sales question we receive goes something like “How does your product compare with product X?”

And it is a fair question. Some may say it is an easy question. When asked we will reply that our company policy is to not do direct product comparisons. While this does surprise some users, it does not hurt our sales process in any substantial way. Rather than doing a direct product comparison we take the opportunity to give the benefits of our products and will help explain why our products are as popular and successful as they truly are.

A product comparison is a murky type of marketing and in some cases it is simply unethical and even illegal. A product comparison from a company (not a third party) allows the company to choose the features to be compared. And even more difficult is how particular features act and are at the risk of varied interpretation. I could distort any feature in our products to be just enough different to say a competitor doesn’t have it. But I won’t. Due to these facts product comparisons often contain a useless and rather cheesy sales message.

So the next time you see a product comparison take a second and ask yourself if it helps you or turns you away…