Your overall success in prospecting for new clients depends upon identifying potential customers who need your product now and are comfortable with your price range. The good news is that your competitors’ clients fit the bill perfectly. In fact, year after year, research has confirmed that 17% of an average business’s customers would readily switch if simply asked. Over time, most dissatisfied customers continued to do business with their current suppliers simply out of habit.

Yes, this means that today, 17% of your competitors’ clients are ready to listen and switch. Remember it only takes one bad experience with your competitor for a client to be ready to shift their business. According to The Guerrilla Group, 68% of repeat customers who switched to a new supplier did so because of the indifference of just one employee.

One very reliable source of intelligence on your competitors’ clients is your very own staff. Many of your frontline employees may have worked for the competition in the past. They can tell you who to call first. Make it a point to “mystery shop” your competition in the next 10 days. If you are well known to the competition, find an associate or friend (preferable in a non competing business) and propose to “mystery shop” for each other.

Always ask your competitors specifically about the industries or local companies they serve. Ask them to provide you with at least five companies or individuals that currently purchase from them today. Try also asking for at least three that stopped doing business with them in the last year. You may find yourself with some lucrative leads thanks to your biggest competitors.

Odds are that your vendors may supply the competition as well. Debriefed your vendor’s salesperson to determine if they are aware of your competitor’s key accounts and their volume. It never hurts to ask!