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- How to (Ethically) Steal Accounts That are Loyal to Your Competitors
How to (Ethically) Steal Accounts That are Loyal to Your Competitors
Just because they're using a competitor, doesn't mean they can't be sold to
Good Morning! Welcome back from the Memorial Day long weekend (for those here in the States)! Summer's officially here, which means outdoor zoom calls, out-of-office auto replies, and summer Fridays (for those who hit quota). Now let’s get into today’s Follow Up. 😁
We’ll talk internally and get back to you.❓️
Steal competitor accounts 🤝
Get fired up for cold calls 🔥
Sales jobs & a meme 😂
Sales Tip of The Day 💡
When a prospect says, ‘We’ll talk internally and get back to you’, dig deeper and set a next step.
❌ No problem. Looking forward to hearing from you.
✅ Totally get it. So I can plan ahead, who else is a part of this decision? And could I put an invite on the calendar so we can sync once you've had that conversation?
This turns a vague “we’ll circle back” into a concrete next step, and uncovers the other decision makers.
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Breaking Into an Account that’s Loyal to a Competitor
When you sell in an industry for a while, you get familiar with the accounts that use your competitors.
You see the logos on their website, and you know which companies are locked into three-year contracts.
These accounts feel untouchable. But here's the thing… loyal customers aren't actually unreachable. They're just harder to sell.
Today, we're breaking down how to win over those "competitor loyal" accounts with smart, ethical tactics that actually work.
1. Find the Cracks in Their Pitch
No competitor offering is perfect.
Just like you get to know all of the downsides or missing features of what you sell, your competitors are missing things, too.
Maybe their software is missing a feature that your users love. Maybe their support team only works during business hours. Or maybe they’re charging 2X for the same exact features you have.
Do your homework. Uncover these weaknesses. Then push on them as soon as you get the chance.
Is {feature your competitor is missing} something that would be helpful for your team?
Some of our customers who made the switch mentioned it was due to the lack of support they were receiving. Is this something you’ve dealt with as well?
The goal is to find the voids and exploit them.
Competitor-loyal prospects need extra reassurance.
This is where you need social proof.
Show them others have made the leap successfully. Case studies are your best friend here. Especially ones featuring clients who switched from that very competitor.
Nothing builds confidence like "Company X was using [Competitor] for 5 years. Then they switched to us and saw Y% improvement in Z."
Like this case study from Cognism.
The study lays out how insurance giant Lockton was using Lusha, made the switch to Cognism, and got better data quality with a 100% increase in meetings booked.
Hearing that a reputable company had success makes your prospect think, ‘If it worked for them, maybe we should try it.’
3. Make Switching Stupidly Easy
Here’s the truth… even if a prospect hates their current vendor, switching feels like a chore. The biggest blocker isn’t always price or features. It’s inertia.
People stick with bad software and subpar service providers for the same reason we keep that one drawer full of tangled cables: because untangling it sounds like a pain.
Your job is to eliminate perceived friction. If you can make switching feel effortless, you can set yourself up to win.
Do the heavy lifting for them:
Offer white-glove onboarding or data migration (or at least frame it that way).
Have a dedicated implementation process for customers making the switch.
Share clear timelines and cheat sheets to make the transition feel like a breeze.
Give them pre-written break-up email:
Make it emotionally (and logistically) easier to cancel their existing contract by handing them a plug-and-play email template that will cancel their current contract.
Reduce perceived risk:
Offer a ‘switcher discount’ or one free month to bridge the overlap between tools.
Proactively answer the “what if this doesn’t work” question with a 30-day guarantee or low-commitment pilot.
Rather than selling a better product, you’re selling a smooth exit strategy from the old way of doing things.
Make the process feel like Uber Eats: no cooking, no dishes, just results delivered.
Have you ever closed a deal with a someone using your competitor? |
