I have been a salesman (freight) for thirty years now and pride myself on KNOWING EXACTLY WHAT MY COMPETITION IS UP TO.
I have taught myself every facet of the company I worked for and I know the LARGE and FINE PRINT of every service we offer.
I do not care if you sell cotton balls or airplanes take the manuals home at night, and read everything you can get your hands on about your company in industry and financial publications.
The most important thing is to use your product and understand its strenghts and weakness as well as your competitors.
There is a fine line between slamming your competition (you should never do)and comparing (which you should do).
This is the difference between working like a slug for twenty different companies in one year. Or running a successful sales force for over 15 for one.
