In the world of sales, there are often no right answers. What would you do in this tough sales situation? Make the call below, and see instantly how your judgment compares. Final results will appear in LBM Journal. Be sure to check back next month for a fresh Tough Call.

Tough Call - 'Round and 'Round the Rumormill

Three years into the housing downturn, and your competitor is reigniting rumors about your business. What would you do?

After many years of relatively peaceful coexistence, your competitors across town at Rumormill Lumber have spent the past three years living up to their name. You can time it to the month that housing starts plunged in your market; suddenly, customers started asking if it was true that you were in serious financial trouble. That’s how our story this month begins. The early rumors were sufficiently nasty. For example, “the word on the street” was that your company had fired its president. As president and majority owner, you had yet to fire yourself. Here it is, three years later, and you remain gainfully employed. Go figure. Interestingly, the more bizarre the rumors, the more customers would ask you and your sales team if they were true. Thankfully, after a while, the rumors died down, enabling you to focus on generating fresh sales opportunities. Three years later, your old “friends” at Rumormill Lumber have begun spinning fresh tales about your imminent demise. According to the rumors, the bank has cut off your line of credit (not true), your primary wholesaler and your buying co-op have both put you on credit-hold (not true), and your best salespeople are actively seeking their next opportunity (again, not true). You know that the rumors are coming from Rumormill, because your customers are loyal to you— and happy to identify their source. Your company doesn’t have a mission statement. Instead, a big wood plaque hangs on the wall of your office with these three little words: Ethics. Honesty. Trust. While you’re pretty sure that the folks at Rumormill don’t have a similar plaque on their wall, you’re not about to abandon your values to get down in the mud with them. Fact is, you have plenty of ammunition against them, if you ever choose to drop to their level and fire back. In fact, its been widely reported that Rumormill truly is severely overextended. As far as you’re concerned, that’s between them and their bank, and has nothing to do with you. The fact is, revenues at your company are down—just as they’re down everywhere. Fortunately, you reacted quickly and decisively when you saw what was coming, and thanks to solid relationships with vendors and customers, you’ve weathered the storm. You know that, and your employees know that…but your competition is working overtime to call that into question. While your gut tells you to ignore the baseless rumors spread by a desperate competitor, your salespeople and others in your company are urging that you fight back. What you see as taking the high road, they see as hiding from attacks. What would you do?

 

	Fight ‘em.
	Show that you can sling mud with the best of ‘em. Mix up a fresh batch of mud, and prepare to get your hands dirty.
	Sue ‘em.
	What Rumormill Lumber is doing is called defamation, and your lawyer is just itching to play this out in court. He says a win is a “slam dunk.”
	Ignore ‘em.
	When you’re on the high road, you’ve got the road to yourself. Stay the course, and don’t let their tactics distract you.
	Counter ‘em.
	You’ve got a strong story to tell. Instead of letting the competition define you, shout your story far and wide. Let people know that you’re here to stay.

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