For any of you who have been closely involved in a sale where your product was competing directly against another product, you know that selling against a competitor is tough. Product Managers, as part of supporting the sales force, need to provide guidance and support in selling against the competition.

But there is no formal body of knowledge, nothing that you can study in a college course, on how to provide backup to the sales reps. Instead, you have probably encountered a confusing mix of vague and conflicting maxims, truisms, and opinions, scattered in various books and seminars on selling and from coworkers.

The broad range of opinions you hear may not help you narrow down just what to do to back your product in a competitive situation. Read on below for some things to consider as you determine how to keep your sales force strong and confident during the sale and make the competition break into a sweat.