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Ask each all of the sales personnel and managers to write down and submit a list of all of the company’s competitors (the companies bidding against your firm) that they have encountered or who they have heard named specifically by buyers. Ask your sales people what they know about these competitors. (Example:  One person will know that competitor A has four locations, another will know that they supposedly have 20 people in their sales department, but they have a high turnover rate.  Another will know someone who worked there but quit.)   There will be many duplicates in the list that you assemble but surprisingly there will always be some new names very few people in your company knew about. Research the entire list, get names, phone numbers, websites, sales estimates and capabilties and note the things that they cannot do that your firm does.  Your own employees will be able to fill in most of the gaps left over from the list.  Once your research is complete, hand out the entire listing back to your sales personnel so they are familiar with the competition and recognize a name when talking to a buyer.  Assign someone to update this listing on a regular basis.  No one person in your organization will know all of them but assembling a list will bring all on your team  more knowledgeable about your market.

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