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There is NO Competition

Written by: Jim Bouchard

Article Overview: What’s the competition doing? Who cares! The important thing is what you’re doing, right here and right now.

There is NO Competition

What’s the competition doing? Who cares! The important thing is what you’re doing, right here and right now.

Before I’m accused of complete naiveté, there are some times when it’s informative, and even some isolated times when it’s important to know what the competition is up to. The problem is that too many people let the competition dictate action. Instead of responding to the competition, let the competition respond to you!

There’s a vast difference between competitive spirit and competitive obsession. I’m all for competitive spirit. To me this means I’m getting up in the morning and doing everything I can do to fully prepare myself to compete in personal and business life. It means I’m spending my time researching new techniques and opportunities, developing myself to perform at optimum levels and re-evaluating areas that need improvement or elimination.

Someone who is obsessed with competition wakes up and wonders how much the competition is charging today. Who is trying to make a move on my job? Who is spending the most on advertising? What is the competition saying about me?

My competitors may, on any given day, finish ahead of me. It will not be due to a lack of preparation, motivation, discipline or effort. That’s competitive spirit.

There’s a vast difference between power and force. For the purposes of this short article let’s just say that power is what you control, force is the attempt to control others.

I can’t control what the competition is charging for their services. I can control what I charge; more important, I can control what I give my customers as value for the price I charge. If you’re obsessed with the competition, you’re likely response to your competitor’s lower price would be to lower your price. When you’ve got competitive spirit, your response is to examine how to add value to your products and services. Do you want to be cheap, or do you want to be valuable?

I can’t control what my competitors are saying about me. I can control the message I’m delivering to my current and prospective customers. If you obsess over the competition in this area you’re presentations either refute or reinforce your competitors. When you cultivate competitive spirit, you emphasize the qualities of your products and services that make you unique.

Consider a prospect asking how you compare to the competition. Which is a more powerful answer?

“I know they guarantee lower prices, but you know that lower prices usually mean inferior service.”

Or…

“I really don’t know that much about what my competitors are willing to do for you, do you? I’ll assume that since you’re asking me about the competition, they probably didn’t leave you with a clear impression about what they’re willing to do.

“Let’s talk about what I can do for you. I know what my company can do, let’s talk about that.”

On any given day, my competition may defeat me with a better message. They will never defeat me because I did not have a message.

It’s really up to you. Which is more powerful? Do you want to be active or re-active? Do you want to commit your time and resources to warfare with your competition, or to the process of creating value for your customers?

Let the competition respond to you. When you’re prepared, your competitors better commit more resources to preparation. Offer value and let them try to match you. Make sure your message clearly communicates your value and let the competition ramp up to match your value.

I really don’t know what my competition is doing today. I know what I’m doing today.

Related Articles
  Competitive Knowledge is a Dangerous Thing
  Kick the Competition to the Curb & Sell Like Crazy
  The Prospect Isn't Talking With Any Other Salespeople
  Sales Competencies and Your Competition
  New Competition in 2008

Article Tags: business life, competitor, dictate, discipline, job, motivation, obsession, optimum levels, spending my time, spirit



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Re: Congratultations to GT! - Hi GT, Competition is great and i know I wouldn't be here without it, but it is not the main reason for posting and participating. But I admit, it is the trigger I need to get some work done. If there is none, i create one for myself and try to make it. First prize is ice cream.
Re: Is Google Search getting better or worse? - Competition and that too stiff is something I have always loved and being a true web user I hate spammers the same way and so I am very happy with the recent changes that Google has made and so I must say that it is getting better. I am happy because now we could be able to get and read fresh and unique content instead of the repetitive ones. Now the value of actual SEO will be seen as results now will be completely depend on the hard work SEO and strategies an internet marketing company will apply to get on top of search giant's ranking. surfing the web daily as addiction I have seen most of the webmasters asking several questions related to real time search and how they should commence now to get better and faster results, found lots of useful information and learned new strategies too.
Re: Help needed! - [quote="jeema":1rpkpkod]Hi, I’m a newly single mother who stays at home looking after my son. I have been writing for a long-long time but never thought to do something serious with it. I would like to try freelance copywriting, but don't know the first thing about it. How can I get started? Can anyone help me? I love writing and I could really-really use the extra cash- raising a young child alone really hits the wallet pocket. I appreciate any replies, and hope that I may be able to help in return sometime soon. Thank you very much.[/quote:1rpkpkod] Hi, Jeema It's easier than ever for writers (non-fiction writers, anyway!) to get work these days, via such sites as elance.com (they are who I do work for.) There are plenty of freelance sites on the web, where prospective customers post what they need, and prospective workers "bid" on the jobs, and then the customer chooses which writer he wants to do the work. There's lots of competition, but the wheat soon separates from the chaff and if you can write well, you can usually find steady employment. Competition drives down the price that you're able to charge, however, unless you have niche expertise such as technical or legal writing. PM me for some free advice, if you'd like!


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