"You are wrong James...you know nothing..."
Those words still make me chuckle.
You see, I recently presented to an audience of about 150 small business owners on the South Coast.
But the conversation I had with one of the delegates (who knew me apparently!) beforehand, brought the above quote.
The cheek of it.
You see, his response was to the subject line of this email and why you - YES YOU - have no competition to worry about, if you think like a customer.
Too many business owners worry about the competition and being better, faster, cheaper than them.
But there is no such thing as competition.
Not in the eyes of the customer.
Note: I know I have lost about half of you with this statement, but if you are still here, you either get it, or you are curious.
Let me explain with an example.
I am going to assume a few things about you.
- You live in a town or city
- You (or someone close to you) does the weekly food shop
- There are several supermarkets in the town or city that you live in
Three yes's? Okay, let's continue.
Now, I make no assumptions on where you shop or for what reason, however I can assume (and I have only been wrong a handful of times) that you probably drive past one or more supermarkets to go to the one you prefer and buy your groceries there.
This is despite the closer ones offering you similar solutions to your shopping needs.
And that is why, in the view of the customer (you in this instance), there is no such thing as compeition.
There is however the situation of alternatives.
The power is in your hands, as the prospect, to where and who you spend your money with.
It's the same for your customers.
So now you know this, ask yourself one question....
"What are you doing for your prospects to make yourself the only alternative that they need?"
Speak soon!
James