Who Truly Is Your Competition?

We are taught to think our competition is the store across the street, the other CPA firm, the other plumbing company, another amazon seller, etc. Is that your competition? Better question, is that your ONLY competition?

Well, yes to an extent it is definitely your competition. How do you win business over them? Well, that is not what this blog post is about. Besides, if you have followed us over the years and attend any of our workshops, you know the answer. You beat them by being able to articulate your USP (Unique Selling Proposition), you have defined your target audience and know everything about them, you have created scripts and messaging that communicates in their language, and you have a sales system and process to maximize the leads your marketing efforts generate. Oh, and do not forget the KPIs to track progress and success 😊

Again, let’s get back though to who truly is your competition. Any guesses? What are you thinking right now, besides “Scott, you just listed who my competition is?”

See, here is where most small businesses, and solopreneurs miss the mark. That is only a part of your competition! Actually, big businesses miss this too!

Our biggest competition is…… “How much money they have in their wallet to spend today.” Now let’s dive deeper here. It is not just the money they have. What is pulling on that money for them?

• I need to pay bills
• I need to eat
• I want that new iPhone/jeans/air pods/vacation/massage/sneakers/spa day/etc…

The list goes on and on. Now part of the list above is about survival and living, BUT a big part of it is also about satisfaction/happiness/fulfillment in life. And, most people will sacrifice some of the “survival” items for the happiness/fulfillment items. How does buying your product/service compete against all that, and most importantly the emotions of all that?

Hey, if you are selling lifestyle stuff that makes people feel good then how much of their wallet will they spend to feel good? How do you capture that? What is your messaging for that?

If you are like me and you selling coaching or other professional services, the question becomes what Return On Investment does buying from you give them so they have more money or time to buy/spend on the lifestyle stuff?

Why does giving you my money make my life and/or my business better? Can I spend $500 on X instead of $2500 on you and still get what I want in life, get to where I want to go and feel? It is all about the WIIFM (What’s In It For Me???). How does giving you this piece of my wallet money satisfy the WIIFM?

Don’t fool yourself and think the only competition is your competitor! You have a whole world of stuff that you are competing against and when you recognize that you will create better messaging to influence their buying decisions. Should I spend $500 on a coach or should I go get that massage and spa day I have been wanting? By recognizing that you are competing against so much more than the store across the street, you will start to ask better questions to again INFLUENCE “Where I spend my money.”

All sales, no matter the product r service, is trying to get a piece of the limited wallet your prospects have. Why should I give it to you?

As always, please let us know your thoughts and comment below. Let’s build a community of support and share ideas together so that together we all succeed!