An age-old marketing tool is the SWOT analysis. You examine your STRENGTHS, WEAKNESSES, OPPORTUNITIES, and THREATS to determine how you should direct your marketing efforts.

It’s always a bit disconcerting when you reach the THREATS column.

A threat? Oh no, we better PROTECT! Circle the wagons, ward off the enemy, batten down the hatches, hide the virgins!

That’s a lot of energy spent going on the defensive.

The “Threats” column is where folks start talking about the COMPETITION. Those nasty, beady eyed creeps who are out to steal business from under your nose… the cutthroat scalawags out to make a buck and throw you into the sewer… and we must annihilate them, right?

What if you could completely reframe your approach and see that yes, competition exists, but it doesn’t have to scare the bejeezus out of you and make sounds that go bump in the night?

Your competition can vanish from under your nose if you follow these simple, non-violent, warfare-free tips. Put your weapons aside, drink some herb tea and get into the groove of Vanishing Competition.

1. Know Who You’re Talking To

The more specific you are about your ideal client, the easier it is to grab their attention.  Find out as much as you can when it comes to their attitudes, values, spending habits, desires. When you speak to them specifically, they’ll tune out everyone else who doesn’t resonate.

2. Find the Words They’re Thinking

Your ideal client has a problem and your business has been set up to solve that problem. If you suffer from a leaking faucet, then the plumber has your solution and you’ll pay to end the drips. And you can’t stand having to be home to wait for the plumber and you really wish they had evening hours and came at a precise time. Imagine how you’d respond if you heard about a plumber who can fix a leaking faucet, in the evenings, and they come right at the time they say or your money back. And they guarantee their work and like the radio ad, “they smell good.” Hired! All other plumbers fade away in that instant. Can you get your clients to see you that way?

3. Know Who You’re NOT Trying to Reach

It’s equally as important to find out who isn’t your ideal client so you don’t send messages to them. Recently, one of my clients was concerned about a negative reaction from a prospective client. The prospect didn’t resonate with a resource my client provided and ended the conversation in a huff. When we discussed it, I asked my client if she’d like to work with someone who had such a closed mind. Because, looking at my crystal ball, I saw someone who was going to be a whole lot of trouble and create a lot of worry. Your ideal client needs to get you, love you, love your resources. If you’re hiding a part of yourself for fear of losing clients (could be your values, faith, lifestyle, sexual preference, whatever) then is that really your ideal client? Having this acute understanding helps you directly reach the people who’ll be your best clients, further fading away the competition.

4. Message, Message, Message

It’s crucial to your survival as a powerful business to reiterate your message in every waking moment. This is who you are, who you serve, what people get from working for you, why you know you’re the best solution, why YOU and not someone else. Take a stand and stick with it. Your confidence in your own business is communicated through your words, actions, and decisions. When someone sees that confidence, they’ll elect to work with YOU. Competition? Who cares… they want you.

Follow these 4 tips and watch your competition become an insignificant blip in the radar of your life. You’ve got more important things to do than go ballistic on your colleagues. Focus on your clients, how you serve them, and why YOU are the obvious choice… and the competition will vanish in front of your very eyes.

Ready to put this to work in your biz? Book a Spotlight Ready Session while available and get a customized strategy to turn the volume down on your competition and the volume UP on YOU!

Related Posts

• Why I Don’t Believe in “Competition”
• Why I Love my Competition (and Why That’s Good News for YOU!)
• Make Your Practice Truly Noticeable (and Clients Will Come)
• Focus Your Networking Efforts on Your Ideal Client

This entry was posted on Sunday, February 5th, 2012 at 10:30 am and is filed under Business Building, Marketing Essentials. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.