It doesn't matter what industry you're in.
If you look at your competition, you'll see that most of them are using similar marketing strategies and tactics to attract and keep their customers.
Some of them are doing better than others, but the methods are nearly identical.
If you want to eliminate the competition, you will need to distinguish yourself.
And the easiest way to do this is to be authentic.
Yeah, it might sound like a cliché, but nobody is identical to you, so if you be yourself, you'll attract the clients who want to work with you, because of you.
The question to ask yourself is, "How am I different?" When I go to networking events, people are often trying to attract me to their referral networks.
Sometimes I will ask a question such as, "There are hundreds of people in the city offering the same products and services as you, and I'm already working with a couple of great ones, so how are you different from them?" Rarely will people talk about how they, themselves, are unique.
Most often, they will talk about the features of their products or services, their guarantees, and their superior customer service.
But who cares? If you're like me, money-back guarantees, good customer service, and quality products and services are the minimum, not the exception.
I want to know what is unique about the individual.
At the moment, I work closely with three different financial planners.
One works well with older, more established investors who want to diversify or explore different options for their portfolios.
Another works well with brand new investors, who are often people who still have some debt and want to start to build a nest egg for the future.
And to the third financial planner, I send all of my holistic practitioner friends.
He lives a holistic, healthy lifestyle himself, and some of my friends respond much better to him than they would to any other financial planner.
Although these three financial planners are in the same industry and work for different organizations, they are not competing for the same clients.
Their uniqueness and authenticity defines them.
We have a local marketing guru who serves socially-conscious companies and holistic practitioners.
He's a bit of a local hero.
If you were a reflexologist, or a local organic farmer, or sold environmentally friendly building materials, you would want to meet him because he understands your business better than any other marketer in the city.
How are you unique? Are you green? Are you spiritual? Do you work exclusively with women? With the gay community? With dog owners? With working couples? Do you use environmentally-friendly products? Do you provide training? When I was in the mortgage industry, I delivered a workshop to a room of real estate associates.
And there was a single insurance agent in the room.
I was curious about why he was there, so I spoke with him after the session.
He said that he works exclusively with real estate agents.
He attends their events and their training sessions, and he gets nearly all of their referrals.
Think about it.
He's eliminated his competition for the types of clients he's looking for.
How are you different? We have a local pest exterminator who distinguishes himself by having advertisement-free service vehicles, so that your neighbours won't know you have an infestation problem.
One of my business associates told me about a massage therapist in Seattle who serves the S&M community.
She's one of them and; therefore, her clients don't have to explain the bruises on their bodies.
So what is it about you that's different? That sets you apart from your competition? If you're not sure, ask your friends and family.
And even your existing clients.
Eliminate the competition by attracting your ideal clients into your life.
Happy pondering!