With all the businesses I've started...in many different market areas...never once did I concern myself with my COMPETITORS!

MY "focus" was on ME...and what "I" could offer the market...NOT what my competition was doing. The only reason I bothered to spend any time at all looking at what my competitors were doing was to see exactly what they were doing so I could "sell myself and my team" on the fact that I had a better "mousetrap".

As far as spending any time trying to run over or squash my competition...hogwash. I was too busy getting sales...AND, whenever a prospect mentioned a competitor to me or any of my salespeople we simply said we did not "Own or have any control over our competitors...and whatever they did or didn't do...was no concern of ours!"

I never blasted my competition or even cared what they were doing...except to say that once in a while when they got a job away from me or found a beter way to do something...my "competitive juices" started flowing.

Here's an example: Many yrs ago I created a new idea for a PhoneBook Cover. I hired salespeople, trained them and sent them out.

Well...as will happen in most "sales organizations"...at least one of your salespeople will consider going in competition with you after you've spent money and time training them.

Well...I set up my first program in Aspen, CO (where I was living at the time)...hired some salespeople...trained them and sent them out. And, as is usually the case...some will drop out.

Well...I finished with Aspen...and then decided the next area would be Grand Junction. To my surprise (but not shock) when we started selling we found that someone else was ALREADY THERE offering basically the SAME product and program.

Turns out one of my salespeople took my product and program and started an identical operation in GJ.

This got me "fighting mad". What this sort of thing does is MOTIVATE me more. So, I came up with a few extra goodies that would make MY program better...and for the next 4 weeks MY sales meeting were held at 4:30 in the afternoon instead of 8am...which is the time my competitor held his AND...I made it a point, every morning, to drive by my competitor's office at 8am and see his and his salespeople's cars sitting there in the parking lot...while I was on my way to my first sale.

This spurred me on to "sell like a demon"! And the results being I sold out my program in record time while my competitor took twice as long and only got the program half-filled.

Competition has only motivated me.

Also...while I'm on my soapbox...still, to this day, I hear the comment;
"You can't go into THAT market...it's SATURATED!" Or, "Someone is ALREADY doing that!"

Horsehockey! I've NEVER found a market I thought was "saturated"...there's ALWAYS ROOM for a "good competitor" like ME!...and if I found I wasn't as "original" as I thought because I found someone else doing the same thing...that only
REINFORCED my thinking about my product or service.

SO...go about YOUR business without concern for competition...and IF you stay MOTIVATED and FOCUSED...you WILL get your market share.

And...as far as trying to go out of your way to "Trounce on competition"...forget it! Spend your time on YOUR biz!

Don Alm

> Do you were a frilly pink skirt and frolic
> along with your wicker basket singing
> "La La La" or are you fit,
> camouflaged, well (but lightly) armed, and
> ready to decisively "do in" every
> opponent who crosses your path? All else
> being equal, the winning businessman is the
> more ruthless.

> - Craig




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