Are you letting comparisonitis kill your business

Are you letting comparisonitis kill your business

by | Nov 16, 2016 | Business Success, Personal and Lifestyle

There is a highly contagious virus going around and it is highly likely that you have it!

It is called comparisonitis and it is deadly!!

Let’s take a health check.

Let’s first and foremost take a health check and see if you are suffering from it.

  • Do you find yourself comparing yourself to a competitor which then leaves your frozen in fear and despair?
  • Do you see them doing so well and instantly wonder if you should simply give up as you can never be that good?
  • Have you created a new promotion and then seen someone else doing almost the identical thing?  Does this lead you to hide in a corner in tears as you will now have to shelve your idea because people will think you are a copy cat?
  • At the end of the day, do you wonder why anyone wants to buy from you with so many others doing what you do out there?

Let’s take a look at your personal life

Before we start talking about business though, I want to talk about your personal life.  I take it you have a few friends who you hang out with at times.  I want you to think about why they hang out with you.  Why don’t they choose someone else they know who is better looking, funnier, more intelligent, wealthier etc?  Now, unless it is because you have some hold over them such as hypnosis or blackmail, it will be because they connect with you personally, they are attracted to your personality.

And the same theory applies in business.

Some of your target markets will be attracted to you and some will be attracted to your competitors.  But there are enough people in the world to go around for all of us!

When you are looking at that super successful online coach with 20,000 followers, remember that not everyone will want to work with them or sign up to their new programme.  Some people may feel too disconnected from that person and want someone nearer to the level they are at in the current moment.  They may just be looking for you!

There may just be people who think that super competitor of yours is just too pretentious, perfect or staged and they want someone more real and down to earth.

This can come down to getting laser-focused on who your ideal client is, who they are, what they want and who they are looking to buy from.

I have spoken to several women just recently who have shelved their latest launch because they have seen a competitor doing the same thing.  They are literally frozen in the headlights of the competition and it is killing their business.

Whoever your competitors are and at whatever level they are at, there will always be someone better than you in business, with more clients, and a better website etc.  Do not let that freeze you in fear.  Turn it into a positive and let them inspire you.  If they can do it, so can you!

All may not be what it seems

But I now want to flag up a common occurrence – all may not be what it seems anyway.

When I took my business online, I was in awe of the number of successful coaches that popped up constantly in my news feed.  How on earth could I compete with them?  There were a few in particular that were posting daily about how many new clients they had, how wonderful their life was and I sat back wondering what I was doing wrong.

And then I opened up my mailbox.  I kid you not, over the course of a few months, no less than three of these ‘super successful’ coaches reached out to me for advice on how to get clients.  They were faking it until they made it!  So unless you see the financial statements of your competitors, you really have no idea how successful or not they truly are.

Only yesterday I received an email from a particular marketing expert that I have sat in awe of for many a long time to be told she is closing her business.  She simply can’t make ends meet!  WTF!!!  This is the woman whose website is all singing, all dancing.  This is the woman with thousands of followers.  What on earth had happened?

She had been super successful when she kept her business small, but when she started to grow and try to compete with the big guys, her costs rocketed, she didn’t get enough sales to cover these and she became completely overwhelmed.

So it’s not always roses around the door.  Your business might be smaller but you may be in a much better financial position than many others you sit in awe of.

Believe in yourself

At the end of the day, you need to believe in yourself and what you are doing.  After all, if you don’t believe in yourself, then why should anyone else.

If you would like to watch the Facebook live broadcast I did on comparisonitis, you can watch it here.

Please feel free to leave a comment below

Taking competitor analysis too far

Taking competitor analysis too far

by | Feb 16, 2015 | Business Success

Do you spend too much time worrying about how well your competitor is doing, or how well those in complementary industries seem to be doing, whilst you are still struggling along?  Are you focusing so much on competitor analysis that it is becoming detrimental to your own business?

If so, stop right now.

At the initial planning stage of a business is it so important to do some competitor analysis to find out who else is out there offering the same or similar to you, what they do well, what they could improve upon and what they charge etc.

But don’t then spend much of valuable time in the future constantly comparing yourself to them.

As Henry Ford is quoted as saying:

“The competitor to be feared is one who never bothers about you at all, but goes on making his own business better all the time.”

And that is what you need to be doing.  Carry on finding ways to constantly improve your business and stop constantly worrying about what everyone else is doing.

If you haven’t got access to your competitors financial reports you will never really have the true picture of how successful, or not, their business is and you could be spending many sleepless night concerning yourself with something that is not a problem for you.

I have seen many a business that on the surface appears to be highly successful and is living in a land of commercial bliss.  When I have then met them in person and seen their financial statements, the truth has been far different.  They are putting on a very good show on the outside but underneath the business is in serious financial trouble and living each day hand to mouth.

Too often, as small business owner using social media, we get hooked up on how many likes and followers we have compared to others.  But is it quantity or quality we are after.  I was talking to a client recently and it was so refreshing to hear them say that whilst they didn’t have as many followers as their competitors, they weren’t concerned as they had a much higher rate of interaction.

By focusing too much on what your competitors are doing, you may find that valuable time is wasted and your focus is taken away that could be spent on making your own offering the best that it can be.  Try avoiding looking at the competition for a while and just focus on what you can offer your ideal customer.  Concern yourself with your own business and let your competitor worry about theirs.

Continue to do what you do well and look for ways to improve areas that are now working quite so well for you.  Focus on the small improvements such as interactions with your target market and new sales.  This will give you the confidence boost you need to keep moving forward with your own business rather than feeling deflated by seeing somewhat misleading figures that your competitors are achieving.

Find your own niche with your own ideal client and do things your way.  There is room for everyone out there so be ready to take advantage of each opportunity that may come your way rather than miss out on them because you have eyes looking in the wrong direction.

Be aware of taking competitor analysis too far.