Marketing – Know Your Competition

Buy All Your Competitors Products

You want to know as much about your competitors as you possibly can, so I would make a list of all my competitors, and then buy all of their products.

I want to clarify that if they have a $5,000 product or product line that adds up to thousands of dollars, I wouldn’t spend $5,000 on it, but I would buy at least a sample of each and every one of my competitors products.

Why? To find out exactly what they’re doing and to find out what type of information they re giving. I also want to find out how they re delivering it and find out the experience that people have when they purchase it.

You want to find out everything there is to know about each product. I would go through each product to find out:

• What they have.
• What they don’t have.
• What I like about them.
• What I don’t like about them.
• What they’re missing.

I’d literally make a list of all these things. This will show you exactly how you can improve on what’s already out there. This gives you the advantage in the market place.

Attend All Industry Events and Seminars

The reason why I want to do this is because I want to get in the minds of my market. I want to know as much about the market as possible. I may not really care what’s happening up on stage because for me, it’s more about what the needs of the crowd are.

When I first went to Internet marketing seminars, I didn’t care one bit who spoke up on stage; I really wasn’t even listening to what they had to offer. What I did listen to was the audience. This was the most important task for me.

George Callens, who is now my Operations Manager, was at the very first event I attended and that’s where I met him. In fact, prior to that event George had bought one of my products.

He introduced himself to me, and we ultimately sat down next to each other. George was sitting there feverishly writing notes while I’m kind of leaning back in my chair. I’ve got this small note pad with me and every once in a while I’d write down a note.

George asked why I wasn’t taking notes. I told him I didn’t need to. It probably sounded pretty cocky to him at the time.

I explained that he was writing down what that person on the stage was saying and I was writing down the questions the audience is actually asking. That was the key.

Out of the list of questions I made from that first event, I would dare to say I’ve probably created three or four of the actual products I have now from that first seminar.

At industry events and seminars, you want to get into the minds of the prospects to find out what it is the audience actually wants.

A friend of mine does a lot of with seminar promoters. He does that in order to get on their stage. He may be their MC, as an example. He may do teleseminars for them or something like that. It’s his way of getting on stage. The promoter will usually let him speak for doing that work for them.

The difference between me and him is I would never, ever do that for anybody else and here’s the reason why. Because the second I appear to work for that promoter in any way, shape or form, it appears I am less than they are. They are not looking at me as their equal.

Positioning is everything.

I positioned myself on purpose from the very start of my career to always be on equal terms to everybody else. I always have done it, and I made sure that a promoter will always look at me, especially in seminars, as an equal. In fact, many of them come to me for favors. I don’t go to them.

Going to industry events will help you to know what clients are looking for…so for me, it’s a must!

Make A List Of What Your Competitors Have

When I say make a list of what your competitors have, I am not only talking about their product, but what do they have? Here’s what I mean.

What other products do they have? What do their products do? What are the price points for the products? What domains do they own? What kind of websites do they have (as in what do their websites look like)?

What kind of support system do they have? Are they using a ticket based desk or email for customer support. We use a ticket desk which is far better for tracking purposes, but many people just use an email.

What makes them what they are?

List out everything you can about each and every one of your competitors. Each list may take a full sheet of paper, maybe not. This depends on what each one may have and the level of competition they are to you.

Knowing your competition and what you are up against is extremely important when it comes succeeding in your market place.