3 WAYS TO STAND OUT FROM THE COMPETITION

Whether you're a computer technician, financial planner, real
estate broker, copywriter, or other service provider, you've got
lots of competition. There are plenty of other people in the
same business going after the same prospects as you. You may be
wondering how you're ever going to get more clients and take
your business to the next level.

One thing's certain; you can't expect to stand out from the
crowd using the same marketing strategy everyone else does.
If you want to transform your business, you need to first
transform your marketing.

Imagine you raced cars for fun on the weekend. In acc.ordance
with class rules your car and everyone else had
75 horsepower and skinny tires. Further more every aspect of
your car and driving strategy was highly regulated by these
rules. Your acceleration and speed would be limited.
Races would be very close and it would be tough to win.

Now imagine that the class rules were suspended and you dropped
a 400 horsepower engine in your car, added big road gripping
tires, you could modify it any way you wanted and there were no
limitations on how you drove and, best of all, everyone else was
following the old rules.

You'd have a big advantage. Your car would leap to the front of
the pack and stay there. You'd bring trophies home every week.

Marketing the way everyone else does will keep your business
stuck in the slow lane. Stick to a typical marketing approach
and you'll get the same results.

Want to stand out from the competition?

Stop doing what everyone else is doing and start using the
strategies that help you stand out from the competition and get
more clients. There are no marketing rules you have to stick to;
it's results that matter.

Here are three ways to distinguish yourself from the competition
and grow your business.

1. Target Your Market More Precisely
It's a common marketing mistake to think that the more types of
people you appeal to, the better. The opposite is true.

Your prospects are rarely looking for generalists. They want
someone who has the knowledge and experience to provide the
solution to their specific problem.

Be precise about the ideal clients you want to you serve.
Define your target market by industry, by size, by length of
time in business, by the problem you solve, etc. Of course, you
want to make sure that your target market is large enough for
your business to be highly profitable.

When you are clear about whom your products and services really
help, you'll attract more clients and you can charge more
because of your specialization.

2. Position Your Firm As Experts
Your expertise and that of your competitors may be the same.
You've all had many years of experience and are successful to
varying degrees. So how do you stand out?

If you want your prospects to see you as an expert in your
field, don't expect them to seek you out on their own.
Demonstrate your expertise and give them a reason to contact
you.

Create a fr.ee, irresistible offer that shows your prospects how
well you understand their problems and can solve them.
Offer a fr.ee test drive, a fr.ee report on a relevant business
topic, or a fr.ee consultation or estimate.

3. Build Strong Relationships With Prospects 'Out of sight, out
of mind.' Once you're out the door, off the phone, or your
prospect has left your web site, they're going to forget you.
They are going to forget you just when you want them to get to
know you, trust you and think of you when they are ready to
buy.

How can you make sure you have a stronger relationship with your
prospects than your competitors do?

Stay in contact once a week or once a month. Give your prospects
ideas they can use that continue to demonstrate your expertise
and present them in a personal, engaging way. Your prospects are
more likely to buy from the person they know the best.

Take Action to See Results
If you've been in business for a few years, you may have heard
these three marketing ideas. Are you using them to grow your
business? For many business people, these aren't secrets or new
ideas, but they have yet to put them into action.

Targeting, Positioning and Building Strong Relationships are
three simple things you can do that the majority of your
competitors, if not all of them, are not doing. Do these three
things well and you'll add more horsepower to your marketing and
stand out from the competition.
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2006 © In Mind Communications, LLC. All rights reserved.
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The author, Charlie Cook, helps, small business owners and
marketing professionals attract more clients and be more
successful. Sign up to receive the Fr.ee Small Business
Marketing Ideas eBook, '7 Steps to get more clients and grow
your business' at http://www.marketingforsuccess.com

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