Sell Without Selling Podcast

On this solo episode: Stacey is talking about the two options all entrepreneurs face. Perform… or be outperformed by your competition. Listen in for helpful strategies in this critical area!

Key Takeaways:

• Know your industry.
• Show up focused.
• Anticipate your potential client’s needs.

Do you perform or are you outperformed?

You know, so many entrepreneurs, business owners, sales professionals, they focus on their competition and they really avoid focusing on who really drives their success or lack thereof. And reality is you’re the common denominator in everything you do. Do you show up to perform in your business, in your life? Are you an active participant? Do you really own the fact that you are the author, director, producer, creator, and main character of your life, of your business, of your success, of your earning potential? Or do you find yourself getting in your way, making excuses, blaming other people, environments, whatever the case is? So let’s talk about performing versus being outperformed.

You know, first and foremost, it’s about really looking at how we focus on our business, how we really know our industry, our business. And the way we do that is we really take an evaluation, a look at our competitors. Who are they? How are they? What do they do? How do they show up? If we understand every aspect of our competitor, their strategies, their plans, their tactics, their focus, how they show up, how they do things, well, reality is several things. We can r and d and r and d in my industry means ripoff and duplicate. We can r and d and learn from them as to what isn’t working. The other thing, by understanding all their strategies, their marketing, and every other question I asked you a few minutes ago. By understanding all of that, you’ll also understand them. You’ll be able to anticipate what it is they’re going to do and either stay a step ahead of them, walk side by side with them or follow them depending on what they’re doing.

It’s really important for you to understand who your real competitors are. See, we have people who are in the same industry as us, and then we have those competitors that aren’t in our industry. However, they still service our future perspective clientele, their needs once in desires as a solution, and we really don’t view them as competitors. It’s really important for you to understand who your industry competitors are and who your non-industry competitors are. What other services exist out there that could solve your perspective? Clients needs once and desires, and they don’t directly compete with you because these are other conversations that you get to be prepared for. It’s also important for you to stay very aware of your industry leaders so that you can match them, mirror them, stay ahead of them, or follow them.

It’s also important for you to understand you are your number one competitor. The sooner you understand that, the sooner you allow yourself to get outta your way, the sooner you’ll have your way. Have you ever really sat down and took an inventory of your business, the successes, the non successes? What’s gotten in your way? Have you ever gotten really honest and really clear with how you are your number one biggest competitor? How do you get in your head? What conversations do you have with yourself? If you stay in your way, you’re going to continually repeat the same results over and over again. The way you see it is the way you’re gonna believe it. How you do some things is how you do everything. How you do the little things is how you do the big things. And reality is, if you think it’s going to be hard, you’re really going to make sure you make it hard, whether it’s conscious or unconscious.

What did Henry Ford say? If you think you can, you think you can’t, you’re right. Either way, how do you create obstacles, hurdles, impossibilities for yourself? Do you find yourself setting yourself up to win or to fail? Do you find yourself setting yourself up for success or struggle? See, the way that you can really truly show up to perform is if you have a plan. If you allow yourself to truly have a strategy, a vision, plan it. And while you plan it, make sure that you follow through with that plan. And that plan has to needs to better incorporate you getting uncomfortable. Whether it’s you getting out there, you being visible, you cold calling, you door knocking, you’re doing sales calls, videos, social media, whatever. You need to make sure you have a strategy. What type of marketing plan do you have? You know, if you have a one and done funnel and focus.

So in other words, you’ve joined the Entrepreneurial Witness Protection Program and you hide behind a computer all day and you are fishing, farming, spamming, networking on one of the social media channels, hoping to get a client by posting things and praying or hoping for engagement. I’m not really so sure that’s gonna work for you. It may. It works for some. However, they have a diehard strategy behind it. People start sending messages on their social media channels and they try to do this whole bait and switch thing. You know, sales relationships, success is never about the bait and switch. It’s about really digging in and earning the no like and trust factor, which is something that people today really miss out on. People avoid really creating relationships, really creating connections, really investing in other people, whether they’re your future perspective client and existing client, a power partner, a networking partner, a future power partner, no matter who they are, no matter how they are in your life, if you have a desire to connect with them, it’s not about spamming them, it’s not about spraying and praying.

It truly is about showing up to invest in the relationship. This is something that people lack on so significantly. You know, they spray and pray. They bait and switch, they spam sales is the furthest thing from that. Success is the furthest thing for that. Is success hard for you, or is it easy for you? See, I don’t believe it’s hard or easy. I believe success is simple. And it’s simple because I know who my future perspective clients are, the good, the bad, the ugly, their needs, their wants, their desires, who they are, how they are, how they show up their socioeconomics, how they feel about themselves, what they believe in themselves, what their professions are. And I’m also really good at differentiating myself from my competition. I mean, I’m often referred to as an industry disruptor. How do you differentiate yourself from your competition? How do you show up in relationships to engage with people? If it’s all take and no give, I can promise you the relationship will not exist.

You always wanna make sure you are where your future clients are. You are where your customers are, whether it’s on a social media channel, whether it’s live in person, at events, at networking events, no matter where they frequent, you need to be there and you need to be there in a personal capacity because reality is you’ll either perform or be outperformed. You know, the one thing that I learned early on in business was the more you gave, the more you got. And that had to do with every capacity. The more I gave to my networking partners, the more I received, the more I gave to my perspective clients, the more I received, the more I gave to my schedule my business, the more it gave back to me. And the more I always gave to myself, the more I was capable of giving back to me.
How do you show up? Do you spray and pray? Do you have a plan? Come on, we’re in q4. What’s the end of the year gonna look like for you? Now let’s talk about how you can very easily get outperformed. Do you stay in your head? Do you second guess yourself? Do you limit yourself on a continual basis? Do you have a lot of excuses? Is money an issue for you? Cash flow is a very big issue for a lot of business owners, a lot of entrepreneurs, a lot of professionals. And reality is all cash is all money is is an exchange of energy. You put energy out, you get energy in. So if you’re using money as an excuse and money is a reality that you’re lacking it, then put more energy out there. Create a plan, create a budget, create goals, Run it like a business. Cuz if you run it like a business, it’s gonna pay you like a business. If you run it like a hobby, it’s gonna cost you like a hobby.

You know, I hear so many entrepreneurs, business owners and even sales professionals wear the badge of honor of being a ceo, a chief, everything officer. And I’m gonna tell you, if you’re responsible for everything, it’s gonna be really hard for you to allow yourself to perform at the capacity that you need, one desire and deserve. So hire employees, hire contractors, stop work, walking over dollars to save pennies, or you’re gonna get your kicked out there. You really want to stop working, focusing on time management. There is no such thing as time management. You cannot manage a second, a minute, an hour a day. You can’t manage time. You can manage yourself, You can manage how you invest or spend that time. So this is never about time management, and it is always about self-management. It’s about your ability to plan, schedule, stay accountable and disciplined and follow through.

That’s why doing the inner work is so important. That’s why having a coach is so important because they keep you focused on the path and expose blind spots and get you outta your way. If you are being out marketed, outsold, out, delivered, outperformed, do you ever sit down and ask yourself, What am I doing? Or what am I not doing to create this outcome? Because it’s not about the economy, it’s not about the environment, it’s not about anything else but how you are showing up. And when you can embrace that, you can shift it. As long as you displace responsibility for your success or lack thereof, you’re gonna stay disempowered to be able to create it. Start small, get specific, sit down, take an inventory, get real with yourself and get outta your way. Because I have to tell you, your number one competitor is you. And if you outperform yourself in disempowering yourself, you’ll never outperform your competitors out there in the world. What are you willing to do to make Q4 of this year the best year ever? So that 2023 has a solid platform to stand on? And then you’ve created the habit to outperform 2022 and make 2023 your best year. It all starts with you, and it all starts now.

Whether it’s mastering your mindset, communication, or success, we have more ways to keep you on your journey to greatness. Be sure to visit us@pivotpointadvantage.com for exclusive online training programs, success specific courses, and more ways to connect to Stacy directly to help you achieve the financial success you’ve always desired, dreamed and deserved. That’s all available on Pivot point advantage.com.