Introduce Yourself To Your Competition

In recent years I went to a typical meeting that was being addressed to a room full of people on the topic of marketing in regards to competitors edge. I was at the point when I was wondering when will this meeting be over and admittedly looking at my watch for the umpteenth time when I heard go to your competition introduce yourself and let them know if there is anything that you can do to help them please let you know.

The gist of it was to be honest let them know you are the manager or owner of the same type of business that they are in and a neighboring business. Shake their hands and openly express that it was a pleasure to meet them. In and out type deal, then see if they reciprocate by visiting you. The mentality that you are portraying is that of the aggressor which is interesting.

My immediate response in my head was "that takes nerve". Then I thought about it and clearly it is a way to intimidate or even develop a positive relationship over time with your competition; that is if it is the owner or manager you are talking to. I would ask for the owner or manager if you do this. It is also a way to discover possible weaknesses or strengths in their organization. I have not personally used this technique, and if I did I would do my due diligence by researching prior to visiting.

What do you think?

Work Hiatus In Your Business

When something happens that causes you to deal with unexpected concerns rather than normal business concerns it could literally bring your business to a halt if you are a one person operation. During these economic times it is important to be focused on producing income especially if you are living paycheck to paycheck.

Whether it is a week long ice storm, a death in a family, pure exhaustion or recession it is really hard at times to get your momentum back and unfortunately the end result is a loss in sales. The first thing that you must do is deal with the unexpected positively.

Remind yourself repeatedly what your purpose is and if you need to set new short term goals, then reward yourself when you meet them. You could re-invent the wheel by changing up what or how you sell or produce. If you like the competition of it all then visit your competitor or their website and see what they are doing at this very moment, then do it better.

If you do experience a loss of income getting a part-time job that will cover essential living expenditures is an option. Try not to live off credit because you do not want to add on to the burden you are already experiencing.

The worst thing you can do is over think it or feel sorry for yourself. Picture a brighter day with new energy and work towards it. I believe that if you keep it positive and work hard everything will eventually get better.