One Simple Trick to Annoy the Hell out of Your Competition
I have literally no idea what my competition is up to right now.
Surprised? I’ll tell you why you shouldn’t be.
You know what I spend my time on instead? My people and my team, where we’re going, what the next big thing we’re going to CRUSH is. I spend time on making myself unbelievable at everything I do.
Now at some level I’ve got an idea of what they’re doing. A little bit. But it’s all headline reading. I know who is making some noise in the industry and what their names are. But I truly believe that the BIGGEST mistake companies and entrepreneurs can make is looking around to see who else is in the running for number one. Who cares? I just don’t do those things. You should be full steam ahead on your track, regardless of what other people are doing. If I take care of my domain, I win.
Some of you may ask “Hey, Gary: if you don’t care about the competition, what do you say when a client asks why you’re better?”
This is a tremendous question. I’ve dealt with this in the past with VaynerMedia’s competitors. Deep down, I am not a fan of my competitors, and when people bring them up, I steer that conversation back to what I’m doing as quickly as possible. In the agency world, for example, I might say “Oh, you mean those people who try to win awards in a world where I grew up trying to sell stuff?” I remind them why I’m better. If you come to that meeting ready with key points, stick to them. There is no advantage in discussing other people when the subject matter is all about you. Make that person realize that talking about the competition is a waste of everybody’s time.
Of course, in all of this, there is a fun little advantage you may not have realized: when I do this, it’s an added dig at my competition. It really pisses people off when, during a conversation, they slowly begin to realize that I have no idea what they’re up to. They hate that. Now THAT, my friends, is a competitive advantage. And there’s the bottom line right there: not paying attention to your competitors is a competitive advantage. In a world where many of you reading this right now think that is a mistake, I’m flipping things around. I’m a flip, my friends.
Maybe it’s time you flipped too? Do it. I dare you. Stop paying attention to the competitors. See how little you miss knowing what your worst enemy is up to. ;) My guess? You won’t miss it all.
Thanks so much for reading. If you found this helpful at all, scroll down and hit the recommend button for me, would ya?
