Instead of Worrying About the Competition, Worry About This

Instead of Worrying About the Competition, Worry About This Solo and small firm professional services providers spend way too much time worried about competition. The irony here is that so many of these firms are run by ex-corporate executives. That’s an irony because their former employers must worry about competition, market share, and what they’ll report to shareholders next quarter. Leaving big corporate ought to mean you left all that behind. Not long ago I was sitting with a financial services solopreneur who said to me, “I get calls from people all the time who I don’t know saying that ‘so and so’ referred them, and I don’t even know who ‘so and so’ is.” You think this guy is worried about his so-called competition? In his case, he has major national, brand name firms with big advertising budgets pounding all of us with more ads than a political candidate in a swing state. There are thousands of providers of all sizes who provide the same service he does. Why does he get more calls than he can handle? Because he is singularly focused on the value he gives to everyone who calls him. Even if he can’t take care of them, he makes sure he sends them to someone who can, and/or he gives them an insight or two which at least gets them closer to a resolution of their problems. If you’re focused on delivering value, competition becomes an old acquaintance whose face you recognize but whose name you can’t remember.November 10, 2022

Instead of Worrying About the Competition, Worry About This

Solo and small firm professional services providers spend way too much time worried about competition.

The irony here is that so many of these firms are run by ex-corporate executives. That’s an irony because their former employers must worry about competition, market share, and what they’ll report to shareholders next quarter.

Leaving big corporate ought to mean you left all that behind.

Not long ago I was sitting with a financial services solopreneur who said to me, “I get calls from people all the time who I don’t know saying that ‘so and so’ referred them, and I don’t even know who ‘so and so’ is.”

You think this guy is worried about his so-called competition? In his case, he has major national, brand name firms with big advertising budgets pounding all of us with more ads than a political candidate in a swing state. There are thousands of providers of all sizes who provide the same service he does.

Why does he get more calls than he can handle? Because he is singularly focused on the value he gives to everyone who calls him. Even if he can’t take care of them, he makes sure he sends them to someone who can, and/or he gives them an insight or two which at least gets them closer to a resolution of their problems.

If you’re focused on delivering value, competition becomes an old acquaintance whose face you recognize but whose name you can’t remember.

 

 

Image created using Craiyon (Formerly DALL-E Mini)

(This blog post was also posted on LinkedIn.)

©Ray Business Advisors, LLC and John Ray

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About me: I help solo or small professional services firm owners with the confidence and positioning necessary to improve their pricing and change the trajectory of not only their business but their life.

I have a podcast called The Price and Value Journey, which features interviews with industry leaders and audio versions of my blog posts. You can find the podcast on your favorite podcast app.

I also have a book coming out in 2023:  The Price and Value Journey: Raise Your Confidence, Your Value, and Your Prices to Grow Your Business Using The Generosity Mindset.

For more information, go to PriceValueJourney.com

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