Become a Leader in Your Market Niche – Part 1

“If you’re not the lead dog on the sled, the scenery never changes.”

The same thing is true in business, isn’t it? Unfortunately, there can only be one market share leader in any given business segment, but there are other ways to become a leader in your market niche. So, where do you start if you’re not a leader today?

Know the competition. Learn all you can about their products and services, who they are selling to, and how they price, advertise, promote and market their offers. Michael Porter, a Harvard Business School professor and the author of Competitive Advantage, stated that “A firm differentiates itself from its competitors if it can be unique at something that is valuable to buyers.”

Once you have completed a thorough competitive analysis you can then identify the key areas of differentiation, and begin to communicate your competitive advantages to the outside world in a way that is compelling and entices prospects to buy from you.

Know your customers. Why are your customers buying from you, and what do they like and dislike about your business? Continue reading…

Where Have All The Sales Leaders Gone?

Has sales leadership become a lost art? I hear all the rhetoric about how marketing has replaced selling, and that consumers are now much more educated and informed as a result of the Internet. But have consumers become more sophisticated out of necessity because so many companies they do business with have poorly trained sales staffs?

I know I am biased on this subject. I was blessed to have received nine months (yes you read that correctly) of intense sales training at AT&T’s National Sales School, and received a world class training experience. At that time, there were a number of companies who had similar outstanding sales training programs including IBM, Xerox and Proctor & Gamble to mention a few. And all of these companies were also recognized as the market leaders in their respective industries. Is there a direct correlation here? Continue reading…