Many experts think they are competitive because their business is growing.  My response:  depends on how you get clients.

Especially in the beginning, we build our business with what I call the “here’s my check” situations.  We’ve become known in a few companies, and get hired time and time again.  In those relationships, we are the sole source provider.

There’s nothing wrong with those gigs; it’s our reward for doing good work.  The problem:  assuming that because we got those assignments, we are ready to compete for buyers who don’t know us as well.  The reality:  there’s a big difference between competing against other providers and picking the low hanging fruit.

Going vertical will only grow our business so far.  When that’s not enough, we have to position our expertise for a completely different environment, where the sale isn’t a given.  Where buyers are overwhelmed with choices.  Where we are being compared to criteria we don’t always control.  That is competition.  And requires a whole different plan of action.

So the next time you want to take your business to the next level, ask yourself this:  am I really ready to compete?  Or…should I go vertical and get more business from current clients?

I used to think folks who stick with a losing strategy were stupid.  I am wrong.  According to this Fast Company article, it’s delusional stupidity.

My favorite line:  ”It isn’t the initial loss that does for him, but the stupid play he makes in an effort to deny that the loss has happened.”  This hit me hard.  How many times do we keep betting on that web site, that book, or that strategy that we made up out of thin air?  Instead of moving past the loss, we compound it by taking on more losses.

I see this in our business all the time.  The scenario:  we come up with an idea, stumble upon some low-end buyers who like it, and mistake the dimes we get for dollars.  By the time we learn that the brand we created won’t translate into higher fees, we justify our idea with “well, so-and-so liked it.”  My question:  are the folks who like your brand as well as you do…are they your most profitable buyers?  And if not, why are you listening to them?

My engineer husband asks the same question every time I come to him with a tech problem:  ”Did you reboot?”  I think that solution can keep us out of strategic hot water.  Instead of throwing good money after a bad idea, I’m going to say, “oops, let’s reboot” and move on from there.  How about you?