What should you do if your Industry is getting too Crowded?

A little incident 2 weeks ago ...

As part of good customer service (well, I teach that in class and of course I practice that too!), I visit all my major clients regularly to gather feedback about my sales training. During one recent visit, I asked them if they need help in any other areas of their business or if they need recommendations of trainers in other fields. Their answer surprised me!

Basically, the message was right now they have a list of trainers that have written to them, offering them training, consultancy and coaching. They really do not need any "extra" help at this moment, but they will always keep me in mind as the "guru" who can connect them to other areas.

It appears that the training industry is getting really crowded. This will be a real concern to many trainers who can't market or sell themselves well.

Unfortunately, with globalization, increase competition is something we cannot avoid in almost every sector of the economy.

What are my suggestions whenever my students share that they are feeling the heat of competition in their business?

I have got 3 ideas ...

1) Differentiate
2) Differentiate
3) Differentiate!

Differentiation does not necessary comes from the uniqueness of your product, although having a unique product will definitely make you stand out from your competition. Differentiation also does not mean you must have the best quality, although that helps too. It can be from a softer aspect of business ... and not in anyway related to the product, such as....

1) Customer service.
There is no such thing as a perfect product. Most products are stronger in one way, but weaker in another. Thus, many a time, there is no perfect fit. However, good service can make up for what is short - especially after sale service.

2) Follow-up.
Increase competition brings about increased marketing effort (and budget too). Consumers are continuously bombarded with more advertisement and sales pitch, thus becoming skeptical. This may also lengthen the selling cycle. Good follow-up means calling your prospect to not only ask for a buying decision, but also feedback when they don't buy. It also means keeping in touch with your prospect even if they do not buy anything from you at all. Remember, like what my great mentor told me: things change every 100 days. If they don't buy now, one day they will.

3) Personal care - love your client.
Feel privilege that they have given you the opportunity to serve them. Take care of them, not because of what their organization bought from you, but because you treat them as friends. You want the best for them. They will remember you since most people cannot remember when was the last time someone really cares about them.

4) Other personality traits and values of the sales profession serving the client.
If you are sincere, hardworking, and happy, your client will remember you. This is due to the simple fact that most people are not. Hence, all these traditional values still matter after all!

teck beng
www.coachme2sell.com