Competition existed long before strategy. As we trace the evolution of strategy, we find that the founding principle is still in play today: Strategy is about achieving the competitive advantage! If there were no competition, there would be no need for strategy. Gaining a sustainable edge over your competitors, as efficiently as possible, is the #1 priority on any businessperson’s “to-do list.”

Strategy is a deliberate search…a search for a plan of action that will develop a company’s competitive advantage and compound it. The difference between you and your competitors is the basis of your competitive advantage. The objective of your competitive advantage strategy is to enlarge the scope of your advantage, and that happens only at someone else’s expense.

How successful you become at competing in your marketplace depends on how you position your business relative to your competitors. The position your firm occupies against your competitors is–for the most part–your competitive advantage, and hopefully not your disadvantage. A competitive advantage exists when a firm has a product or service that is perceived by its target market customers as better than that of its competitors.

Your Unique Selling Proposition is your biggest marketing weapon and is the key to differentiating your business from your competitors. Delivering value and benefits, that no one else can deliver in the marketplace, is the foundation of your Unique Selling Proposition. Your USP becomes the cornerstone of your sales and marketing message. It is this message that builds and reinforces your brand, attracts new customers, and sustains your competitive edge.

A USP is your statement, your response to the question, “What draws a customer to you, rather than to your competitors?” Your USP! When developing your own USP, remember to:

• State a specific benefit of your product/service, not a feature.

• Distinguish your product/service from those of your competitor.

• Propose a solution to a problem or address a customer’s needs and desires.

• Focus on your target audience.

Your USP sums up the unique features and benefits of your products/services along with the value that only you can provide your customer. It is what separates you from your competitors. Your USP must say, “Buy this product, and you will get this specific benefit.”

Why have a USP?

One of the most significant things you can do for your business is to identify and develop your own Unique Selling Proposition. It is important that you communicate to your customers that it is in their best interest to buy from you! If you don’t tell them this, chances are they won’t buy from you… Below are a number of valid reasons for having a Unique Selling Proposition:

• It gives your customers a reason to buy from you, rather than from competitors.

• It sets you apart favorably from your generic competitors.

• It gives your customers support for their purchasing decisions that are based on valid reasons rather than on emotional reasons.

• It raises your customers’ expectations of you.

• It provides your team with a clear focus.

• It minimizes competition based solely on price.

• It adds lasting value to your business.

To be effective, your Unique Selling Proposition must hit your customer’s sweet spot! When an established organization adopts a powerful and appealing USP, it gives new life and excitement to your activities. Your Unique Selling Proposition creates a renewed interest and greater appeal from your customer.

The better your Unique Selling Proposition is, the less likely the need to compete on price…

Strategic planning is by far the most important task of any management team. Unfortunately, far too many entrepreneurs believe that strategic planning is an exercise meant only for big businesses when, in fact, strategic planning is equally applicable and critical to small businesses.

The start of any new product/service, program, or change initiative is always a stressful situation. Instead of simply jumping in blindly, it is more prudent… (more…)

To develop a small business into a successful enterprise demands more than the passion that you may have for your business. Fortunately, or unfortunately, facts speak for themselves! Over half of new businesses fail because the entrepreneur is unable to translate his passion into practical business skills. Running a small business requires that you become a “jack-of-all-skills.”

Having solid business strategies are valuable, but without a set of fundamental business skills to implement them, the strategies remain dormant. It is important to assess the skills that you have, the skills that you will need to learn, or simply the skills that you will need to improve.

Success in your business demands more than hard work, expertise in your field, and resilience. Success demands the use of fundamental business skills: General Management Skills, Analytical Skills, Financial Skills, Communication Skills, Sales and Marketing Skills, and Strategic Planning Skills.

No one is more determined to reveal the secrets of business success than Jim Collins. Jim Collins is the author of two best-selling business books–Built to Last and Good to Great. Both of his highly acclaimed books address the question: Why do some companies become great, while others flounder? Bo Burlingham, an editor-at-large of Inc. Magazine, recently interviewed Mr. Collins. I found his article to be very interesting. Here is just a snippet of the article.

Bo asks Mr. Collins, “Have you noticed any significant change/changes in the business of building great companies over the last 30 years? Jim Collins replied, “I would say that the basic principles of building a company have remained the same to a great degree, but it’s the skills that are always changing! The skills . . . You need to be continually learning new skills.”

There is a great need for a wide range of business skills because each task requires a different skill. For instance, the skills that you need to hatch a business concept, identify a market, develop a product or service, or assemble the resources and operations to bring it to market are not the same skills that you need “to shepherd” a company into the future. That’s why it is important to first assess your skills so that you can accurately identify the voids in your skill set, and then take the necessary steps to fill those voids and improve your critical business skill set. Your goal should be “to get to the top of your game,” or “to remain at the top of your game,”, or both!

It is highly unlikely or unrealistic for one business owner to have all of the necessary skills to effectively manage and control a business. A business owner may be proficient in several of the required disciplines—sales, marketing, management, organizational control, financials, logistics—but may not be proficient in all of the disciplines. The business owner must now develop a proactive approach by surrounding himself with individuals who have greater expertise in the areas where he lacks experience or “know how.”

Michael Dell, the founder of Dell Computer, is a good example of a business owner who realized his own shortcomings in certain areas. Mr. Dell has said, on more than one occasion, that he realized early on in his career that he needed to surround himself with a strong management team, a team whose members had the skills and experience that he lacked. The success of Michael Dell and his company, Dell Computer, speaks for itself…

“Being at the top of your game” means that you are in control of your business activities, that you are building a company that is sustainable in the future, that you are intent on making your company better than your competitors, and that you understand and become proficient at implementing a set of fundamental business skills.

You, too, can learn fundamental business skills! Whether you are a novice or a seasoned entrepreneur, getting and staying at the top of your game requires that you maximize your business efforts by becoming proficient in a set of fundamental business skills.

Thanks for stopping by… we hope you will take a little time today to browse our site. Whether you are a novice entrepreneur or you are a seasoned pro, we have created this site for you since there is a little bit of entrepreneurship in all of us!

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