Are you naturally competitive? Read why being competitive is so important if you want to achieve MASSIVE success in sales…
There are a lot of debates out there about whether or not competition is a good thing or not. Some say that you should just put your head down, work hard, and focus on what you’re doing, rather than what your competitor is doing. But let’s be honest – if you weren’t competitive by nature, then you wouldn’t be working in sales.
While you shouldn’t necessarily be comparing yourself to others all the time, if you do away with healthy competition, you’ll be robbing yourself of the opportunity for growth. It’s important to be able to benchmark yourself against your peers. I’ve always been fuelled by my competitors; they keep me thinking and moving forward. Competition takes us out of our comfort zone and forces us to better ourselves and find innovative ways to sell our products and services.
If you aren’t constantly working on yourself, then you’re not innovating, and if you’re not being innovative, then you’ve lost your competitive edge. The failure to innovate leads to obsolescence. Let’s just say that it’s vital that you commit to your personal development.
You would have heard the saying, “The only person that you should be competing with is the person that you were yesterday”. Well, I believe that in addition to competing with yourself, you should be competing with others as well. This doesn’t necessarily mean nasty competition, but rather learning from people in an attempt to better yourself.
Competition is the very essence of a sales professional’s existence. Study it. Embrace it. Love it. Use it as a motivator to fuel you. Use it to take you to the top of your mental game. Develop an unstoppable, competitive mindset, and you’ll sell yourself to success.
Here are some of the top reasons why competition is good for you:
- It forces you to be more creative: If you happen to have a lot of competitors in your market, then you’ll know that innovation is key. In order for your product or service to stand out, you’ll have to think outside of the box.
- It teaches you: In life, there is ultimately always a winner and a loser. It’s inevitable that sometimes your competition will come out on top, and you’ll lose. It’s up to you how you let this affect you. If you take it as a learning opportunity, then your competition will be helping you grow. Chances are you’ll be all riled up and you’ll want to prove that you’re not a loser, so you’ll work even harder the next time around. And next time you just might win! I’ve failed many times, but I always choose to see these detours as positives instead of negatives.
- It forces you to take chances: Once again, if everyone merely did the same thing, no one would stand out and life would be utterly boring. Having competition will force you to make choices that you may not have made before. Always trust your gut!
- It helps you achieve your goals: If no one else was performing, and everyone just earned the same amount of money for merely showing up to work, then there would be no need to push yourself to be better. I was motivated by success, a great lifestyle, and a secure future, and you don’t get those things by sitting on the couch. You have to be the best! And if you want to be the best, then you’ll need to compete with the best.
- It makes life more exciting: One of the best feelings in my life was when I won an award for being the best sales professional. I had been competing with another man for the title and had put in more effort than you can even imagine. But when I won, it was all worth it. Competition and ‘winning’ give you a thrill that you wouldn’t otherwise be able to experience.
Are you competitive in your chosen field of expertise? Let me know in the comments below!
