Never Be Intimidated by Your Competition

Anyone can be Napoleon from behind a keyboard. Never be intimidated by a competitor until you get up close and observe how they really compare to you and your business.

Don't let yourself be intimidated by what you read in your industry's news magazines, peer websites, and business forums. In the small business space (revenues $50 million and under) this is especially true.

In today's fast-paced "guru" and "expert" world with hundreds of websites and consultants running around aiming to market perceived intellectual capital to the next guy, much of your marketing and selling are solitary activities, regardless of whether you do them for a Fortune 100 or your 4-person human resource staffing agency.

It's pretty easy to look at another's LinkedIn profile, resume, job title, or pay-per-click campaign and feel inferior.

Every time you visit a website or see marketing material created by someone who does the same thing you do, consider doing what I do:

Attend the next available mixer, professional association meeting, or function you can. The more upscale, the better. Pseudo-novice functions like small chamber of commerce happy hours, where most participants are running around handing out business cards and practicing elevator speeches, are not an accurate random sampling for this experiment.

Look the part. Be well groomed and polite. Be sure to come across as professional and confident.

Talk to peers. No agenda necessary. Just chat freely on a relevant subject matter. Regardless of your specific profession, you should be up on current events in the business world. Notice what others ask about you, whether someone is sizing you up, is there because their employer made them attend, is simply there to waste time, or is simply looking for new friends.

On the drive home, chances are you won't feel intimidated anymore. The exception might be getting in way over your head if, for example, you attend a real estate conference and find yourself in conversation with a group of Donald Trump-types, then suddenly realize you are only non-millionaire present.

However, most of the people you will speak with will not have intimidated you.

For contacts who stood out, note what it was about them that you found appealing and see if you can emulate them the next time you attend a networking event or business mixer.

No need to be intimidated by what you read, especially on the Internet. Even a child can blog, write Web content, and match keyword phrases. Talk to a number of Internet marketers in person and you may discover that

1) they are cross-eyed from staring at a smart phone all day.

2) their short attention span means they cannot communicate without their eyes roaming around the room.

3) they probably have food on their shirt.

4) they are often young women who are sent to functions to work the crowd, reciting a canned "mission statement" to men who will listen, while trading business cards like baseball cards on an elementary school playground.

Be really good at whatever it is you do for a living, and then convey that in contact making. Be a perpetual student of your profession. Read so you know about business in general. (Iconic ad writer Bob Bly was recommending this 20 years ago in his marketing books, by the way.)

You will stay in the game without feeling intimidated by almost any blogger, marketer, internet guru, or keynote speaker.