In uncertain and turbulent times, the best way to get ahead is to stay ahead. Like tea, our true colours only come out in hot water. To stay ahead of the game, you need to adopt a strategic outlook, which means having a very clear picture of where you want to be in the future.

According to Jay Abraham, the renowned Marketing Guru, one of the best ways to do that is to offer such an incredible, ultimate benefit to your client (eg. customer, employer, boss, etc…) that no competitor can take them away from you. Why? Because the client wants to stay with you! The strategy is simple, but execution is very tough.

Despite all the hype about better educated managers, 90% of businesses are tactical in perspective (ie. transaction basis). Many managers can hardly see beyond the next two weeks. Most of them operate on a daily, fire-fighting mode.

If you can drive your strategy with tactical excellence, you will corner the market. Think of the major successes in the business world, like Microsoft, Intel, MacDonalds, SIA, Nordstrom, your favourite brands, etc… All of them use this strategy. They offer you great perceived value and you enjoy using them. Before you know it, they have become a part of your life.

We remember moments, not days, not weeks. Such moments stay with us. As human beings, we are creatures of habit. Once we are locked into a comfort zone, it is very difficult to break out. We like status quo. Between easy and tough, we go for the easy. The path of least resistance is the norm.

For instance, what do most PC users see when they switch on their PC daily? The Windows Operating System! For days, weeks and even years, they have been seeing it every time they switch it on when they start their work day. Can you imagine what will happen when they see something else?

Recall what happened to the Coca Cola Company when they launched New Coke. The company had grossly miscalculated the fierce loyalty amongst die-hard coke drinkers that they almost lost the cola war!! They forgot that classic coke is more than just a drink - it is an institution. The lesson - never mess with customers who are so deeply entrenched in their comfort zone!

There are many valuable lessons to be learnt from these successful corporations. Applying the same principles to ourselves and our organization, we can also create our own brand and dominate our market. There are 7 action steps that we can take to pre-empt the competition and increase our market value.

1. Define Your Market Clearly

Where do you intend to play? How big is your playground? Are you a local, regional or international player? If you cannot make it big at home, it will be tougher to make it abroad, unless you have deep pockets & connections .

When you are very clear about your playground, you can control the game by changing the rules. You can even change the game! Fedex and Microsoft are two examples that come to mind. Fedex pioneered overnight delivery while Microsoft piggybacked their way to mass market penetration on a solid horse, IBM. They literally dominated the industry by changing the rules of play.

** Have you defined your market clearly?

2. Define Your Ultimate Benefit to
Your Client

Why should they choose you, instead of someone else? Unique Selling Proposition (USP) is a fine concept but you have to go beyond that - what is the Ultimate Benefit to your client? Is your service cheaper, better or faster? What about your after-sales service? What is so different about you, compared to the competition?

More often than not, it is not about the product, its fabulous features or even its benefits. It is about the client's experience with your product, the bonding that they feel. Why do you keep going back to your favourite dentist or your favourite grocery store? You'll be surprised that the reasons are often not logical, but emotional.

** What is your Ultimate Benefit to your client?

3. The Power of Perceived Value

What's the difference in the price of a can of coke in a supermarket, a cafe and a 5-star hotel? More than 1,000%! Is there a difference in the coke? No! It is the same product from the bottler. What is the difference then? Some say the ambience is different, the service is different, the overheads are different etc… but it is more than that. Value comes from the customer's mind and heart.

In a supermarket, there is a certain price that you will pay for a can of coke. The same benchmark applies in a 5-star hotel. The secret is all about perceived value. Perception is reality. We will pay what we perceive to be the value, whether it is real or not. The can of coke is priced differently in different locations because of different perceived value. To have the complete story, check out my 1st bestseller, "So What If You Don't Have A Degree?" at leading books tores.

** Are you a supermarket coke, a café coke or a 5-star hotel coke?

Your answer will determine your perceived value in the eyes of your clients. Once you have determined the price, then you will have to deliver the value!

4. Value is About Results

Vision, mission, objectives and goals are good concepts but only performance is real. Performance is all about results. Take a cue from the stock market. Why do stock prices move every time a company announces its results? When a company announces that it has exceeded its projected goals, the price will sky rocket. When the projections are not met, the price plunges.

The same principle applies in rankings of all sorts, be it in schools, in class or your performance appraisal ranking. When you made a projection and you achieved it, you have demonstrated many things, especially trustworthiness and credibility.

When you deliver as promised, your credibility is enhanced. The higher the trust level, the higher your value. Look at the highest paid in any profession. They deliver results, consistently, on a sustained long term basis. Stick to what counts. Focus on results, not titles, labels or hype.

** Are you delivering on your promise, consistently?

5. Positive Repetition is KING

You may be good but it is useless if no one knows about it. To be known, you must not only be good, but be seen to be good. In short, you need high visibility. Where can you find MacDonalds outlets? On almost every busy street corner with high human traffic. Where can you find Amazon.com? Everywhere!

When I first went to business school, they said you needed to expose someone to a new product 6 times before it registers in their mind. In the nineties, the figure went up to 7 times. Last week, I read that it now takes 8.4 repetitions before the product stays in the mind.

The same principle applies to you and your organization. In an information overloaded economy, attention spans have become shorter. With multi-tasking, it has gone even shorter. We suffer from partial attention. We are physically present but mentally absent.

This phenomenon is based on the formula 130-8-1. On an average day, we are bombarded with no less than 130 images of products, adverts etc… Out of that, we may take a second look at only 8. And we will only take a third look at 1 of the exposures. 1 out of 130!! Can you imagine how many advertising dollars have gone down the drain?

** What are you doing to ensure you're on top of the boss’s or client's mind, positively?

6. Harness the Power of 80/20

According to the 80/20 phenomenon, we wear only 20% of our wardrobe 80% of the time. These are usually our favourite clothes. Similarly, 80% of a company's business and profits usually come from 20% of the clientele. 20% of the employees usually account for 80% of the company's output. Don't be deceived by the simplistic looking Pareto principle. You can use it to explode your returns if you know how to make it work!

Your in-tray will never be empty, even when you are gone. All of us have 24 hours a day. What we do in those 24 hours on a continual basis will determine how far we go. The secret is to focus on the major. Analyse your work portfolio, starting with the activities that give you the greatest returns and/or pleasure. You will find that these are the 20% that you enjoy. They are also usually the activities that matter most.

Double your time on these activities and phase out the bottom 20%. You will be amazed by the increase in your productivity, pleasure and returns.

** Are you focusing on the major, the things that matter, every day?

7. Choose a Game You Can Win

Increasing your market value is good for the ego, but it does not mean anything until you see the returns. Just like working experience, there is always a break even point, beyond which it becomes a liability. Look at the increasing number of loyal workers with 20 years &more service periods who are downsized, and you will get the picture.

The challenge is to choose a game you can win. Choose a game that you are uniquely designed to play, ie. aligned with your natural talents, passion, motivation, skills and experiences. A 100m sprinter can never win a marathon, because that is not the game they are designed to play.

Similarly, a top salesperson will find it tough to be a top sales manager, because they have to transform from an individual contributor to a team builder/ leader. The skill sets are different.

The key is to play to your strengths, and to make them stronger. For inspiration, look at the top performers in every sport. Like Michael Jordan in Basketball or Tiger Woods in Golf, the message is the same: work on your strengths and make it better. Learn from the best in the game, and then improve on it. Strive to the best in your game. Rest assured your market value will skyrocket.

For starters, work on improving on your performance by just 1% a day. In 72 days, you will be 100% better than today. By the end of the year, you will be 500% better than you were today, if you keep at it. This is the power of compounding.

** What are you doing today to increase your value?

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