I decided to look into what was going on in the world of
golf. You don’t have to be a big golf fan to know about Tiger Woods. He
is the top rated golfer in the world. His scoring average is 67.91. In
other words his average score is less then 68 shots a round of golf.
What I saw next really amazed me. The second rated golfer on the top
scorer list is Mike Weir. He had a scoring average of 68.56. As good as
Tiger is, and as dominant as he has been, the only difference between
he and the number two player on the scoring list is 65 hundredths of a
point.
Can such a small advantage make such a large difference in results?
The answer is yes. This phenomenon is called “The Law of Fractional
Advantage.”
Simply put “The Law of Fractional Advantage” states that all you
need to do to win at anything is to be slightly better than your
competition.
Think about it. In baseball are you rewarded more if you win 15-0
rather then 1-0? In the one hundred meter race, the winner is usually
only a few hundredths of a second ahead of second place. It would not
matter if you won by three minutes. A win is a win.
In business it is very much the same. You need to beat your business competitors, but many times we want to achieve something so big or so
grand that we choke on it. We try to achieve greatness all at once
rather than over time.
The “Law of Fractional Advantage” goes on to mandate that you take
the long view to business. It is not about a home run today. The only
get-rich-quick techniques I know about are to win the lottery or rob a
bank, and the latter has some grave consequences.
If you can put yourself in one additional networking opportunity a
week, that would translate into fifty opportunities a year. If at each
meeting you met two new people, then you would grow your prospect list
by one hundred people a year. Get the picture? Time works to your
advantage when you are looking for small gains and consistent
performance.
To beat your business competitors, there are several areas in your business that you can look to
improve your performance and achieve fractional advantages. The greater
the number of these disciplines of business in which you can generate
fractional advantages, the greater growth you will achieve.
Beat your business competitors in Marketing:
How do you generate leads?
What is the quality of your leads?
Is your company getting the market exposure you need?
Do you have a memorable marketing message that appears in everything you do?
Beat your business competitors in Sales:
Do you use a proven sales system?
Do you track your closing ratio and other important numbers?
Are you getting the referral business that you should?
Have you completed a self assessment of your sales strengths and weaknesses?
Do you get additional sales training on an annual basis?
Beat your business competitors in Customer Service:
How do your customers view your customer service?
Are your systems designed to solve problems or keep them from occurring in the first place?
How long does it take someone to reach a live person when they call your company?
Do you return all of your phone calls in under two hours?
Beat your business competitors in Products/Services:
Are your products/services unique from your competitors?
How do you package your products/services?
Do you use unique warranties and services to differentiate yourself?
Does the way your customers interact with your company enhance the value you deliver?
Beat your business competitors in Management:
Do you have a strategic plan?
Does everyone in your organization know what the company goals are?
If you are a small company do you have a board of directors?
Are you a part of a Mastermind Group?
Is your business designed to operate in your absence?
Evaluate each of these areas. Brainstorm ways that you can create an
improvement. Remember, you are looking to create a fractional
advantage. If you can do so in each of these areas the total advantage
and bottom line growth will be significant.
Then, start implementing the ideas you just created. Do so one at a
time. You will see small improvements at first, then greater ones, and eventually you will beat your business competitors!
Sometimes a small improvement will become a larger one when a
secondary enhancement is also made. Some of the changes will be
synergistic. The long view of business will help you remain patient as
you let time magnify your improvements.
“The Law of Fractional Advantage” says you only need to win by a
little to finish first, and that you must take the long view of
business in order to build the strongest organization.
Apply this concept — you will Beat Your Business Competitors and Build a Better Biz!
Entrepreneur, author and motivational keynote speaker Sam Silverstein's companies have sold over 100 million dollars of
products and services and he has successfully sold one of his
businesses to a Fortune 500 company. Sam consults business
professionals who want to sell more, build their business, and increase
income. He focuses on accountability, authenticity and abundance.
How to Beat Your Business Competition
Sam Silverstein Motivational Keynote Speaker
Motivational Keynote Speaker Video