No, the book is not the Bible. This particular book is called The Art of War, by an ancient Chinese strategist named Sun-Tzu. Most of us in the English-speaking world had no idea that the book existed until 1905, when the first partially translated version appeared. The first full English version was not released until 1910.
In this article, I will discuss how you can use a basic strategy in The Art of War to destroy your competition. Here’s that strategy: “Every battle is won before you go to war.” Think about it. While Sun-Tzu designed his book for military use, it also works in business, marketing, and advertising. The principle here is that if you are going to do something, first spend a lot of time preparing for it. Similarly, Abe Lincoln once said that if you were to cut down a tree in six hours, you would spend four hours sharpening the ax.
This is a similar strategy, which you can approach from several different angles. If you want to be a good direct response marketer, for example, you have to spend a lot of time learning DRM. You should also practice writing sales letters. You don’t just write your first sales letter right away and throw it away; You first prepare by becoming a good copywriter. If you intend to dominate a certain market, it would be best to prepare ahead of time by learning not only what it takes to dominate that market, but also everything you can about its components. Success requires a deep and intimate understanding of the market. You put yourself at a much higher risk of failure if you don’t prepare.
Another part of The Art of War discusses a Chinese saying that is still common today: “If you know your enemies and you know yourself, you can win 100 battles without a single loss. If you only know yourself, but not your opponent, you can win or lose. You or your opponent will always put you in danger. ” To me, this reminds me of Sam Walton, the founder of Wal-Mart, who spent a lot of time at Kmart, his biggest competitor, in the early years of his business. You would think that it would avoid its competitors; But he wanted to know all he could about them, to the point that he probably visited Kmart stores more often than any Kmart executive. It got to the point where they would escort him as soon as they recognized him.
If you know yourself and your competitor, you can win 100 marketing battles without a single loss.
Not only do you need to know what you are trying to do and how to successfully promote your business, you need to study the market itself, as well as your competitors in that market. Doing your research will greatly increase your chances of success. Will you achieve all the time? Probably not. We all have our successes and failures, and not always due to factors that we can control. Business is cyclical; There will be ups and downs no matter what. But there are ways to position yourself so that you are much more likely to be successful than to fail.
I like to think of marketing as a war without all the death and chaos. But studying war and the people who wage it can teach you a lot. Years ago I read the autobiography of General Dwight Eisenhower, the man who commanded American forces during the Normandy invasion and the subsequent campaign that toppled Nazi Germany. That campaign required a lot of planning; he and his people had to work with other Allied troops, learn the lay of the land, and study the cultures of the countries through which his troops passed, whether they were Allied or Axis. But he said what he worked on the most was his profiles of German generals and field marshals.
He learned the tactics that each had used in previous battles, especially during the early part of the war when they were fighting the French and the British. You learned their trends and strategies. By studying these men, he learned how they would react to specific attacks and counterattacks, which was very important to his campaign.
This is even easier in the realm of marketing. To find out who your competition is, simply purchase their sales collateral, catalogs, sales letters, and advertisements (online, TV, or radio) and take a close look at what they’re doing. Then you can see what they are doing right and what they are doing wrong. You can determine how to overcome your flaws and build on what you have learned in your own marketing efforts.
Of course, DRM is not war in the true sense of the word. You are not going to face enemies who are literally trying to kill you, but is it so facing competition. When your direct competitors capture business that you don’t, they are hurting you, because they are taking money that could be yours. So follow the Boy Scout motto and get ready. The best way to do this is to study the competition so you can learn how to beat them.
A few years ago I was in a meeting with my lawyer and he told me something so interesting that I wrote it down right away. He learned this quote from his mentor: “Proper Preparation Prevents Poor Performance!” I like alliteration and printed it to hang on the wall. I paid $ 195 an hour for that quote and now it’s yours for free. This comes from one of the best attorneys I have ever met.
Proper preparation is the secret to success. Proper preparation is doing your best to learn about your market and your competitors. He is thinking of everything. From a marketing standpoint, you have several excellent answers to all the objections your best prospects will have. It never catches him off guard; no matter what, you can handle it.
When you know that you can overcome any objections to buying your product or service, it builds confidence in you. Self-confidence sells products.