Ask Victoria: What Should I Know About My Competitors?

May 13, 2016 By admin Leave a Comment

As an entrepreneur, knowledge of the strengths and weaknesses of your competitors can help you to build a stronger business.

When you take the time to do research, you’ll learn things you didn’t know, some of which you can use to your advantage.

Direct selling companies have three types of competitors:

Traditional retail or internet-based companies that sell the same or similar products or services
Direct selling companies who sell the same or similar products or services
Direct selling companies that offer other income opportunities

Identify Competitors

The first step in competitive research is to identify the companies you decide are your primary competitors.

Don’t feel like you need to identify them all, because that is impossible. Instead, identify at most ten of them.

Know These

For each of your identified competitors, gather the following types of information:

Channels of Distribution
Products / Services
Website Features
Social Media Strategies
Marketing Strategies
Competitive Advantages
Keys to Success
Missed Opportunities
Enrollment Options
Compensation Plan
Product Sales Approaches

Research For A Purpose

While you are researching these companies, identify and write down the attributes that you would like to incorporate within your business. At the same time, determine what will make your company different from others.

In our book Start Here: The Guide To Building And Growing Your Direct Selling Company, we include a competitor profile form designed specifically to capture the most important information for direct selling companies who do research on their competitors. Now available in English and Spanish.

Not One And Done

Competitor research is an ongoing process. Continue to monitor the activities of your competitors on a monthly basis.

At the same time you are looking outward, focus on your company by identifying additional unique selling propositions to help people in differentiating your business from others.

Jay Leisner, the President of Sylvina Consulting, is a top compensation plan and direct selling expert, a trusted adviser to new and established network marketing and party plan companies. For more than 30 years, Jay has enjoyed assessing and improving network marketing, party plan and referral marketing companies across the globe.

Jay Leisner and Victoria Dohr authored the top-rated book for new and young network marketing, referral marketing, and party plan companies, "Start Here: The Guide to Building and Growing Your Direct Selling Company".

Available in English and Spanish. This startup guide contains 250 pages of wisdom that will guide you through the right steps to start and continue on your journey to build a successful direct selling company.

You will save thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours of your time using the information you will read in our book.

In 1986, Jay began his career in direct selling by working for a major direct selling software provider. First as a software developer and later as a project leader and a business analyst, Jay worked closely with new and established network marketing and party direct selling companies to provide them with software solutions to meet their unique requirements.

Jay contributed in many ways to the success of large implementation projects for many companies. Jay also worked with dozens of smaller companies to assist each of them in various capacities to provide them with the systems they needed to help their businesses to grow faster.

Along the way while working with them, he learned the secrets of successful direct selling companies and the challenges faced by them. In true entrepreneurial spirit, Jay’s decision in 1999 to start Sylvina Consulting as a direct selling consulting company was driven by what he saw was a need for answers, advice, and solutions.

In 2004, 2006, 2009, 2014, and 2018, Jay gave presentations on compensation plans, recognition, and field leadership development at conferences held by the US Direct Selling Association.

He traveled to South Africa in 2015, 2016, and 2017 to conduct workshops on compensation plan design and recognition programs for member companies of the South African Direct Selling Association.

In 2017, Jay spoke at the Canadian Direct Sellers Association Meeting on the importance of recognition.

More than just a compensation plan expert, Jay is exceptionally skilled at advising new and established companies on business strategies. Before offering advice or solutions, he asks important questions to understand each client’s specific concerns and goals.

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