It's time to look at your biggest competitor

⏱ = 👌 In summary:

Where do you see yourself at the moment when you look at the competitive landscape? Are you at the top of the food chain? Or is there someone bigger than you?

Well, in short, you should know precisely who that big fish is, the T-REX of your industry and you should be focused entirely on them.

If you haven't given your competition a second thought for some time, then more fool you. What if you're at the top of the pile? Well, there is still something for you below.


⏱⏱ = 👏 More detail:

In his book, 'Behind the Cloud' by Marc Benioff, Marc provides 111 'Plays' relating to his journey as Founder, CEO and Chairman of Salesforce.

Play #20: Always, Always Go After Goliath, states that they only ever acknowledged one competitor, the market leader. The logic for this was 'that was the only position for which we were vying'.

In Edtech, there are many different Goliaths, mainly because there are so many niche areas. Regardless of this, I think this is sound advice. If you're talking to a prospect, only talk about how you compare to the biggest player. Don't publicly give the smaller competition the time of day.

As Marc goes on to explain: 'it cast us in the right role as the underdog and the visionary... Everyone roots for you.'

⏱⏱⏱ = 💪 Further reading:

Well done, you've got to the real purpose for this week's topic. Before you head to the next conference, rolling up your sleeves and ready to pick a fight, think about how David supposedly took on his Goliath.

Going head-to-head with the biggest player in the same race with the same tactics is going to be a long and hard race.

Instead of charging straight at the enemy like the Light Brigade, outflank them, 'go after the status quo'. Be smart, just like Salesforce did when it took on the enterprise software industry.

BUT, don't be an arse. The industry is too small for idiots to go unnoticed. You're part of a community that values respect.

My only advice to finish is: Buy the book.

Thank you, to Jeremy Carter for introducing me to Behind the Cloud.