Secret 18: 

THINK SMALL!  Start by understanding your customer and use effective retention techniques to cut down on customer defections.  Start by setting attainable goals and projected sales increases and build on them again and again. Customers are fed up with poor service, bad marketing and being ripped off.  All you have to do is let them know you’re prepared to treat them as a human being, treat them as important, and give them a fair value.  Remember, every crisis is an opportunity.  I spoke to a small dealer the other day that was freaking out because a big competitor was aggressively attacking his market.  The big competitors in your market often lack the personal touch, personal relationships and care that you put in to your business every day.  Just as the manager of the local big box store is probably not active in the community or a member of the local chamber, most large competitors are not going to practice the personal touch that a true neighborhood marketer lives by. You’ll beat them by working the trenches, one neighborhood at a time and by building lasting relationships with the people in those neighborhoods you service.  Pick one neighborhood that you really want to own and market to it repetitively month after month.  Practice the relationship building tactics we teach you and there’s not a competitor out there that will matter to you.