Lesson Fifty-Two: Crowded

I have a slight agoraphobic tendency which comes out when I'm around crowds.

It's something about the mass of sameness swarming together that causes my palms to sweat and my body to tense up.

My wife can tell you lengths I will go to avoid crowds. If we show up at a restaurant that has a line up, I'll refuse to wait.We've skipped movies, left stores and travelled dozens of kilometres out of the way to avoid them.

I don't mind being in front of a crowd, but don't stick me in the middle of one.

I think it's the anonymity of it that puts me on edge. And it's the reason I can't understand why many business people insist on following them.

I met a travel agent last year, who asked my advice. "All my competitors advertise in the Travel section of the newspaper, should I run an ad too?" he asked.

"No way!" I told him. It is impossible for any business to stand out in the middle of a crowd. A crowd is where you go to blend in. Crowds are where people hide.

The only good spot in a crowd is in front of it, leading a crowd.

We have a marketing principle we use in my business. It's an exercise we have clients do. You can try it too.

List the common practices within your industry.Where do people congregate? Where do all your competitors advertise? What are the conventions? Make a list of all the usual places.

Good, now that is your "Places to avoid" list.

Make a second list. This is your opportunity list. Brainstorm and write down every unconventional place or way you could advertise or promote your business.

Here's a simple example: Every Christmas I get a ton of cards from people I do business with, and people who want to do business with me. They go on the wall for a while, all together, and then I throw them out in January.

But every Groundhog day I receive a single card, from an illustrator.He is lodged squarely in my mind and whenever I can, I send him work. He's my first choice.

He avoided the crowd and was able stand out from it.

How could you avoid the crowd in your business?