Ever felt threatened by your competition? I have. Literally. Here’s what I did!

It was the first time I was selected to speak at a large conference in DC. I was barely covering payroll, but I decided to buy a booth in the exhibit hall. Imposter syndrome was in full swing and my inner critic said: “You look like an idiot. If you were really successful you’d have staff manning this booth instead of doing it yourself.”

I was trying my best to engage with prospects until the exhibit hall closed and I could escape. Suddenly two large men with strong Russian accents said to me, “Do you know who we are?” I’d seen them before but didn’t remember where.

“We’ve been watching you,” they said. My heart started pounding wildly.

“What are you talking about?” I said.

They said, “We’re cutting our prices in half tomorrow and marketing to your clients first. We have a longer runway and we’ll outlast you.”

I was one of only a handful of women tech founders in my market and I’m sure they thought they could intimidate me. But the opposite happened.

I felt a surge of adrenaline as I stared them down and said:

“Bring it. I’m not worried. You don’t understand this market. We don’t sell a commodity. Our clients see us as strategic partners.” I sounded more confident than I felt.

But after the conference, instead of fighting a price war, I doubled-down on value. Our price stayed the same, but we added exclusive content for customers like industry trends and forecasts, online workshops and forums.

It did more than differentiate us. It helped us maintain our edge. By keeping us relevant. And customers loyal. That’s when my business really started to take off.

A year later those guys closed up shop. We had our best year.

Never compete on price. It’s a race to the bottom.

Stand out with value.