How you rank vs. competitors

- Your business plan should go into great detail…in terms of how your product or service ranks,…versus your competitors.…Now, be honest about your standing versus your competitors.…I like to create what I call a moon chart.…That's where you lay out all of your competitors,…and then articulate how you stack up, versus them.…One thing you should never say in a business plan is,…"We have no competitors."…That's not believable, and it's risky,…because it's pointing out that you have a blind spot…in terms of the market and where you stand.…

When you create this moon chart, what you're going to do…is list all of the competitors across the top,…then down the side, you're going to list out…all the performance dimensions, and how you stack up.…Within each square on that matrix, you're going to spell out…whether you're the best, the worst, or somewhere in between.…Again, that's compared to your competitor's offerings.…This document is going to help you pitch your idea,…and how you're going to position yourself…with your customers.…