What if the secret to growing your reseller business isn’t copying what your competitors are doing, but deliberately choosing not to? When we constantly compare ourselves to others, we stifle our creativity and lock ourselves into following someone else’s path. This is the “comparison trap.”
The comparison trap convinces us that success looks like what the competitor down the street is doing. But here’s what happens when you break free from comparison: You unlock the mental space to identify untapped niches, develop specialized expertise and build a business that stands apart rather than competes head-to-head.
This is not to say that we should ignore what others are doing. But when comparison becomes the lens through which you measure your own worth and direction, it prevents you from carving out the unique position that will actually differentiate your business and fuel sustainable growth.
Let’s look at five ways to avoid the comparison trap.
1. Create a Clear Vision
The first step is to create a clear vision for your reseller business or for yourself as a salesperson or CSR. What do you want to become? What would you be so excited about that you would do it for free? What type of work, customers or products excite you?
Let’s say you’re a reseller who’s been doing general commercial work. Instead of comparing your business growth to that of the competitor down the street, define your own vision. For example, “Within three years, I want to be the go-to partner for custom durable labels in the industrial and manufacturing sector.” That specific vision—asset tags, equipment labels, safety compliance labels—becomes your North Star. When you see a competitor post about landing a Fortune 500 marketing campaign, you won’t feel inadequate because that’s not your path. Your competitor can’t compete with your new area of expertise.
2. Establish a Plan and a Path
Write down your plan for how you will reach your goal. If you have a trusted peer group or mentor, ask for their opinions and—this is the hard part—listen to the feedback without becoming defensive.
Suppose your vision is to become the regional specialist in custom business forms for medical practices. You map out your plan: research HIPAA-compliant requirements, develop sample kits, attend healthcare conferences. Your mentor, however, suggests you’re spreading yourself too thin and recommends focusing on family practices initially, skipping hospitals for now. Instead of getting defensive, you listen and adjust. That feedback saves you from burnout and actually accelerates your path.
3. Execute The Plan
This is the most important step. When you are busy executing, you do not have the time to compare yourself to others. Execution is also critical because te lack thereof is often the biggest reason for not reaching your vision.
Say you’ve committed to launching custom prime labels for small-batch food producers. The execution is intense: getting FDA-compliant samples, building pricing matrices, understanding nutrition labeling requirements, onboarding your first five clients. During this period, you notice a competitor announcing they’ve expanded into large-format retail graphics. Three years ago, that might have rattled you. But you’re so immersed in executing your new vision that you barely have time to think about the past. Your current momentum insulates you from the comparison trap.
4. Review Weekly
Review your progress weekly—quotes obtained, orders closed, revenue generated. Documenting this progress gives you concrete evidence that you’re moving forward on your own path, which makes external comparisons irrelevant.
5. Set Your Plan for the Coming Week
After reviewing your week, set specific actions for the coming week and put them on your calendar as non-negotiable appointments. Monday 9-11 AM: Follow up with label quotes. Tuesday 2-3 PM: Meet with your largest client about expanding their orders into new product categories. Wednesday 8-10 AM: Create a pharmaceutical labeling sample kit.
By treating your plan like appointments, you ensure execution happens—and execution keeps you out of the comparison trap.
Conclusion
Comparison is a normal human trait. It can bring us down or spur us on depending on how we utilize it. If we stay focused on our own goals and continually monitor our progress, we can avoid the comparison trap.
Bill Prettyman is CEO of Wise, Alpharetta, GA. Wise manufacturers industrial/prime labels and tags, traditional forms and digitally printed products and services for resale only. For more information, visit www.wbf.com or email Bill at [email protected].
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