Competition exists in almost all businesses. If not direct product competition where you're selling the same item as someone else, then it'll be someone selling similar products in the same niche. If you can truly say you don't have any competition, trust me that it won't last, so this column applies to you too!

I've always found it odd that most business owners I talk to have a pattern of ignoring their competitors. However, the renegade approach is to do the opposite of the majority, and there are MANY benefits to be had by studying the competition.

RENEGADE STRATEGY 1:

Learn from what they're doing WRONG

I truly believe that you can often learn more from what a competing business is doing wrong, than the things they're doing right. If you watch Donald Trump's TV show, ?The Apprentice', (a must on your Tivo/DVR schedule) you'll notice this principle to be true ? you can learn a great deal from the mistakes made by contestants. So I hereby give you permission to study the WORST aspects of a similar business in your niche. What then? Simple. Go overboard with counteracting those weaknesses in your own business, and that strategy alone will immediately and dramatically make you stand out from the crowd.

RENEGADE STRATEGY 2:

Learn from what they're doing RIGHT

Every so often you'll come across a business that has either accidentally or deliberately created a marketing piece, a system, or some other innovation that is obviously driving a large number of sales for their product or service. Usually there's little value in copying the innovation outright, but you could seek to improve it with some creative thinking. Really, the key point is, unless you were in touch with the marketplace, how would you know this situation even existed?

RENEGADE STRATEGY 3:

Learn by being their customer

My guess is that you're not doing this right now, but why wouldn't you? When I say, ?be their customer?, I mean just that. Order something from them and carefully evaluate every detail of the transaction. What correspondence did you receive, and was it via email or mail, or both? What did it say? What was the tone ? friendly, sincere, matter of fact? Were you sent any follow-up offers or up-sells? It's remarkable how much ?inside' information can be gained from this simple act. Think about how much more power you have when you know competitors processes inside out.

How can you apply these techniques to eBay? Actually, there's a really easy way to keep a close eye on your competition. It's called ?favorite seller's'. Within any listing, there's a clickable link that reads ?add this seller to my favorites' (the exact wording might vary). Simply click the link to be kept notified via email about the sellers' latest items for sale! You'll be able to see when they change pricing, when they add new items, and so on. As an added bonus, I've included a list of eBay's current top sellers, for you to analyze what they're doing. Feel free to share your discoveries - the good, bad and the ugly.

Knowledge is most definitely power when the knowledge is applied in a smart way. Gain accurate knowledge of your competitors and use that information to dominate them by making your products and services superior.