The jiu jitsu way of ugrading your sales and profit.

As many Brazilians I’m a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and Judo enthusiast. The idea of a small opponent to submit a much bigger opponent makes me think how can someone use his mind to improve his business, overcome his adversities.

In the beginning of Last century, Helio Gracie, a small weak guy, which never trained Jiu Jitsu, with his brothers, learned and developed this art, changing and refining the Light Way of combat.

The light way can be applied on business, relationship and any other aspect of life. It is basically based on knowing yourself, your opponents and the field of your combat (like Sun Tzu) and applying your force not to fight your opponent, but to conduce his power and use his own strength to quickly submit him.

Regarding marketing, you have to know your company, know your competitors and know your potential market. Use your company strength not against his strength, but to search the market and the spaces that your opponent does not cover, using only your best. And improve your best, daily to quickly gain share.

So check your product, if you’re a forwarder, check your routes, check where you’re most accepted. Don’t start saying “China is my biggest business” or “USA is my biggest Buyer today”. You have to focus on your real potential, wich cargoes does your company always won? What companies? What is the most competitive route, were you can take advantage of high profit with competitive prices? Sometimes your costs are not your strength, for some customers being trustable, transparent, proactive, support his operations are much more valuable than USD 100,00 on a final freight offer.

Focus on that, keep increasing the competitiveness and searching ways to improve the competitiveness of each area, if you see an opportunity stick with it, show to the world that you got that opportunity and overcome your opponents through creativity and leadership. Doesn’t matter if you got the smallest market, if so, your customer will see you as the guy that got the best prices even in the smallest market. And when you get the bigger ones, you will overwhelm more and more customers.

This is a light way of finding and increasing your marketshare.  Ok, in the first class of Jiu Jitsu or judo, you will probably do nothing but learn how to fall and how to defend yourself, you’ll not have a free match until you know how to defend yourself, and I do not expect that I have told you all the way. But I wish It opens your mind for how you deal with the market that surrounds you. Not fighting for the biggest customers at once, but searching your competitiveness for the customers that really need you and then, give some more steps.