Visit Your Competition to Build Confidence

Why don't you tour your competitors' stores more often? Is it because you are afraid you'll see your customers there and won't know what to say? In fact, though, visiting the competition can build your confidence. Here's part of a story Art Freedman tells starting on page 50 of Making Money Is Not Illegal, Immoral or Fattening:
"Consider what happened to me at a store in a small community in California. The store is owned by a father and daughter. They run the business. At the time I visited, a new Home Depot had come in.
"Now the three of us are going into Home Depot. We get to the counter. We are standing there watching the salesman on his cell phone. We hear him trying to set up a date for that night. I finally get his attention and mouth the words, 'I need to talk to you.' But that doesn't make one bit of difference to this guy. He's still on his cell phone yakking away about getting a date.
"No, he doesn't stop talking. Believe it or not, instead of that, he turns his back on us. I am now looking at the salesman's butt. I didn't want to have that in eyeshot for very long, so I turn to the daughter and say, 'Would you let that happen in your store?' She answers, 'Not in a million years, I wouldn't let that happen.' I said, 'Well, this is another reason why you're going to be fine, and these guys are going to be less successful because of you.'"
And as to what to say if you run into one of your customers at a competitor's store, try, "How does shopping here compare with shopping at my store?," and then use the information to improve even further.