In depictions of medieval England there are often tales of duels between knights to win the hearts of fair maidens. In most of these tales, the good guy triumphs in a battle of seemingly impossible odds, generally against a dastardly villain. But what happens when both of the knights are good guys? Even worse, what happens when they are both good and evenly matched in skill and bravado? 

Impasse. Both equal in might, both equally armed. Who, then, wins? Why, the cleverer of the two. Perhaps the one who says, "Look over there," or "Let's toss a coin." Or the one who is the more accomplished and artful swordsman. You can see why in most cases the writers steered clear of such a scenario!

The point is that in business there are many of us like those equally matched knights. We are all equally armed, with the same professional skills and most significantly, with the same marketing tools. Who wins the competitive battle, then?

• The one who best understands the market and can demonstrate that knowledge with practical advice.
  
  
• The one who understands the changing nature of professions and isn't locked into to just traditional ways of thinking and approaching a challenge.
  
  
• The one who understands the needs of the market, and how his/her firm exists to meet those needs.
  
  
• The one who really has the better professional skills, keeps them honed, and can demonstrate them consistently.
  
  
• The one whose marketing skills are more finely tuned, better understood, and more thoughtfully and imaginatively used.

In a world in which everybody has the same weapons and tools, this is the individual who is going to prevail.  To return to the analogy of the medieval battle this is the knight who showed up with a gun to a sword fight! Of course, if such a thing existed at the time.

Make it a checklist for your next pitch.