I can't help but notice, however, that on occasion as I am riding the stationary bike, someone will get on the machine next to me and I will, without consciously thinking about it, pick up my pace a bit.

Conversely, I have also noticed if I get on a machine next to someone, they'll often do the same thing. Most people have a high desire for competition. This drive may or may not be something we embrace. I'm a competitive person who embraces it. As a sales person I loved challenging myself using other people's records as benchmarks. I would constantly challenge myself to double or triple what the other sales people around me were doing.

You see competition in everyday life most intensely where there are limited resources. (Just look to the animal kingdom as they compete for water, food, mates.) Humans, especially in the United States, compete on economic bases. We all know about the survival of the fittest. . . It's seldom about trade and cooperation. On some level or another, we compete--money, mates, parking spots. When we're not out there competing ourselves, we sit around and watch others compete (sports, reality TV, beauty contests. . .)

As for my gym observation, this showed me how competition can be an added incentive for self improvement. Some part of my mind says that by showing the person on the next machine what I'm made of by working out harder or faster, then I'm only doing myself good. In this respect, competition can be healthy. A drinking contest is obviously an entirely different story.

So how can this base instinct be used most effectively for selling our products or services? Well, we see it all the time. . . two gas stations across the street from each other with slightly different prices, the lower of the two deciding to take that much less for the product. I'm not suggesting you lower your prices by any means, but through framing, we can show ourselves, our products, our services, as the answer in the minds of our affluent prospects and clients. 'I am by no means the cheapest, and in fact, I may be one of the more expensive realtors, but you really do get what you pay for.'

What is your relation to competition? Do you embrace it or shy away from it? And how can you begin to use it for persuasion purposes?