How can you stand out from the competition?
I’ll give you the answer in less than a minute, but first you should know…
Tomorrow is Friday the 13th and it’s my birthday! It’s my lucky day.
I’ll be headed into… 
NYC to celebrate with a dinner out with my son, daughter, their spouses and of course my cherished wife.
It’s a tradition in my family. We get together for every family birthday – which is the best present of all. Yes, I’m a sap for my family – now you know.
Then this Sunday I’ll be headed to Vermont, for a week of skiwork. As I write this, it’s snowing on the slopes and by the time I get there the skiing should be sweet. It’s been 8 months since I had my ACL replaced and I’m looking forward to putting it to the test.
As usual, I’ll be skiing mornings and then settling down to work after a hearty lunch in front of the fire. Hope you’re having as much fun too.
So back to the question… what’s the difference between you and your competition?
Hint: if you’re paying attention, I just gave away the answer above.
Do you know what it is?
No matter what business you’re in – the biggest differentiator, the one that clinches the deal every time is (drum roll) the strength of your relationship with your prospects and clients.
It’s not your services or products.
Yes what you do and sell is key, but unless you live in a tiny town, typically there are dozens of people who provide the same or a similar service as you do.
The biggest differentiator is how well your prospects know you, trust you and understand the value of what you do. And I’m not just talking about knowing what your company does.
I’m talking about you as a person, and the personal connections you make with prospects.
Over and over I hear from people on my subscriber list who tell me they love it when I tell them about my skiing adventures (of course that may just be the skiers talking – but what a great connection). Or before Christmas when I wrote about recipes and systems, I got a lot of positive feedback.
In this digital age, people, your prospects crave contact, personal contact – which is why every successful company I know not only uses email marketing, but picks up the phone and talks to prospects, does webinars and meets prospects in person.
Think about it, the more you know about your prospect, the more you know what they want and the easier it is to help them.
Conversely, the more prospects know about you and the other leaders in your organization, about your likes and dislikes, your pet peeves, your hobbies, travels, tastes in food, football or whatever, the more they can paint a clear picture of you in their minds – and remember you when they have a need for your products and services.
When people call to schedule an appointment to talk about working together, typically they’ve read, listened and heard from me and feel like they know me – that I’m more than just some anonymous dude after their wallet.
How about you?
Do your prospects know 3-5 things about you that differentiate you as a person (not just as a business) from your competition?
If not.. start talking about that yourself. Tell people the funny stories about when your car got towed on your first date with your then to-be wife, or what your Uncle Harry said at Thanksgiving that made the turkey leave the table, or… Most of all let your personality shine through – and you’ll connect with many more prospects and prosper.
To your success,
Charlie
MarketingForSuccess.com
ClientsDelivered.com
Sell More. Profit More. Live More.
P.S. Ready to have our crack team of twenty help you attract more clients? Currently we’re booked for the rest of the month, but if you’re interested in working with me personally and our team, our art director, web designers, copywriters, SEO and social media experts, make sure to schedule your free marketing strategy session.
Just email lauren at lauren [at] clientsdelivered [dot] com
P.P.S. Think snow! 2-3 feet would be a great birthday present.
