One of my mentors recently tried to warn me NOT to tell my prospects how much better I was than the competition.
He said stop trying to ‘beat’ the competition – and that I’m making a HUGE mistake!
It got me curious… why wouldn’t I want to educate my prospects on what I do better and beat the competition?
So then he painted the following picture for me… and it suddenly all made sense.
Steve Jobs from Apple used a clever tag line ‘Think Different’, which has seen Apple become one of the most successful brands of all time… there’s a lesson in there, he said.
When somebody tells you how ‘great’ they are, how credible does that really sound?
Does it carry much weight when they ‘toot their own horn’?
Let’s be honest… not really!
When I hear this, I find myself thinking ‘here we go again’ … ‘same old, same old’… it simply goes in one ear, and out the other.
Of course, most people end up spending considerable time ‘convincing’ and ‘selling’ their prospect on WHY they are better than everyone else… and then they end up competing on price, which is a race to the bottom.
Not where you want to end up!
Here’s what my mentor recommended to do instead…
Stop talking about how much better you are and trying to beat the competition and start pointing out how you are ‘different’, so you can stand out!
A-HA! Now this got my attention!
He said improvement is a one-way street to being broke, because it’s based on incremental iterations, nothing groundbreaking and exciting.
Most prospects are not really interested in buying an improved version of what they’ve already bought.
The majority of people always look for something new and unique.
If they’re trying to achieve certain goals, they want a different approach to get them the results, or achieve the goals they are aspiring for.
The reality is, the first method they tried obviously didn’t work, or they wouldn’t still be in the market… make sense?
So when they come across YOU and YOUR offering, or read YOUR content, or land in YOUR funnel or see YOUR ads… trust me, the last thing you want them to be thinking is “Oh, that again!”.
Instead, simply share a ‘unique’ methodology; idea or process that you have named… that can get them from point A to point B…
And you won’t have to struggle getting clients ever again!
Bold claim I know, but I’ve seen it work, time and time again.
You don’t want to be improving on what’s already out there. Rather, you want to ‘stand out’ from your competition!
As an example… I see hundreds; even thousands of businesses that want you to join them with the promise that you can make easy money.
Some sound very enticing, i.e. Amazon, MLM, Franchises, Dropshipping, ecommerce, Crypto currencies like Bitcoin, Share trading, Property investing, just to name a few.
We all know people who have done at least one if not more of these types of businesses. They make bold promises.
Now, some people are smart, hardworking, lucky and end up being successful in these types of ventures. I know some of these people well.
However, the vast majority end up losing and unfortunately I know even more of these types of people!
I find the above businesses businesses prey on the vulnerable that are simply looking to get ahead from A to B and make some money along the way.
Since understanding the pitfalls of these common approaches, I now do the opposite and share a whole new perspective and I’ve coined my own approach!
I tell people that I can help them start their own business on the side without risking their income, using the ‘BYO’ (build your own) approach!
I figure if I can help someone untap their own potential to start a business based on their skills, talent and passion to improve the lives of others, solve problems, or make a worthwhile contribution to society and then they will be naturally driven to succeed.
By coining it the ‘BYO’ approach, it also has a bit of intrigue, completely stands out from the competition and I don’t need to compete with the other business coaches and consultants out there – because I’m offering a completely new approach that nobody else is teaching!
So, as my mentor concluded…
Avoid trying to beat your competition!
Do as Steve Jobs did… ‘Think different’ … more importantly ‘Be different’ and stand out completely from the crowd.
