What Makes You Different? What Are Your Signature Steps?
With the sweltering heat this summer many of us are finding ourselves ducking into our local ice cream shops to cool down. Now there must have been at least 5 different ice cream shops on the block and what made us stop at the one we did? What drew me in –the sign said “homemade” on it. I’m a sucker for homemade ice cream.
Then when I went inside (just for a taste) each little sticker said “we make our own” above every flavor. Now I know logically that many of the ice cream stores on the block sold homemade ice cream. But they didn’t say it with total clarity. This one did. And for that reason it got my business.
Here’s another example. There are literally 5 different coffee/tea shops on some New York City Streets. It’s to the point now where in any given five block radius, you are likely to find at least two.
So how do you tell which one to go into? Which one clearly tells you the difference – what makes them different than the shop 4 doors down? Many times that is the problem when it comes to business we do not know what sets us apart from the competition.
What makes you different? Does it shine in your web copy, in your newsletters, in your videos, and when you talk to people?
So many of us struggle to figure out what this point of difference is. Here are some places that you can look to find your point of difference.
1. The first place is always you – your personality, your tone, your way of explaining things. I was reminded of this when I watched the Katy Perry movie this week. She found the most success when she was allowed to be truly herself. She didn’t have to be the next “XYZ person”. She is the first Katy Perry.
The more you get comfortable with showing the real you, the more you’ll stand out to your followers. For example, one of my clients is particularly goofy and she doesn’t hide it. In her writing style, she uses a casual and funny tone. When she does videos, she’ll wear wigs or do funny dances. Her crowd loves her. And the most important thing is that she isn’t afraid to be herself.
2. The second place to be different is through determining your signature steps. Your signature steps are like your table of contents or curriculum for what you teach your clients (check out the step by step to identifying your signature steps in the Revenue Breakthrough Program – Details Here). The beauty of signature steps is that each of your steps can be blown out to be its own mini system. So you can go deep into each step of your program.
What this allows is for you to be known in specific areas, for specific concepts. You aren’t trying to cover all things and be a jack-of-all-trades. And you’ll get to be known for being an expert on the particular topics in your program.
You don’t need to showcase your signature steps on your website or in your materials. Your followers will just begin to understand what it is once you’ve been using it to write your articles and create your content.
For example, if you’ve been following me for a while, you probably know that money concepts, marketing strategy, and business systems are all in the signature steps that I teach my clients, namely because these are the topics that I write about.
3. The third place to stand out is with your background. I find that most service professionals tend to hide their most valuable achievements in this area.
For example, one of my clients was brilliant at alleviating mindset blocks for business owners. It was buried deep in her biography that before she became a coach, she had a thriving practice as a psychotherapist. We moved that information to the front page and made it part of her angle. It wasn’t long before she was being asked to speak on stage and in people’s telesummits as a mindset expert.
Because her potential clients were comforted by her background as a therapist, it became easier for her to convert clients.
Another client had published three books before becoming a health coach and was currently writing one on health issues. Again, this was buried in her biography. We moved it up to the front page to show her level of expertise as a researcher and writer.
By framing herself as a health coach with writing experience, she’s now positioning herself to get columns for women’s health magazines.
A third example is of a new platinum client whose background is as an artist. She’s growing a business as a personal chef and nutritionist. We took her background as an artist and used it highlight her ability to create art with the food in her client’s kitchens. She’s used her background to make her stand out in a crowded market place.
What makes you different? Your followers deserve to know. Not only will it attract more clients to you, but it will also make it easier for your current clients to speak about you to their friends.
Don’t be shy. Look at your style, your signature steps and your history. Step into your competitive advantage. You can even ask those around you what makes you different, sometimes they see things you do not. Be bold and step into who you are!
Leave me a comment and let me know what makes you different.
