Where's Waldo?

Imagine there are 5 black buildings. That’s all you know about them except that you need a black building. Which black building do you pick?

Now, what if one of the black buildings had white trim around the windows? Do you pick that one?

CVS or Walgreens. Pepsi or Coke. McDonalds or Burger King.

Who are you? What would make someone pick ‘that one’?

Too many choices can be overwhelming for a decision-maker. When there’s a sea of what appears to be the same, how do you stand out? You need something that will make someone know exactly when to call you and make them want to. Everyone has a story to tell and something that makes them different. This is the time to embrace your differences either as an organization or as an individual.

Where do you start?

As an organization (see below for as an individual):

1. Understand your target audience. When there are thousands of options, who would be your first call to talk to about your business? Now think about why they would want to speak to you and what their wants and needs are. Don’t make assumptions, ask. Where do you see your business going in the next 3-5 years? What is your biggest challenge today? How could I help?

2. Understand who your competitors are. In a corporate landscape, you’ll need to evaluate culture, services offered, pricing structure, and industry targets.

3. What’s your why? Think about why you even started the business. You likely felt like there was a gap in the market that needed to be filled. Alternatively, you might have just wanted to jump on the bandwagon. This is going to make it harder to find your value proposition. Copying others doesn’t give you a driving vision that will sustain over time. Find your purpose and/or pivot before it’s too late.

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As an individual:

1. Think about your story. You might feel that you are different because you had a successful go live. That’s great, but no one cares. What was your role? Did you share your knowledge or create something that would provide value along the way? Were you leading anyone else? Did you overcome anything?

2. What can you bring to the next role? Think about what you want to do next. What can you do for them that no one else can? Are you really ready for something else and what makes you think so?

3. Who else knows your story? It’s one thing for you to tell your own story, but if other people can also speak on your behalf it goes a long way. This is why referrals work in your favor. When someone else is telling your story, it removes the risk for the person making the decision because you’ve already proven yourself vs. someone they’d have to take a chance on. If you don’t know anyone at the organization, building your virtual presence gets you seen as well.

Go back to thinking about the black building with the white trim. Was the white trim visible from the street or did you have to get up close?

Don’t make people work hard to find the differentiator or they’ll just drive right by. Make them stop traffic to get to your building because it was so appealing to them.

How do you make it appealing? That’s going to be a whole other article so make sure you

Talk again soon!