Here’s an important question: why would a prospective client
choose you over your competition?  Surely
you are different from the others. What is it? Most professionals can’t answer
that question. They haven’t worked through their response so they come across sounding
like everyone else.

What do you say to a prospect? Do you talk about how hard
you work to provide the technical competence required to solve the difficult
and complex problems? Do you explain how client service is your most important
priority? Do you mention the depth of resources available to you? Do you indicate
how many years of experience you have to understand the issues they face?

While all of these are important, they are precisely the
same points your competitors use. They say they work hard, have expertise,
provide excellent service, have resources and know the industry. So, if you and
your competitors say the same things, you haven’t given the prospective client
anything from which to decide. Having considered the options, your prospect can
only say, “Well, they are all the same.” In your attempts to differentiate
yourself from the pack, you’ve made yourself a part of the pack.

This is such an important issue for you, which is why I
write about it so frequently. You MUST know what you bring to the market place
that is your unique offering or else you simply blend into the pack and admit
to the prospect to just pick one, because any one will do. I don’t agree any
one will do. One of my core beliefs is that every professional has a specific
offering to make to the market that the market needs. Not every prospect, but
the specific prospects for whom you are uniquely qualified to serve. What’s
yours?

When I coach my clients to differentiate themselves, I
lead them through a discovery process that includes considering the following:

1. Reflect on what’s important to you as you practice your profession.

2. Identify the specific technical contributions you can make that are important to your clients.

3. Ask your clients what they like about doing business with you.

What you come up with forms the essence of your statement
of differentiation. The point is to be able to communicate why you are the
provider of choice. It’s the only way prospects will know why to choose you.

This week, refine your statement of differentiation so you can separate yourself from the pack.