Think about all the famous and successful people you admire, whether they’re entrepreneurs, athletes, musicians, actors or humanitarians. What do they all have in common? It’s that they’re different to the average person. You don’t admire them because they’re doing the same thing as everyone else; you admire them because they’re different. If you want to [...]
It doesn't matter how good you are – your products will not magically sell themselves. If people don’t know you exist, how are they going to know you can solve their problem? And even if people do know you exist, why would they choose you over the hundreds of other businesses that do the same thing [...]
Somebody once told me that if you don’t ask your customers for testimonials, you have a hobby not a business. It’s so important to get reviews from your customers, because you can then take those reviews and use them to prove your value to potential future customers. I know it can feel awkward to ask customers [...]
There are two main reasons why business is hard. First, you've got lots of rivals fighting for the same customers. Second, it's hard for you to attract the attention of those customers and to differentiate yourself from those rivals. So imagine if there was some sort of way you could solve those two problems? Well, there [...]
Some people who watch my daily videos think I’m an idiot. But that’s fine, because other people like me. I’m authentically me, and when you’re authentically you, you immediately establish a point of difference for yourself, because nobody else is like you. The moment you or your small business start showcasing your personality, you’ll stand out [...]
The faster you move, the more you’ll differentiate yourself from your rivals. People associate speed with competence, which is why moving fast is a form of marketing. Most of your rivals are slow. So if you move fast when issuing quotes, responding to enquiries and doing jobs, you’ll leave a positive impression on your customers. High [...]
Want to know which businesses have problems? Businesses that look like every other business in the market. If you look like all your rivals, how will anyone notice you – and why would they choose you if they did? That’s why you need to find a way to differentiate your business, whether that’s in terms of [...]
Most people have a voice in their head urging them to blend in, urging them to seek safety in numbers. You need to resist that urge. After all, if you look just like your rivals, why would customers choose you? Cheaper prices would be the only reason. But competing on price is a bad idea, because [...]
Everything your small business says and does is marketing, because all your actions influence how your customers and referral partners perceive you. For example, my content marketing agency, Hunter & Scribe, pays all our invoices immediately. This is great marketing because it sends a message to suppliers that: We care We’re professional We’re trustworthy So if [...]
Picture two groups of animals. The first group is a really big mob of sheep. There are lots of sheep, and they all look the same. The second group is much smaller, and contains only individual animals – one horse, one cat, one dog, one giraffe, one frog. About 95% of people and small businesses are [...]
