Stop Competing. Start Differentiating.

Most small business owners are competing on the wrong things.

Lower price. Better service. Being "the best."

Sounds smart.

It's not.

Competing on Price

Competing on price is a race to the bottom.

There is always someone willing to do it cheaper.

Always.

If your strategy is, "I'll just be a little less expensive," you're not building a business. You're building pressure. And you can't keep being the cheapest as you scale.

Competing on Service

Everyone says they offer superior service.

Every website says it. Every brochure says it. Every LinkedIn profile says it.

"Unmatched customer experience."

Okay.

That doesn't separate you. You're a commodity.

Competing on Being Better

"I'll just outwork them." "I'll add more." "I'll improve faster."

Even if you pull ahead...

They'll catch up.

Then you work harder again.

That's exhausting.

Here's the Shift

Don't try to be better.

Be different.

Different is not louder. Different is clearer.

Offer a unique solution to a unique person with a unique problem. (That's the Unique 3.)

When you do that, you stop chasing everyone.

And the right people start recognizing themselves in what you say.

Now Here's the Exercise

What is your unique SOLUTION, to a unique PERSON's, unique PROBLEM?

Fill in this sentence:

I help __________ who struggle with __________ achieve __________ in a way that __________.

Be specific.

Not "small business owners." What kind?

Not "marketing problems." Which problem?

Not "grow their business." How exactly?

And the last line matters.

"In a way that..."

That's where your difference lives.

That's where your personality lives. Your philosophy. Your edge.

Here's mine:

I help midlife Wantrepreneurs who struggle with finally starting their own business to reach out for their dreams in a way that makes them proud and their family proud of them as well.

That's not for everyone.

It's not supposed to be. There are plenty of fabulous experts helping others become entrepreneurs.

But when someone reads that and thinks, "That's me," we're no longer competing.

We're connecting.

Clarity Wins

Write your sentence.

Tighten it.

And stop trying to beat everyone.

Start trying to reach someone specific.

This article first appeared in my LinkedIn newsletter, Approachable Entrepreneurship.

Got your sentence? Now put it to work.

Once you know exactly who you help, the next step is talking with them in a way that feels like a conversation, not a pitch. How to Sell When You Hate to Sell shows you how with the N.I.C.E. method.

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