by Time for another Clarity Question to help you sell unique in your biz…
(What’s a ‘Clarity Question’?
Each month I share a new question you can ask about your business, to inspire you or bring clarity to your messaging…
It’ll be something I’ve learned from one of the smart minds in marketing / business, something I use in my own process, or something a client has taught me.
Questions like these are a key component of creating successful sales messages.)
“What’s one thing about which you disagree with almost everyone else in your area of expertise?”
In other words, what are you swimming upstream against?
Every biz-owner has their own personal bugbear, special soapbox to stand on or myth they just gotta debunk…
You know:
That one opinion that draws eye-rolls from those who know you best when they sense the topic coming up (or when you blatantly shoehorn it into conversation – not judging! We all do it).
Conventional wisdom, commonly held beliefs…
They’re merely sacred cows waiting to be, er, shot down? Slain? (Butchered? Doesn’t seem right. I like cows.)
Perhaps you feel that way about a few things – but there’s usually one big ‘assumed truth’ you just can’t help exposing as the hype, urban myth or even harmful lie it actually is.
Maybe you even built a business around it…
Like if you use a too-often dismissed material to make luxury goods your customers love, flying in the face of what the snooty crowd prefer…
Or you preach the wonders of email marketing over social media advertising for your clients…
Or you believe, like Copy Chief founder Kevin Rogers, that ‘Nobody Writes Alone’ – that copywriters need a place to get peer-group feedback on their promos, rather than typing away alone in traditionally splendid isolation.
So what does answering this particular question have to do with Selling Unique and connecting with your ideal customers?
It’s about grasping opportunity…
Because what’s just blindly received wisdom for others in your niche is actually a powerful weapon in your contrarian hands…
It’s the sword only YOU can pull from the stone and wield in battle.
And when you use it in your messaging, this challenge to the status quo becomes your shining beacon for attracting kindred spirits…
…and paying customers.
For instance:
Think about how Steve Jobs challenged Apple’s designers to build a computer THEY wanted to use, rather than the lazily received wisdom of what others assumed ‘the market’ wanted…
And how Apple then positioned their ‘84 Macintosh as fighting back against the mundanity of a dictatorial regime in their famous ‘1984’ ad (first shown 35 years ago this week, during the Super Bowl).
Or how Airbnb toppled the conventional wisdom that you needed to stay in a hotel when you booked a vacation…
Or how Dave Asprey, CEO and Founder of Bulletproof Coffee, wanted to feel better and have more energy in his 40s than he had in his 20s – and believed it was possible to achieve that himself through ‘biohacking’.
Here’s how Asprey introduces his idea to new visitors to bulletproof.com’s blog:
If you’re like most people, you learned the same things I did growing up: you’re stuck with the brain you were born with, being skinny or fat is genetic, and performance is a matter of effort.
Oh, and there’s nothing you can do about it.
I can tell you that none of that is true.”
Sound inspiring? For many people it was…
Asprey’s company sold over 48 million cups of butter coffee in 2016 alone, as his contrarian message resonated with breakfast-skeptics worldwide.
Challenging a received wisdom in your industry is a great way to get clear on your unique value, and draw people into the story behind your message.
But it also helps you:
- Establish your unique voice – if you can stand up for your beliefs in an entertaining or distinctive way
- Draw attention to your brand – if you have a controversial opinion or new perspective (and can back up your claims), you can build ad campaigns and content marketing around it
- Challenge your audience’s assumptions and limiting beliefs – and help them better understand their problems
- Stand apart from ‘the competition’ – zig when everyone else zags, and you’re less likely to get lumped in with the also-rans in your target prospect’s mind
- Define who your best customers are – the believers, kindred spirits and advocates all successful businesses need to grow and spread the word
When you answer this question in your messaging – like your About page, your ads, your sales pages, your written or broadcast content – you create a stronger bond with your audience.
They don’t all have to agree with you, either…
Engaging in discussion with people who care about your topic either way can be a useful process.
So try answering this provocative Clarity Question yourself, and send out a clearer signal that you stand for something…
That your product or service is born out of more than just a need to fill a gap in the market…
That you’re here to demonstrate there is a better way, to challenge the status quo and open minds.
Here’s this month’s Q again:
What’s one thing about which you disagree with almost everyone else in your area of expertise?
How would YOU answer that?
Hit up the comments below to tell me, and I’ll share my take on how you can implement your specific answer in your core sales message.
