Do you feel that what you do for clients is really different from your competitors? Many service providers I speak with do not feel they are really different. Or, they tell me they provide great service, which is like saying they are not different. ;) And there are two ways to look at this. On the one hand, if you are a sales trainer, then at the end of the day, you are providing clients with sales training. And that is what all of your competitors are doing. On the other

Last week, we sent out a newsletter for my client, Stephanie, who is a financial planner. It currently goes out to 295 prospects, clients and referral partners. From the one email last week, she had two people contact her to schedule initial meetings. How does she get such a good response rate? Clarity combined with differentiation. Let’s look at the “competition” Stephanie is up against: Have you met any financial planners? I have certainly met quite a few, particularl

Last weekend, I was reading the second draft of a book by a College Planning Specialist. The book explains how to successfully plan for college as the costs of college continue to grow. And it is a fantastic book. However, it suffered from one big issue: information overwhelm. When I gave that feedback to the author, she was surprised. She thought she had really simplified things (and she had). However, it was still too much information for someone being exposed for the fir

Is your marketing message clear? I commonly find two extremes when talking with service providers. Neither is ideal. Some service providers tell you they are like everyone else: “I sell commercial real estate” or “I am a banker.” While this makes it clear what you do (if you are in a well-known field), it is missing two crucial elements. First, you don’t tell them what you do for them. Yes it is implied, but most people only tune into things that are relevant to them. S