The other day, someone reached out to me on Messenger because he had seen a post I left in a Facebook group. He asked me what I did and so I told him I was a time management expert. According to him, we probably wouldn’t get along as he “debunks the myth of time management on his show.”
Before saying anything, I asked him what he did. He said he was “a performance enhancement expert.”
Ah, I think the fitting expression here would be, “I say tomato, you say tomato.”
To stand out from his competition he has changed his title. Something that has become somewhat of a trend. People want to stand out any way they can. Here are some clever titles, you can figure out what jobs they refer to (click here to check your answers):
- Director of First Impressions
- Crayon Evangelist
- Digital prophet
- Chief Troublemaker
- Genius
With competition coming from everywhere today, differentiation is critical in today’s business world. Consumers want specialists, not generalists. We want the Gary Vees of the world.
So it got me thinking, what can do to stand out from your competition? Off the top of my head, I came up with six.
1. Rules are meant to be broken.
Imagine if everyone followed the rules. No Steven Spielberg. No Mark Zuckerberg. No Elon Musk. No Steve Jobs. I realize that rules are needed, because problems can arise. They help companies prevent frivolous lawsuits and costly errors. The problem is rules stifle creativity. They prevent some people from flourishing. A word to the wise, if you do decide to become a rule-breaker, tread carefully. Any executive will tell you there are always exception to the rule, but not everyone has the power to break them.
2. ‘No’ is just a two letter word.
People fear rejection. That’s why we don’t ask out the hot girl in school. We’re afraid she’ll say no. It doesn’t change when we get older. We’re afraid to apply for certain jobs. We’re afraid to ask for a promotion. All out of fear. As my father used to say, “The worst that can happen is they say ‘No.’” Good advice.
Forget about looking stupid or coming across arrogant, if you want anything in this world, you need to ask for it. People respect those who aren’t afraid to say what they want. It takes courage, but you’d be surprised just how easy and powerful it is.
3. Speak up.
Timidity gets you nowhere. People pay attention to those people who stand up and say something. There will be those people that agree with you, and those that don’t. No matter how hard you try, you can’t please everyone, so why bother? It’s amazing just how much people respect those who speak their mind.
4. Become a teacher.
Bob Burg talks about our world today being a giving society. Give, give and give some more. The more you give, the more it comes back to you. Teach others what you know. Don’t keep them hidden away for a rainy day. People are looking for answers so give them what they want.
5. Charge more.
Low price items are everywhere. You’ve got low priced airlines, low priced homes, low priced clothes. The only problem with low prices is that it’s ruthless. You may have the biggest market, but it’s also the toughest. There’s always someone willing to sell it for less. Forget about being cheap. Do the opposite and increase your prices. Instead of charging $500 for a membership program, charge $15,000. Huge difference. You’ll attract a different type of client: one that is willing to pay for more. (Just make sure you can give them something worth more than $15,000)
6. Study
”I didn’t have time” has to be the world’s most common excuse. I get it, we’re all busy. Have you noticed though, that some people seem to have lots of time on their hands? What’s their secret? Jim Rohn used to say, “Don’t wish it were easier. Wish you were better.” The work isn’t going to change. So either you change, or nothing’s going to change. I’m not talking about going back to college to get another degree. I’m saying read some books. Attend some conferences. Educate yourself. Here are a few books to help you get started, Jim Rohn’s The Five Parts to The Life Puzzle, Orison Swett Marden’s He Can Who Thinks He Can and Robert Kiyosaki’s Rich Dad, Poor Dad.
