If I needed what you do, so whatever service you provide, or whatever it is that you do for a living, if I needed it, why would I choose you?  

Because I’m sure there’s a whole heap of other people out there that do exactly the same thing.  

Anyway, there’s a woman called Sally Hogshead,

I have major brain crush on her.  

And she has this thing called the Fascinate Test.

And basically what it says, and what she says, (it’s kind of like her mantra) is different is better than better.  

So instead of just trying to be better than someone else, so that they choose you because you are better.  

Now, that might be your advantage, and that’s okay.  

But for everybody else, who’s not necessarily the best of the best of the best, sometimes your advantage and she has this whole test you can do to find out what yours is.  

But your advantage is what makes you different.  

And it’s such a beautiful thing to reflect on.  

Because I might think that what my difference is or why I’m different to other people might not be a competitive advantage, I might think that it holds me back.  

But in actual fact, it’s what helps you stand out.  

And I remember there were a number of us, coach, consultants kind of people that were all pitching to do some work with an advice / accounting business.  

And there was three of us that were in the running.  

And the female advisor who actually made the final decision, I went to her afterwards and I said, “why did you choose me, because there was three of us, right?”  

And she said, “the reason I chose you, is you were the only one who showed any real excitement and enthusiasm about doing this work with us.” 

So she said, “you weren’t the cheapest, but you were the one that got us most excited, and most invited into that energy and that excitement about doing this, with you particularly.”  

And I thought, oh wow, that’s really cool.  

Because everything else kind of stacked up, I wasn’t the cheapest.  

There were others that were doing similar work, all promising similar outcomes, etc.  

So it was that difference that actually ended up being the competitive advantage that I was able to use in this case.  

So what is it for you?  

What is it that makes you different to someone else doing similar work?  

You know, maybe it’s your energy, maybe it’s your approach.  

Maybe it’s your nature and the way that you go about it. 

Maybe it’s the fun, care-loving spirit that you’ve got. 

Maybe it’s your past experience, there’s got to be something in there, that makes you different.  

Maybe it’s that you know, you are that really kind of more nerdy, serious, but you’ve got a really wicked sense of humor. 

 Whatever it might be, and I’m just kind of making some things up and having a bit of a play with it.  

But there’s something about you that’s unique or different to others that are doing the same work.  

So what is that?  

Because that’s your competitive advantage.  

And where does that play out in your work, in your marketing in your conversations, that can really help people understand why they choose you over choosing someone else.  

I found that really helpful, and it’s been something I’ve been able to use so I hope it’s something you can use too. 

Because after all, You are Valuable!