Answer this. Believe your answer. You’ll be well on your way to defining your competitive advantage, your value proposition and will become more successful at differentiating yourself and your company. You’ll be well on your way to moving away from the commodity business and being an innovative value creator.
Describe your client’s life before they started working with you. What problems did they face? What were their worries and concerns? What kept them up at night? What fears were they forced to live with as part of their regular work life?
Before you, did they know about the power of promotional products and all of the ways they can be used to solve business problems? Did they know that they could add a person to their staff who is a professional and who can make sure that every promotion program gets executed flawlessly? Did they know how to make sure their brand would always look great, and all their colors would be perfect? Did they know that they needed to make sure the products were safe and in compliance with safety regulations? Before you, how was their life different?
Describe your client’s life after they became your customer. What problems have you solved for them? How have you made them worry-free? Why do they sleep better? How do they feel more successful and more empowered? Can they imagine going back to life before they discovered what working with a real professional feels like?
Would they miss you if you left the business? What things do you need to do to make your customers feel that strongly? What are the things you can do for them that your competition has never even thought of doing?
This is not easy. But you don't want to be average. Average is just the best of the worst. Average is just good enough. It is also forgettable.
If you’re not making a noticeable, no, a REMARKABLE difference in their work, why should they choose you? It takes more than a low price to make this kind of difference.
Think about the difference — the Before and After Difference — that you can make in a client’s life. Then go out there and do it.
Paul Kiewiet MAS+ is an industry speaker, writer, consultant and coach. He serves as the executive director of MiPPA. Kiewiet was inducted into the PPAI Hall of Fame and the MiPPA Hall of Fame. He served as Chairman of PPAI in 2007. A former distributor, he founded Promotion Concepts, Inc in 1982 and worked with some of America’s most valuable brands including Coca-Cola, Kelloggs, and Whirlpool.