[Issue 32] Does This Question Make You Uncomfortable?
How to beat it (and stand out) by nailing your messaging
[Photo by Philipp Mandler on Unsplash]
The Odysseus Files, Issue 32
Playing Your Own Game, Part 9
Addressing the Elephant in the Room
“Why should I pick you?”
Of course, prospective customers rarely say those words out loud. (Especially to our face!)
But it’s what they’re thinking.
(At least subconsciously.)
Does that question make you nervous?
Clues you can tell it does:
You immediately feel the pressure to start reviewing all of your past accomplishments, experiences, etcetera to justify yourself.
You fumble over trying to explain what it is exactly you do.
You feel the need to lump your competitors together in one big, generic heap & dismiss them as being “wrong,” “sleazy,” or “poor quality.”
Somewhere you have sales copy that says something along the lines of “This isn’t for you if…” then goes on to list a bunch of negative characteristics that no one would ever describe themselves as (hint: this line is code for “I’m for everyone!”).
Look, we’ve all done the above. And will likely be that way for a while, as we continue on the journey of figuring out what makes us different & own that. (I’m there ✋.)
Wanna circumvent those ugly self-justification feelings so you can pitch your services & sell your products with confidence?
It starts where we left off last week.
How to Establish Your Brand Position
In last week’s issue we focused on developing a positioning idea for your brand: an idea you can own in the minds of your audience. (Read it here, if you missed it.)
The next step after uncovering your idea is to be intentional about associating yourself with that idea - wherever you can.
You’re seeking to shape peoples’ perception of you: an especially hard task, if you have to change someone’s opinion.
Because you have to ensure consistency across every interaction & experience someone will have with you, it’s helpful to start with a platform of messaging tools that you can deploy as the core of your content, ads, media appearances, web copy, etcetera.
Think of this platform like a collection of signature stories, content pillars, key phrases you want associated with your brand, and anything else that would help infuse your positioning idea into everything you do & communicate.
But you need a framework to help determine what stories, phrases, etcetera you’ll add to your messaging platform. A hinge to link your positioning to your messaging, if you will.
And that’s where Jay Acunzo comes in.
The Best Advice I’ve Seen On Creator Positioning
There is a LOT of generic content on positioning out there. Much of it is vague & reduced to the advice to “specialize!” (I just came across another one of these this week…)
Fortunately, there are a few voices emerging from the murky swamp of bad internet business advice to correct this. And the leading name I’ve come across is Jay Acunzo, a brand storytelling coach, author, & podcaster.
Jay’s advice to creators, entrepreneurs, & experts wanting to stand out from the crowd: develop your premise.
A premise is the specific, defensible purpose for your project or platform, pulled from your personal perspective. It’s how you take those unique yet hard-to-describe parts of what makes you YOU, and package it up for an audience. It’s the missing link between positioning & messaging that we as creators NEED to nail down in order to build the right association with our brand’s name.
Jay goes on to describe what a premise does:
It’s an assertion → that something is off, and that fixing it means it SHOULD be a certain way
It provides motivation to act → it’s inspirational
It creates shared language → meaning people can rally around it
It creates resonance → that feeling of “YES! THIS!” that you want to trigger in your audience
(For a fuller explanation, read his article here.)
How do you uncover your premise?
Jay provides a 3-step framework. A premise is:
A problem that frustrates you
Resulting in your vision to solve it
That inspires people to act
Problem. Perspective. Purpose.
Define these for your brand. Get them out into the world in interesting, creative ways. Show your ability to deliver on your envisioned solution.
Now, answering the “why you?” question is a lot easier:
Because people will know the answer before ever coming to you.
P.S. - The concept of having a premise lines up very closely with the role of your acropolis walls (your unique point of view) discussed in Issue 15. You can read that here.