I was coaching one of our members a few weeks ago during our “What’s Your Jam?” workshop where we figure out “Why should someone refer you over your competitors based on your unique strengths and expertise?” It struck me how difficult it is for people to see how they’re better and different while I can see it so clearly.
We avoid the old Unique Selling Proposition at this stage because that makes the assumption you clearly understand your “Zone of Genius” (which you can read more about in Gay Hendricks’ book The Big Leap).
Our members are quite accomplished but they keep running into problems when it comes to explaining “why them” to a stranger. It’s even harder when they try to explain it to someone they know should be giving them referrals.
This is a problem I encounter often, so I started in my usual fashion asking questions to see what I could learn using one of our frameworks to help guide the discussion.
Within minutes, she could see much more clearly what she was missing. I could see the gears clicking into place as opposed to rubbing against each other like they do when you’re quite not in gear driving a stick shift.
I chuckled and said, “It’s easy for me to see your forest and guide you there than it is for you.” She stopped me and said
“You don’t understand how huge this is.”
She continued to explain all of the benefits this simple framework gave her. It even allowed her to find significant hidden revenue in her existing client base! She told me “It’s one of your best kept secrets!”
I’ve always received feedback on how valuable this section is for people and the game changer it is for some in their business but i didn’t fully appreciate it until it she pointed it out.
I have always downplayed it because it’s easy for me.
I fell into the same trap that our members fall into. I take for granted all of the things that are valuable to my members because they come easy and naturally to me.
Her comment reminded me of all of the times we have encouraged our members to lead with these things that are “easy” to them. Often we are brainwashed into thinking “If it’s easy for me and I don’t have to spend so much time on it, why would someone pay for it.”
How many times have you evaluated someone’s value on how long it would take them to accomplish a task or how many hours they would give you?
I’m guilty.
I have dealt with this my whole life.
Working in corporate, I often worked long hours feeling like if I wasn't putting in the hours I wasn't "earning" my paycheck.
When I started my own business, I regularly added extra hours and calls so that I was matching my hours worked with the dollars charged.
When I offer value to my referral partners, I often overlook the things that come easy to me that would be of significant value to them especially if it would only take me 15-minutes.
To stand out from the crowd and to potential referral partners, you probably don’t have to look very hard. You’re most likely simply overlooking the things that come easy to you.
So over to you.
What do you provide that’s “easy” that you might be overlooking its value?
It's worth reflecting on because you’ll probably discover YOU’RE probably paying more for your “hard work” whereas YOU could get paid more for things that are“easy work”.
P.S. Ready to get more of the clients you want and less of the clients you don’t by leveling up your referral game? Then click here to find out if you qualify for an invitation to our B2B Network.