Many people want the prestige and money that comes with establishing a reputation of quality, but far too few are willing to do what it takes.
I can't number the times I've consulted with clients and prospects to become an authority on their subject as a way to establish trust and creditability as well as generate traffic on the internet. Yet I often hear a verbal or nonverbal response of "That's hard!"
I guess it shouldn't be a real shocker that many of us respond that way as we seem to be lazy by nature. Perhaps that is why it is relatively easy to excel in this world. All it really takes is a fractional amount of extra effort to distinguish yourself from your competition. Most of your competition is willing to work hard and long, but few are willing to think about their efforts before they start them.
So you want to break out from the crowd? Start thinking. Don't know what I mean? Write an article about your industry that would clear some of the fog that mystifies your prospects and clientele about your service or product. Then rewrite it. Send it to a couple of your best clients and get some feedback. Then publish it. Put it up on your website. Work it into your marketing. Just the exercise alone will clarify a lot for you. It will refine your unique selling proposition. It will help you see ways that you could enhance your business to increase the value of your goods or services to your clientele. It may open up an new market that no one, including your competition, realized existed!
Do you think you'll find that advantage as you're just doing it, doing it, doing it? As you're working in the business, working in the business, working in the business??? Not a chance. If you're not writing about your business right now, start with an article a month. Once you've got that down, you'll find it easy to bump it up to an article a week. Rotate through your clientele as you send out your best draft for feedback. Even if they don't respond they'll get some education about your business, your products or your services.
Just think about how much rapport you could build with your clients if you maintained contact with them by educating them instead of just asking for their business! Everyone else is just asking, asking, asking! Take the rewarding step out of survival mode and into enriching mode. I'm telling you the difference is amazingly huge and as you service your clients and prospects with valuable information, just be amazed at the difference it will make in the quality of your business.