What Makes You So Special?

(MoneyWatch)  Yesterday I spoke to the owner of a business who was getting more than a little fed-up with the quality of clients he was attracting. Furthermore, the conversation with prospective clients always centred around cost. Time and time again, he saw the quality of his work undermined by unreasonable financial demands.

I innocently asked what made his business any different from his competitors. He responded saying that his work was always delivered on time; was absolutely what the client wanted; that he was professional in his approach; consistent with his service delivery and so on and so on and so on.

Sounds familiar doesn't it? Chuck in a few "Australia's leading", "high integrity and values", "customer focused" and the like, and you've got every other service professional in the southern hemisphere.

Here's the point: so long as we don't have a real and meaningful point of difference, we only have ourselves to blame when it all comes down to price.

Splashing our services all over a website or into a lavish brochure will achieve little if those who read it forget whose website they are on, or whose brochure they are reading.

Get to the bottom of what makes you different and you'll jettison yourself away from conversations about fees.

Take a few moments to consider when you last paid for professional services. If cost was not a major determining factor, ask yourself why. What was it about the provider that allowed the cost of services to be secondary?

Thoughts? Comments? Let me have them.