Update: I was recently invited to a Halloween party/mixer. Being costume-challenged I believed it took too much time to find an appropriate outfit that was uniquely me. I mean, aren't we adults? And aren't costumes reserved for people with fantasy issues? But the peer pressure was too much.

I asked an associate if he'd wear a costume knowing fully well that he'd say no, so I wouldn't be alone in the ranks of the "less-spirited." Instead he gave me some simple suggestions that resulted in an "aha" moment. Since I play basketball and had a Michael Jordan jersey I went as MJ donning shorts, sneakers and toting a Spalding basketball. A championship ring would have been a nice accessory.

At the party I would have stood out without a costume because 95% were working out their fantasy issues. Then I would have beat myself up all evening thinking I should have dressed up in something. Anything.

In deciding on a costume I wanted to be unique yet not over the top. That's exactly what people want to know about your business. What makes you unique that they should consider you. That's what we'll explore in today's...

Feature Article: What Makes Your Business Unique?

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Go-for-the-jugular Intensity...

I'm writing this on election morning in San Diego, where the campaigning climate has been nothing short of enthusiastic. Over the weekend I witnessed supporters of California's Right of Same-Sex Couples to Marry holding signs on busy street corners asking drivers to honk if they agree. One young man in a van honked and then flipped them the bird. Even if he disagreed, he should have displayed better behavior.

Then a close friend informs me there's tension between his girlfriend and himself because they're on opposite sides of the presidential camps. He tries to explain his position using logic and doesn't quite understand her emotional attachment to her candidate.

You can't explain emotion because it incorporates intense feelings. Which is why emotion is stronger than logic. Once someone is emotionally attached to something or someone — it takes an equal or stronger emotional belief to become detached.

What Makes Your Business Unique?

Dear Associate,

At our speaking group's Halloween party I made my way to Claire, one of the newer members. She was decked out in an equestrian outfit with the riding coat, pants, boots but no riding crop. She even tied her red hair up in the back. She looked like someone you'd see in a professional horse-riding competition.

"Claire, didn't you say you teach piano," I asked.

"I teach young children how to play beginning piano," she replied. "I have about one dozen students. We perform two recitals each year."

"I've been looking for a part-time job because I'm losing a few students due to various reasons," she continued. "Three of my students are from one family. Their talented son is growing up and has picked up other interests."

"How do you market your business? In other words, how do you acquire new customers," I inquired.

"Through word-of-mouth," she answered. "But that's not going very well these days. That's why I have to look for another source of income: to supplement losing some clients."

Then I put her on the spot...

"Claire, if I were a parent looking for a piano instructor for my kids, why would I call you? What sets you apart from all the other beginning piano instructors in the area? What makes taking lessons with you more desirable than with anyone else," I wanted to know.

(Silence...)

"Well I have a teaching degree," she supposed, not knowing if that answer would be enough to satisfy the questions.

"That's not enough," I injected. "If I were a parent I'd want to know what makes sending my kids to you more pleasurable for me. What makes you unique? What sets you apart? What will my kids get from you they can't get from another piano instructor?"

(More silence...)

These are some of the basic questions every business owner should ask before starting a business. If you're opening a pizzeria in a shopping mall with two other established pizzerias, what would distinguish yours from theirs? Why would people choose your pizzeria over the other two?

Do you accept all major credit cards? Do you deliver? Do you offer a no questions asked ironclad guarantee? Maybe you offer valet parking. Perhaps you're the only pizzeria in the mall that uses fresh ingredients from Italy.

Or if you're consultant-based...

Maybe you're the coach who only works with six-figure clients. Perhaps you're the mentor who has a positive track record of steering problem teenagers onto the right course. Maybe you've been on local or regional talk shows. Or you've authored a workbook to help people get out of debt.

That's what your potential clients want to know. They want to see what makes you more unique than your competitors. They want to know what they're getting in return for giving you their business. They want you to tell them why they should know, like and trust you.

For Claire it could be her students always win awards at piano competitions. Maybe 17% shoot for Juilliard. Perhaps she teaches her students creative ad-lib basics. Just announcing she's a piano instructor is not enough to create that emotional bond necessary to turn shoppers into customers. They want to know what makes her unique.

Warm regards,