A few years back I found myself sitting at an elegant table.

In front of me on a pristine white tablecloth are three gorgeous little mini cakes. One white, one pink, one almost black.

My friends were getting married soon and had enlisted my help sampling dessert options.

The lucky day had come. I'm about to eat cake.

I pick the dark one first because obviously it's chocolate and I neeeeed it in me.

"Ohh muh gohh thash good," I mumble.

I bite into the white one next thinking vanilla will be a perfect counterpoint...

But it's not vanilla. It's the exact same chocolate cake. Same frosting flavor too just in white.

I then try the pink one expecting fruity tartness...

But nope. Same chocolate cake. Same frosting.

Does your business have this cake problem?

Most copywriters online are the same. They'll write your emails or landing pages.

Most web designers are the same. They'll design your site.

Most email specialists are the same. They'll systematize your emails.

On the surface they have different branding and websites and pricing. But underneath? Same cake.

Where this really does damage is in sales conversations. Prospects sense this same-ness. The wind goes out of their sales and they move on to someone else.

How I stand out in my saturated market

On the design side of my business I do something very different from other designers and I stick out like a sore thumb:

I talk about the liabilities of design. I tell prospects – right to their faces – that design will not solve most business problems.

sound of record scratching

A designer saying design may not be the solution?!

Prospects get curious and this leads to juicy conversations about business, marketing, strategy, and other things that move the needle.

Usually we end up working together. Sometimes on design (which they now understand in new light). Sometimes on design + strategy. Sometimes just strategy.

It works because it's authentic. I've lived it...

I used to design gorgeous websites for clients. Then I'd check back years later to find many had disappeared. Businesses failed. That broke my heart.

The big pivot point:

Figure out how you do things differently.

Your philosophy. Your outlook. Your scorecards of successes and failures. These must become your essence. Not marketing fluff or just words on a website but how you actually operate and deliver results.

Your approach might be the exact opposite of what "Big Fish" in your industry do.

And that's perfect because a lot of your prospects see those Big Fish and think they're full of it.

So be different for real and make yourself the only choice.

Whew...this was a long one. Thanks for reading!