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Get Real

By Hesh Reinfeld

You’ve read all of the books. You need to differentiate yourself from your competitors. So how do you do that?

You think you fill a niche in the market that no one else does. But you’re wrong. Your prospects are telling you that they’ve already met someone with the same expertise.

OK you tell them that you are…more client-centric? More bottom line driven? You work better with groups then anyone else? You just love what you do?   

And your prospect yawns. But you’ve got a great story. You can wow him if he would only give you twelve minutes. But the prospect says, “Sorry no time now, drop something in the mail, or send an e-mail.”

What are you going to send? Your resume? Boring! A testimonial from a satisfied client? I bet he’ll think that you wrote it and got your client to sign it.

So what do you have in writing that is real? You know—the four-letter word that sums up traits like trustworthy, honest, responsive, and even humorous.

The challenge is to write your real story. When you speak about yourself, you tend to offer all that left brain stuff. I am not denigrating that wisdom. But your unique story better be a lot more then that.

Most people, especially consultants, don’t know how to talk about their own right brains. You can spot and analyze those right brain synapses in clients but when it comes to yourselves, you’re tongue tied.

So how do you do it? First, it’s simply hard work. Here is an exercise to try. Write about a time that you failed. Are you offering facts but no emotion? If so, realize that you are describing a failure that really didn’t matter to you. And your clients won’t care either.

If you are lucky enough to tell a story of real failure, then the next challenge is this: Are you willing to share it with your clients? No? Anyone can understand why. It’s risky, very risky. But aren’t you asking clients to take a risk in contracting with you? 

For example, one of my friends is an investment advisor who flew jets for the Air Force. Using his military experience as the basis of his stories, he could talk about risk and team work. But when it came to talking about himself, nothing sounded real.

Then he told me that he had planned to be an astronaut. It was his dream since he was eleven years old (that was the reason he initially joined the Air Force). But as he went through the rigorous process of qualifying to be an astronaut, a doctor said he heard a murmur and benched him. My pal fought the decision for two years, and lost. He was crushed and considered leaving the Air Force.

I said, “Tell that story to your clients.”

“I can’t”. He answered, “It’s too personal.”  Of course, he has every right not to share. But then why does he expect clients to trust him with their million dollar projects? Is it only because of his technical skills? Clients expect every advisor to have the necessary technical skills. They want someone they can trust who is a real person to them.

And failure is real.

Hesh Reinfeld is a business writer who believes that business communications can be informative, interesting to read, and even humorous. He helps financial advisors (and other business consultants) write marketing profiles that build credibility, generate leads, and increase referrals. He also writes a syndicated business column. Learn more at www.HeshReinfeld.com.