Your Secret Sales Weapon

I'm working on an ebook about two of the biggest blind spots that prevent companies from achieving sustainable growth that outpaces their market.

The more I dig into them with clients, the clearer the pattern becomes: most companies just aren't specific enough about what makes them different when they talk about their value proposition.

They struggle to articulate esoteric concepts like relationships, expertise, support, industry knowledge, and market knowledge in ways that don't sound like every other sales pitch in their space.

"We provide white-glove service."

"We're relationship-focused."

"We bring deep industry expertise."

You too, huh?

The problem isn't that these things aren't true. The problem is that when your competitors can make the same claims, and they do, you haven't actually said anything at all.

Being hyper-specific about who you are and what you bring to the table isn't just helpful, it's essential.

The Hidden Feedback Loop

That specificity becomes infinitely clearer when you also understand your best customers.

There's a feedback loop between knowing yourself and knowing them. You can't get one right without the other.

Your best customers reveal what you're actually good at (not what you think you're good at). They show you which problems you solve better than anyone else. They illuminate the patterns in why people choose to work with you.

Most companies skip this step. They craft value propositions in conference rooms based on what they want to be known for, not what they're actually known for.

Then they wonder why their messaging doesn't resonate.

The Cheat Code You're Ignoring

What I've learned while writing this ebook, in a very meta way, is that writing is the cheat code for getting specific.

Not thinking. Not talking it through in meetings. Not workshopping ideas with your team. Writing.

When you see words in black and white in front of you, they resonate differently than when you just hear them.

When you hear something, especially in conversation, you can interpret it. Your brain moves faster than you can write, so you fill in the gaps. You know what you mean, so you assume everyone else does too.

But when you have to put things down in black and white? You're forced to think a little bit further. You have no choice but to be precise. You can't hide behind inflection or hand gestures or the nod of understanding from someone across the table.

That's where the magic happens. That's where you dig deeper and get specific.

You Know What You Mean

The real test isn't whether you understand what you're saying. It's whether a stranger would.

When you're writing for an audience outside of yourself, someone who doesn't know your business, your industry, or your solutions, the bar is much higher. You can't rely on shared context. You can't assume they'll connect the dots. You'll never be more specific than when you're writing for someone who has no reason to give you the benefit of the doubt.

That's uncomfortable. That's why most people avoid it. But that discomfort is the entire point. It forces you to clarify what you actually do, who you actually serve, and why anyone should actually care.

Try This

Write out your value proposition. Not the one on your website. The one you actually use when someone asks what you do.

Now read it as if a total stranger just said it to you.

Better yet, tell someone who knows you well enough to listen, but isn't quite sure what you do.

Does it make sense? Is it specific? Could ten of your competitors say the exact same thing? If the answer to that last question is yes, you're not done.

Keep writing. Keep refining. Keep asking yourself: "What am I really saying here?"

The companies that outpace their markets don't just understand their customers better. They understand themselves better.

Writing is the best way I know to get there.

I've long called it my secret sales weapon, and as an unintended side effect of writing that ebook, now I can be a little more specific as to why I feel that way.