Back when I was employed, I used to handle the sales and marketing of a major brand.
At one time, my team and I conceptualized and activated an experiential campaign of a product and it was scheduled to happen across the country.
The campaign was geared to kill negative rumors spread by the competition about the cost of using the product. It was an ingenious and bold plan that had not been done by any player in the industry at such magnitude and with as much publicity.
As the campaign progressed, some of the zones we had chosen to put up our product experience tents were considered competitor territory. In the first two zones, all was well. Then we sent the advance team to the next town where we were supposed to hold a climax event for that region.
The Liberating Advice
Lo and behold we found that our closest competitor was going to run a similar campaign on the same day, about 5 km from where we were.
Despite many pre-event hype activities, our performance there was dismal. I remember walking into a review meeting feeling dejected because of this ‘hit below the belt’.
My boss noticed our low spirits and he took the time to encourage us. I will never forget his words as he was smiling. “The one thing that the competition does not have and cannot afford to have is you. They can copy our strategy, they can use our suppliers, they can approach the same market but they don’t have and can never take away your brains, your capacity, your tenacity, and your commitment.”
That was powerful and liberating.
To this day, I always tell business people who feel threatened by the competition. “Don’t worry. Their business doesn’t have what you have – YOU”.
Unique Value Proposition
YOU bring a unique value proposition to the table and you must leverage it for your success. Going into the New Year, whether an employee or a business owner or a cross of the two, you must ask yourself, “What is the unique value proposition I bring to the conversation at my workplace, with my family, with my team members, with suppliers, etc.”
If you are a planner and a stay at home parent, are you able to train your children on goal setting?
If you are a good storyteller and working in sales, how can you use that gift to sell more? Didn’t the fable of Pinocchio keep us from telling lies at least for a few days when we were kids because we were afraid of having long noses?
If you are an intuitive person, and jobless, could you explore the world of being a virtual assistant who knows what a client needs before they even know they need it?
If you are good at networking and chatting up people, maybe you can make a business out of being ‘an introducer’. Yes, it’s a business. In this world of who knows who? The operative phrase is ‘value of trust’. I have two friends who seem to have everyone who is everyone in their industry in their phone book.
One of our family friends, Tony Cruize is creative. He writes songs (here is a link to one of his songs), sings them, plays the guitar, plays the piano and so much more. Then he sculptures, draws and works magic with a camera. For tertiary education, he took a course in tourism and now he knows birds, animals, etc and to top it off he loves driving. So sometime this year, he was contracted by a company to take some tourists to Maasai Mara. He brought his guitar along and sang along local tunes with the guests. On the road he plays some of the music he has recorded and depending on where the tourists are from he might even speak their language!
IMPACT ACTION
Take the time to understand your unique value proposition – the value you bring to the table, and let it enrich your life and the lives of those around you. It is one of the things that will ensure you don’t get hustled.
At Hustle Like a Pro, we do a deep dive into the cuboid of business. You get to look at your business from all sides and see what you have been lacking for that next step of growth or better performance.
If you are committed to your business for a reason that is greater than you and especially if you have a team of people working with you and depending on the success of the business for their income. then you need to register for Hustle Like a Pro program
Hustle Like a Pro is an opportunity to learn and get a fresh perspective on your business. Get to harvest the open secrets of running large businesses successfully and have them broken down for your business.
To REGISTER, simply visit the Hustle Like a Pro page and make the MPESA payment.
If you still have questions, please do not hesitate to get in touch.
Don’t take long, though. 10 slots fill up pretty fast for this kind of training.
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