Be Different, Not Just Better

The Big Picture: Prospective clients cannot determine that you are better than your competitors. Even if they choose to work with you, they can never be completely certain that they have chosen the best advisor, as they lack a point of comparison.

Why It Matters: Even if you are currently better than your competition, it is challenging to maintain this status. Competitors can easily catch up by offering one additional service or meeting per year, turning the race for superiority into a neck-and-neck battle. This can cause constant stress and pressure to keep improving to stay ahead of the competition.

The Evidence: To illustrate this point, the movie "Something About Mary" features a scene where Ted, played by Ben Stiller, picks up a hitchhiker who pitches his business idea for "7-Minute Abs," which he claims is better than the existing "8-Minute Abs." This example shows that competing solely on being "better" is a short-term strategy, as someone else can always come up with something new that is better.

The Solution: Instead, small businesses should focus on being different to stand out. Positioning yourself as unique means that prospects cannot compare you to any other advisor. By owning a niche and becoming an expert in solving one problem for one type of client, you can build a business model that uniquely services the needs of those people. You should concentrate on developing and promoting your in-depth expertise with a narrow set of clients, which is not offered by other advisors. As a result, prospects will seek you out because you specialize in solving problems for people like them.

The Bottom Line: When given the choice between being incomparable and uncomparable, it is better to be uncomparable. The former keeps you in an endless race against the competition that you can never win, while the latter wins because there's no one else to race against you. Therefore, when it comes to marketing, strive to be different and uncomparable.

Go Deeper: Read Incomparable or Uncomparable, Which Are You? on Advisor Perspectives