All I’ve ever wanted in business is an unfair advantage.
Before you raise your eyebrows, let me define the term. An unfair advantage is not lying, cheating, or stealing. It’s exactly the opposite. You get an unfair advantage by doing everything just a little bit better than your competition. Even if you’ve been in business for many years and you’re at the top of your profession, in a competitive world you also need to do everything just a little bit better today than you did yesterday. That’s your unfair advantage.
It’s not always easy. We often look at others and admire their skills, expertise, and accomplishments and devalue our own.
For many of us mere mortals, the dedication and discipline we commit to in order to become great in one discipline leads us to feel that we do not have time to master other skills. The principles in one discipline, however, are exactly the same as in others. What makes us great in one area can be transferred to others.
The future belongs to those who are competent in many different areas. To be successful in any industry, being multifaceted is an advantage. We need to be technically-adept, charismatic communicators with exceptionally good work habits, good people skills, and an abundance of healthy energy. (And it doesn’t hurt if you also look good and dress well.)
There’s an old saying, “If you build a better mousetrap, people will beat a path to your door.” That was true once, but not today. Having the best product or service does not automatically guarantee success. Here is why:
People do business with people they know.
People do business with people who do business with them.
People do business with people their friends talk about.
People do business with people they read about.
Start now to develop your own unfair advantage and build your client base.
Frippercize.
In what one way can you be better than your competition? How can you let others know about your advantage?
What one activity can you improve on? Decide whether this improvement is worth the energy it will require. If so, what one step can you take this week?
Learn from the best and the worst! No matter how long you’ve been in the workforce, make a list of every boss you’ve had. Start with your first job at the age of ten or twelve, and go right through to today. What did you learn from each of those people, good or bad?
This exercise is especially important if you are now in management or plan to be. Everyone you’ve ever worked for can teach you something, even if it is only to provide you with a pitiful example of what not to do. “If you want to build a ship,” wrote the pilot and poet Antoine de Saint-Exupery, “don’t drum up people together to collect wood, and don’t assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea.” How many leaders have gone beyond mere management to fill you with a yearning for the endless immensity of opportunities before you? How did they do it?
Why not take advantage of Patricia Fripp’s Special Report CRITICISM From Growth into Gripes
Patricia, words cannot express the gratitude I have for your superb scripting and speech coaching for my important acceptance speech. Needless to say, everybody told me, ‘The speech was awesome!!!’ It was obvious the entire audience was blown away and greatly impacted. The enthusiasm came from those who knew me and those encountering me for the first time. To think, from our first call to a memorized speech in four days. Thank you for your talent, care, friendship, and support! It truly means the world! Kristopher Francisco
Back in 2018, we invited you to help us with an important sales presentation, which we won. You will be as excited to know, that it continues to reap dividends! Last year, we were awarded $1.6 million in business with them. We just received a $2.8 million order from them already this year and it is still January. Your advice and coaching are awesome. What an ROI!
Michael E. Stryczek, President & CEO, AB&R® (American Barcode and RFID)
Who is reading Deliver Unforgettable Presentations? My Rock Star brother Robert Fripp
Robert Fripp is a great speaker. Watch his four amazing presentations.
