Standing out

As the carousel revolved, I had a moment of panic, watching all the black suitcases going round and round.

I realized that because I was only in Ottawa for an overnight stay, I’d brought a different suitcase, one that was not labelled nor had any sign on it that would indicate its ownership.

Terrified that I would not identify my suitcase, I watched them all very closely.

Don’t worry, my case and I were happily reunited.  Part of my nervousness was that my “dress-up” clothes were in the suitcase and I had visions of myself talking at House of Commons in my jeans!

But there are some business lessons from this little story. 

1.     You have to stand out.  In a sea of black suitcases, mine looked just like everyone else’s.

Just like my luggage, if you don’t do something different to stand out, you run the risk of fading into the background.

2.     Let people know how to contact you.  If my luggage had gone missing or home with someone else, there was nothing on the suitcase to let the person know how to contact me. 

With your marketing materials, make sure it is clear how potential customers can connect with you.

3.     Protect your assets.  I quite easily could have had to make my presentation not dressed for the part. 

Don’t leave it to chance that a key element could go missing.  Have a plan B, so you are ready to face any eventuality.

What did I do?  I went off and purchased a luggage tag, tied a sock to the handle and so the journey home was less stressful.

Take the stress out of your business – plan ahead and make sure your unique offerings are evident to all.

Standing out from the crowd

I have been watching our gang of cows this year with interest.  They tend to line up like dancers in a chorus line to hang out, eat and whatever.  Except for one.  When they’re in a straight line, this cow chooses to lie down some distance from them.  Or like today, the cows are all facing one way.  Except for our friend.  Clearly an individualist.

And it strikes me that this is what you have to do when you are in business.  Stand out from the crowd.  What do you do to make yourself memorable?  What is your unique value proposition?  Are you clear on what differentiates you from your competitors?

To be honest I used to struggle with that last one myself.  People would ask me what’s different about Company of Women, and I would mumble something about the women we attract and the safe environment we’ve created.

Today it’s way more clear to me.  Our goal is give women the support, skills and self confidence to succeed in their business.  Other groups may offer components of this, but we’re the package deal.

When you think that we offer over 100 live events a year, plus 30 webinars and our all- day annual conference, our focus is clearly on education and giving women the opportunity to learn and grow, both personally and professionally.

So what about you?  What makes you different?  Once you’ve worked this out it is so much easier to market yourself.  You know what you have to offer and hopefully a better understanding of who your target audience is and how to best sell to them.

Like our cow with personality, you stand out and get noticed.