Why do we want to be like everyone else vs being remarkable?
I don’t even know when it happens. I don’t believe we start with the notion of being just like our group. But, I do think it slowly occurs over time. We begin wanting to be at the same level as our friends or neighbors, and it turns into a sea of the same.
I think what’s so funny about this is that most of us are so anxious to hear what makes us different. It’s so fun to take a personality test and realize we are the opposite of our best friends. We discover we have some great strengths with awe. Yet, we revert within minutes to the challenge of blending in.
I recently read Purple Cow by Seth Godin. The book was first written in 2003 and revised in 2009.
While some of the concepts initially felt a bit outdated, I continued to read on. Godin opens the book by referring to the enchantment of seeing cows in a European field on a trip.
When you first see them, you are amazed, but field after field of them, you cease to pay attention.
Unless, of course, you see something unusual like a purple cow. Then you will notice.
The book talks about how mass marketing through television used to be the ticket to massive success.
Television kept most people’s attention—the rule of numbers. If you see enough people, or if enough people see you, then a percentage will buy.
Then suddenly, there was a problem; everyone stopped paying attention.
This book was written nearly 20 years ago, and I believe now it is more accurate than ever.
Because social media popped up and we had a new way to tell the same story for a while, now, it too is a sea of the same.
Most of us are tired, tired of seeing more of the same.
But, if we get the slightest word about something different or, as Godin suggests in his book, “remarkable,” we will notice.
I’ll be sharing more thoughts on this on the podcast. This month we’ve been talking about narrowing your products and services and those you serve.
This book was the perfect compliment as it was a reminder more success can be found through being remarkable to a small specific group over being the same to a large group.
Don’t be fooled into thinking lots of exposure can do more or even the same as being “Remarkable to the right clients.”
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