Tragic to Magic... How to Differentiate Your Work in a Sea of Sameness.
The Goal is to be able to Communicate Our Story in 3D.
There are only 3 things we can communicate about ourselves/ our businesses.
Skillset (what you do and how)
Mindset (what you think about & how you think about yourself, your work, the problems you solve and the world around you)
Heartset (deepest values, highest ideals, the reason you get out of bed in the morning, the legacy you intend to leave behind)
When we can express all 3 of these dimensions simply and honestly, it brings our story to life - without feeling gross or weird or over the top.
Let’s take a closer look at the 1st Dimension - Skillset
So many of us will generally describe what we do in ONLY 1 Dimension. Of course, it's a valid 'anchor point' that genuinely gives us a place to start. But too often we go too shallow and stop there... Usually because we don't know how to communicate more without feeling icky.
When it comes time to describe our businesses, we usually default to communicating our SKILLSET. That's what this sign in the photo represents. It's usually a list of the most common things we do (or even do well).
Now, on the off chance that you actually have a particular Skillset that almost no one else has, that will certainly differentiate yourself in the marketplace. But I'm guessing that there are a lot of people out there who do exactly what you do... and even how you do it.
Most interestingly (even though Skillset is where we tend to focus) some of the most valuable examples within our Skillset often go overlooked and unexpressed. So that's where we start the SuperpowerU process.
I'd be willing to bet that you only acknowledge a handful of the 'usual suspects' most of the time. And that you regularly neglect or ignore a dozen or so other absolute gems which are rather unique to you AND are even more valuable/ useful/ meaningful/ significant than the ones that are usually top of mind.
There are things we do quite naturally, easily or regularly that tell a story which is 'uniquely us'. And these are often things we wouldn't even add to the list because we completely overlook them and take them for granted.
This is the difference between what you do and what you REALLY do. Getting crystal clear on this 1st Dimension will immediately start to shift the conversations you're having.
For example, I could say that I'm "really good with people". Sure, it's true. But that can mean 10 different things to different people.
For instance, there's a HUGE difference between:
'I'm very funny and make people laugh easily'
vs.
'I'm a great listener and people naturally feel they can open up to me'.
I'm neither of those, but I AM "really good with people". So in this context, what can I say about my skillset specifically? Drilling down deeper, I can say that I absolutely love talking to complete strangers. Now combine my 'love of talking to complete strangers' with 2 more skills:
I have a way of connecting with almost anyone quite quickly.
and the more people I get to stand in front of and talk to, the happier I am.
This starts to give me a much clearer picture of how I might approach certain situations, including how I might choose to market/ sell my work.
So we always start with Skillset in SuperpowerU because it's the least confronting place to begin. And people are always astonished at how incredibly robust and unique their toolkit actually is once we start to get beyond what you do and start examining what you really do.
People don't work with me because I 'take the best pictures' or 'know how to use the camera better than anyone'...
People want to work with me because:
I'm obsessed with helping you tell a more 3D story so you attract and connect with the right people.
I know how to draw out your deepest vision and values... and help you physically embody and express that on camera.
I'm able to reflect your greatness back to you in the most honest, authentic and flattering way using my profound understanding of body language and non verbal communication.
That's 100% Skillset. Nothing about that is "woowoo" or feels icky to me when I say it. These are all hard-won skills that I've developed and refined over years and years, working with thousands of people.
But do you see how just communicating my Skillset better already starts to completely change the conversation about why you might want to work with me rather than some other photographer?
This is how we start to properly differentiate. By fully uncovering & communicating how you're genuinely different to everyone else out there, doing the exact same work.
If you are evolving and communicating the latest version/ vision of yourself (and your business), then I'd love to help.
I haven't launched it yet but SuperpowerU is a course designed to redefine, realign and reignite your Purpose so you can communicate everything better.
And I'll be running a Pilot Program to kick it all off. Register to be the first to know when it goes live here: