Why your business needs to be choosable instead of unique

Melanie 0:00
Welcome back profit lovers. Are you trying to be unique in your business, but I'm finding it a bit difficult. Trying to create unique offers unique solutions, maybe unique processes. What if I told you that I'm giving you full permission to forget about being unique, and instead focus on being choosable? If you struggle with how to set yourself aside, especially in an oversaturated market, you are going to love today's episode, we're talking to Belinda Weaver from copyright matters. She is an Aussie currently living in California. And from her business name, I'm sure you can guess what industry she's in. She is a copywriter, who now has transitioned to copy coach showing other copywriters how to set a rock solid foundation and redesign their workflow so they can enjoy their work. And Yee ha, create profit. Belinda also happens to be one of my former clients. And during a catch up last year, she said something that made my ears perk up. It was kind of an off the cuff comment about something she was working on. She mentioned that she's writing a book and I asked her what the book was about. And she told me the concept of how being choosable is more important than being unique. And I was like, Ha, tell me more about that. So we recorded our conversation. And here it is. Even if you're not a copywriter. Please Please listen to today's conversation. It is important for all business owners, no matter what industry you're in, no matter what you sell. Belinda, I am so excited that we're having this chat. Hi, friend.

Unknown Speaker 1:49
Hello. How you doing? Melanie?

Melanie 1:51
I'm good friend. How are you?

Belinda 1:53
I am fantastic. It's warm. It's at the end of my day. This is the last productive thing I'm going to do.

Melanie 1:59
Tell me where in the world you are. So I'll California.

Unknown Speaker 2:03
Yeah. So Australia, but clearly. Not America. In California.

Melanie 2:10
You haven't picked up any American accent yet?

Unknown Speaker 2:13
I know. I know.

Melanie 2:14
I'm not steeping you.

Unknown Speaker 2:16
It does. It does. And it actually prompts the conversation. My husband and I have a lot because he's a Brit. When do we need to leave? So the girls aren't locked into their American accent? Pretty, very, they're California babies right now, which is fine. But it's something we talk

Melanie 2:36
about. Do you watch The Real Housewives? No. I feel like you just housewife shamed me then. shamed me. I do. And there's this woman on there who has the most odd accent and it's definitely she's lived in all these different countries with the accent is very odd. So there's a fine line, right?

Unknown Speaker 3:00
Yeah, that's right. I mean, even now we're talking about accents. Americans will say that the girls don't sound entirely American. But they sure as hell don't sound Australian or English. Yeah, right.

Melanie 3:11
All right. Let's get into today's topic. We were having a conversation a few months ago. Now I think just catching up chewing the fat. And you mentioned that you were writing a book, which came as a complete shock to me, because let me preface this by saying you were a client. And I never remember seeing that thrown into the mix. I know. You mentioned a book. And usually I would like to be like, why? But then you told me what it was about. And I was like, That is fascinating. And I love it. And we're going to talk about it. So today we're talking about why being unique in the world of business actually makes life more difficult. And I think you and I have been around long enough that we've been exposed to all of the BS marketing out there. And the uniqueness is pushed pretty hard. Interestingly, though, the uniqueness is often pushed by people who are teaching the same processed people to find their

Unknown Speaker 4:17
uniqueness, ya know, and it's all but as part of marketing 101, I learned to that when I did my masters, you got to have your unique selling proposition. You've got to have your elevator pitch. You've got to have your key differentiator, you know, what you do, who you work for, and what makes you absolutely unique in the market. And it's just a source of 100% anxiety for most people. And I know, in the early years of my business, I was like, well, that's a question I just can't answer. So I'm just going to get on with doing my work. And I'm hoping that I'll be able to answer it at some point. But

Melanie 4:52
this is why I despise traditional business plans. You can't ask questions,

Unknown Speaker 4:58
and I've called it A unicorn fallacy, the idea that you have to be unique in order to be successful. And if you're not, don't have that piece of the puzzle, you're never going to make it.

Melanie 5:10
So if you don't need to be unique, which I love, because that is that is incredibly challenging. And I know that's, that's a hard hurdle to jump when you don't even really know how marketing works. And you're just sort of getting your feet wet. That's a hard, hard one to answer. So what do we do instead?

Unknown Speaker 5:29
Well, I something I've always relied on. And it's something that I'm going to be writing about in the book, because it's what I teach copywriters is aim to become choosable. And what that means is understanding how people make decisions. So if I'm looking for a service provider, I'm basically or a product, but I'm looking to know that you have, you can solve the problem that I have, that you have solved it for other people, and that I'm going to enjoy or at least find tolerable the experience of working with you, I don't necessarily need the best person, I am looking to tick those boxes. And I'm also looking to see someone who is reasonably available. And so when we go when we hit Google up, there's just too many choices. We're always looking to shortlist those things. And I know when we have to compare, I always compare things in tabs, like you know, I've got a few different options, I've got all the tabs open. And I've got my number one choice in the first tab. And I'm always comparing the next options against that first tab, and I'm looking for proof, I'm looking for personality, I'm looking for process, like I'm looking for signs that those three big criteria are going to be met. And when someone doesn't have them, I close the tab. And so being choosable is taking care of the low hanging fruit in your marketing on a consistent basis. So that when people are looking around, you can take all their boxes.

Melanie 7:03
Can you remember what those three things you just said? Were you looking for proof? process?

Unknown Speaker 7:09
Well, I'm looking for proof and process and personality,

Melanie 7:14
personality? That's so interesting, isn't it? Because that would be without thinking about it? That would be exactly what I would be looking for as well. Yeah, absolutely. And so conscious decision necessarily.

Unknown Speaker 7:25
That's right. And so when you're looking at other people or other options, and you see a gap, you're like, Oh, well, then they're not good enough, they're not good enough compared to the options that I have. And so it's you know, that you can solve the problem that you have solved it for other people, and that your personality is going to be a good fit. And we

Melanie 7:45
haven't mentioned pricing now, because it just is so far down the list. I wish more women in business understood that so many women are competing on price. And my gosh, the combination of competing on price and being unique. That's a cluster fluff. That is that's a that's a no no zone.

Unknown Speaker 8:06
And it stops, it stops you taking action, it stops you doing stuff and it stops you consistently showing up. So it's you know, what a lot of people do is they go after the big shiny objects. They're like, what's the big thing I need to create? What do I need to launch? What what do I need to do to really put me on the map and they're forgetting the little important, but possibly boring details of their marketing that they could be doing all the time, consistently showing up demonstrating those things, is how you become choosable. Not when you have time, not when you're inspired. But all the time,

Melanie 8:43
you made a point of taking care of low hanging fruit, which I've always thought was the best idea because you're low hanging fruit, the customer or client that's super easy to get to. Sometimes gonna have really negative connotations. But sometimes that low hanging fruit is just your bread and butter that helps you build a business 100% low hanging fruit. Talk to me about how you take care of that.

Unknown Speaker 9:07
Well, it's just this idea. It's not necessarily like it's the clients, but it's also the actions you take. We often think that we need to do big hard stuff in order to do the big leap. And we forget about the really easy stuff. For example, you could be meeting the criteria that makes you choosable in your marketing all the time, by having a simple rotation of talking about the problems that you solve. Talking about your process, talking about why you got started your passion and your purpose. You can talk about proof that you've done it client testimonials, client stories, client quotes, all that kind of stuff. You can showcase elements of your personality. And these are the little Velcro hooks that will have someone go or I think I'm going to like her and that's where A lot of people really shy away from. But that is a complete social media schedule that I've just outlined, that you could just put on

Melanie 10:09
your show. You literally just have outlined an entire social media schedule.

Unknown Speaker 10:14
And it's not complicated, right? And so a lot of people get paralyzed going, Oh, I don't have any original ideas, and I'm not unique. And my service is just like everyone else. And, and no one wants to know about me. No, no, do they do they want to know how you work, why you work who you work for? Because they want to see themselves in those messages. And if you paralyze yourself into inaction, you're counting yourself out of the game before you've even got started?

Melanie 10:43
Yeah. Interesting. I was thinking about low hanging fruit just as the customer or client, but you're right, it's the actions, the simple stuff that doesn't take a lot of time that you can do every single day, that doesn't cost a lot of money, if anything,

Unknown Speaker 10:59
be visible. Yeah, that's right. And if that makes you nervous, it's also about just showing up and delivering, and then sharing proof of that. Yeah, as well. And you know, it's the personality piece. But as I said, a lot of people are like, Oh, I don't know, people don't want to know what I have for breakfast. And well, that's not really what it's about. But you know, you have these core elements that you can share. And I think Laura Belgrade talks about this as like, what would be the icons on your emblem of your brand, you know, what would be the things. And for me, it's Doctor Who, obviously, I talk about my pug, and my kids a lot. I talk about hiking. So you might identify some topics where you like, these are things that fill me up that I love talking about the perfect cup of tea, that's another thing I talk about a lot. And what it means is, you get people who go Oh, me, too. I love that. I have a lot of conversation, start with Doctor Who questions. I've also got a pug. I also like crunchy things and cups of tea. These are just Velcro hooks. And the point is that if I have two businesses that are exactly the same on paper, they solved my problem. They've got all the proof in the wazoo, the price is good. All those kinds of things are being met. It'll come down to who I like, or who I think I like. So that elements just as important.

Melanie 12:24
I don't think I do a lot of personal stuff. Because I'm a I don't know why I'm a massive introvert for sure. But I just don't really like sharing a whole lot of personal stuff. Isn't that I don't know why don't do that.

Unknown Speaker 12:38
And that's fair enough. And see, it's all about like, you don't have to be an extrovert. You don't have to share details that you're uncomfortable with. But you do because I see your dog all the time. I

Melanie 12:51
see that you see my new blinks. My nieces? Yes, you see Peggy all the time.

Unknown Speaker 12:57
All the time, Rosie Yeah, and this is a nephew, I see the gifts that you get sometimes you talk about things that annoy you and things that you've love. So I have what like when made so that's one thing. But even if I just looked through your Instagram stories and your posts, I would get of course what you're saying, you know, you

Melanie 13:17
would know you liked me, and that I was a bad. But I was a good time.

Unknown Speaker 13:21
Good egg you recall to

Melanie 13:23
have Melanie, can you talk to me a little bit about the jumping around to shiny new things. This one definitely. I am very unashamed by my lazy title. Lazy, I just don't like to do a lot of work. And therefore I don't chase a lot of shiny new things. Because that requires work. And I feel like more women need to embrace that in a lazy girl.

Unknown Speaker 13:50
I agree shiny new things. Once you know where were ambitious, incredible go getters, right, and we listen to podcasts and we get ideas. And we're like, oh, I should have a lead magnet or a tripwire. Or I should run a webinar. Or I should write a book. Because that's what I see successful women doing. And I want to be just like her. So that's what I should be doing. And that's the point. I'm not saying you shouldn't be doing that. That's usually the point where people drop the ball on sharing regular testimonials on sharing regular updates on how they work on talking about the problems that they solve regular calls to action that they're available to be booked. That's where it kind of grinds to a halt because they're fixated on all the things they should be doing according to what other people are doing. And it's just making sure you don't drop the ball on the boring important regular stuff. Because that is what makes you choosable

Melanie 14:52
Yeah, you need your ground level built in of things you do consistently and do them consistently well. And they You can build on top of that. Different shiny new objects. But you've got to build that consistent level at the base that happens, even if you are distracted. Yeah, even to the point, I'll try something new.

Unknown Speaker 15:13
And the point is that if you've ever said to yourself, what I do is just like everyone else, I'm not special. That is absolutely irrelevant, because lots of other people that might be you might be compared against Well, firstly, not compared against the whole internet. So it's actually the only ever compared against a few handful of people. Yeah, that's true. Yeah. But if those people aren't doing some easy, basic marketing, of all the things I talked about so far, rewind, if you want to recap, if they're not doing that, then you are more choosable, because you are, so do good work, take care of the details, and keep that consistency going. And you're ahead of so many other people in your

Melanie 15:58
industry just doesn't need to be complicated.

Unknown Speaker 16:01
It does not need to be complicated. I'm actually writing, I'm writing a resource for my confident copywriting group on how to delight your clients into a higher price point. And the first thing is, show up and do what you say you're going to do. And it's, it's feels like it shouldn't be mentioned. Yeah. And it's the same with this kind of marketing. It feels too easy. But so many people don't do it. Yeah.

Melanie 16:31
I'm just thinking about my own business like I do. Every time I talk to somebody, it's, you know, I'm always thinking about my own business, because I'm selfish like that. But I'm thinking about, I could I know who people compare me against, because there are, like, three or four that sit within, I guess, you know, the same kind of choose ability as me. I know who they are, have I ever once looked at their websites, and identified what, you know what my process is against theirs? Or how I differentiate myself to them? No, could I have done that very easily? Yes.

Unknown Speaker 17:14
But it's an interesting point, like you can do it. And you might get some interesting insights on the gaps that you feel that your competitors don't. So that is worth doing.

Melanie 17:24
Interesting, because I already know what that gap is.

Unknown Speaker 17:27
And then I think this is the trap a little bit too much as we spend too long looking at what everyone else is doing. And this is part of the point, stop worrying about where you are compared to everyone else. And your eyes on your own work. Take care of business, you take care of the easy stuff, the important stuff, the stuff that your customers actually care about. Yeah,

Melanie 17:49
yeah. Interesting. Probably need to do some work. The

Unknown Speaker 17:55
other part of this is, often what we do is we take care of we take care of people once they become clients. And so this is also asking the question, How can I give people a peek into what it's like? Yes, they

Melanie 18:08
pay, I would have to say that is something that I do well, in my business as I take care of people, well, before they ever become a client or a member. And I have always said that that's the reason why I get so much money out of a very, very small list. So that was last week's episode, I mentioned, that member's club, this round of members club was 80% sold out and just from a waitlist, and a really small waitlist. And it is that effort and energy that you put into personal connection before the point of purchase. Which is so fun to because you get to know so many more people, you get to hear so many more stories, and so many of my solutions are based on those conversations. Yeah. And people do forget about that. Yeah. People also forget that. Once somebody's made a purchase, people are like on to the next.

Unknown Speaker 19:07
Oh, yeah, absolutely. And, uh, but it's questions like what you know, think about all the questions that people have before they work with you. Well, what's it look like? What's going to happen? What's the roadmap? I what you're going to deliver? Are you going to solve this problem? What are you actually like, are we going to get

Melanie 19:24
this? I think I'm better than this than I've given myself credit for. I think I'm much better than this because people don't often ask me any of those questions, because I've done so much pre work for me. And they've seen me I think I'm better than this than I thought I was.

Unknown Speaker 19:41
I think you are to give yourself more credit, the low hanging fruit you're taking care of business, your business

Melanie 19:46
lady, but demonstrating proof of creed. i You i think you will know this about me. I struggle with that. Because for me personally I'm always super anxious about ever taking any credit away from anybody else. And that works totally against me, because I didn't get great testimonials, not because they're not there, I got an amazing one from you. But because I don't ask and because I don't promote them

Unknown Speaker 20:21
100%

Melanie 20:22
Say something really mean to me to, to make me start doing it?

Unknown Speaker 20:26
Well, if you don't ask you don't get and people who are happy to work with you, which they obviously are, because you get all these read books as well. Same clients working with you over and over again, would be absolutely freaking delighted to support you in any way possible. That's how we need to think of these our clients, they would be delighted to help us this is not an onerous task, a burden we're giving them. But the thing is, we need to make it as easy as possible. So you did that with a video ask all I had to do was answer specific questions. I do this as well. But I do it in a type form survey. Also in a video ask because then people don't have to face a blank page. They just answering really easy questions. And you you ask them when they feel really, really good about the work that you've done. And you ask them as a regular part of your project. So then you're not like, oh, I have to go back and ask them. No, it's just another box, you take in your project checklist. You make it super easy for people, you write their answers up in a review and go How about that now? Could you go and post that on Facebook for me? Excellent view. But I have to make categorically

Melanie 21:32
that I would tell them how I get the quality of testimonials I get even though I don't ask them very often. They're very good quality. And I forgot to do that. So we'll put that on my list. But video ask is such a great tool. And something you said Don't let people look at a blank piece of paper. If you want to get you know, testimonials from people, if you want to build up your proof of cred cred. Don't just give them a blank piece of paper or send an email that says can you tell me you know, can you write some nice things about me? Step them through a logical process of questions. And that I'm going to turn into a podcast episode. Because I think it's valuable and video asked for anyone who's listening, we'll make sure it's linked best tool

Unknown Speaker 22:13
best. The thing is I get asked I'm like, you know, looking at my own voice of customer where I'm creating something new. And I'm like, Oh, I've got this massive spreadsheet here. All the testimonials here all the quotes here all the videos like how did you get all of that?

Melanie 22:27
I asked last? Yeah, I don't ask makes me uncomfortable, then you

Unknown Speaker 22:33
got to publish it as well, regularly all the time. Here are the projects I'm working on right now that I'm super excited about. Here are the people I'm chuffed to bits to work with. Here is something I just wrapped up and look at these amazing results. And here are lots of

Melanie 22:48
having a physical reaction to what you're saying. I'm having an actual physical reaction

Unknown Speaker 22:53
with low hanging fruit. Melanie, I know I want to see I want to see proof. I want to see myself in the women that you work with.

Melanie 23:02
And all I do is rob people of the ability to celebrate their own because I don't I don't want to be like Oh, I'm taking credit for your great achievements in business. And so then I just robbed them of their ability to celebrate that as well. Right. Celebrating them either.

Unknown Speaker 23:19
That's exactly right. I would like that's part of my intro to getting a testimonials I would love to celebrate your success.

Melanie 23:27
I'm stealing that for sure. The last point that I wanted to talk to you about was showcasing that personality. I like I said sometimes I think I'm a little bit like I guess I don't shy away now that you've pointed out that I do share some things am I full Melanie melody and 100% a lot.

Unknown Speaker 23:53
But you know what, we don't need to be Belinda and 100% to write that's not the blender, you see is not the blender that shows up in my marketing. Not completely different blenders. But it's the same way. The way that I talk to my grandma is not the same way I talk to my clients or my best mate at the bar. We can be the same person but have very in varying ways in which we show up that are suitable for our environment. But yeah, a lot of people just like I don't think anyone would be interested in this I'm uncomfortable showcasing myself because I people will think I'm tooting my horn that's about testimonials think people will think I'm being ridiculous and irrelevant like we all judge that kind of content and that's all we think in our head oh my god people are gonna think I'm stupid and why am I posting this and and then talk themselves into a corner and then don't post anything at all but

Melanie 24:54
and then the the reality is nobody's really thinking about you at all. No one

Unknown Speaker 24:57
is at all but I this idea Your velcro hooks, you got to put some sticky hooks out there if you want people to sit back and it's conversation starters, put out things that are conversation starters, Oh, I like tea over coffee too, it seems so trivial. But it's a little icebreaker, it's something we have in common. As I said, I talk about Doctor Who a lot, you know, but there's lots of things that just gives people a way in, but also little ways that they can go, Oh, I think I'm gonna like you. And as I said, when it's the same on paper, I'm gonna go with someone I like.

Melanie 25:38
It's all of those points of when we think about, particularly if you're in a business where you're competing against the big guys, the value that you can bring is being able to have a personality. Because if you are competing against the bigger guys, or you're competing against franchises, for example, you can use personality to differentiate yourself. And it gives you that power of personal connection because people buy from people. Yeah.

Unknown Speaker 26:09
For me, I talk about my kids, I don't share their names very often, I don't share their photos very often. But, you know, when I am running events, I am always interrupted by my kids. And I don't try and hide that. I also talk about the messy life behind the screen of being a business owner and a mum, and I don't try and hide that and be something that I'm not. And the result is I differentiate my membership against some copywriting memberships run by people who don't have kids or have a program that is not family friendly. Yeah, yeah. Those details, don't revel in them. Show them. Because those could be the exact things that actually do differentiate you in the market, or certainly differentiate you to the kind of people you want to work with. Yeah,

Melanie 26:59
that's so interesting. I have a always kids first policy. And so if we're interrupted on a call, it's always kids first, and it's no apologies, not apologize, their kids. yet. I never really talked about that. And because I don't have kids, I didn't talk about it. But that's a really big theme in my businesses. You're doing this for them. If they interrupt so bad, I don't care.

Unknown Speaker 27:25
Yeah, but it's just also, you know, the, if you're doing if you're doing the work, you need to make sure you're removing the things that will cause your clients to feel anxious. Like, I can't think about what you're telling me. If I'm worried about what you're going to think about this big messy life happening. Yeah. So when you say permission, don't worry about it just got sorted out. I'm like, Oh, cool. Well, now I'm, I'm 100% with you. So

Melanie 27:54
like if I'm running a webinar, and I know that there's a I'm not comparing my package deliveries to anybody's children. Let me make that clear. If I'm on a webinar, or if I'm on a client call, and I know that there's a delivery coming, it causes me to be a little anxious, because I don't want the interruption. But if if I say up front, listen, there's probably going to be a package coming, then it's off my mind. And I don't talk about that. Yeah. Interesting. Anything else we need to add? A juicy steak dinner hesitant.

Unknown Speaker 28:30
I'm so glad you wanted to dig in. Because it's a real soapbox of mine. And I just for everyone listening, I hope there's a bit of a real sense of relief to go. Oh, you can do that easily. I don't. Yeah, I don't have to rent to everyone else.

Melanie 28:44
I already have what I need for Pete to make myself choosable amongst a crowd.

Unknown Speaker 28:50
Yes. So let go of this idea that you have to be unique in order to be successful. Put your eyes on your work. Take care of that low hanging fruit all the time. People want to know that you can solve the problem that you have solved the problem and that you're not a douche you need to work with. That's easy,

Melanie 29:07
so true. Don't be a douche can own and it'll be fine. And never compete on price.

Unknown Speaker 29:14
Yes. I think that's some great thoughts to end with.

Melanie 29:18
Where do people go to see all of this in live action.

Unknown Speaker 29:24
I'm doing my big showgirl hands there. My website My business is called copyright matters. And so my website is copyright matters.com You'll see lots of hummingbirds on the website, because I'm obsessed with hummingbirds, which I'd never seen before I moved to California. But there's lots of free content. There's some workshops, I got courses, I got a membership. It's all there. But there's lots of ways that we can chat. And you could learn and if you want to take the next step that's there to

Melanie 29:59
I'm going to link you A website and I'm going to link your socials, US mainly Instagram, your

Unknown Speaker 30:04
Facebook and Instagram, or

Melanie 30:07
Instagram as well, because then people get to see a showcase really well on socials.

Unknown Speaker 30:15
Thanks. I appreciate it. Sometimes, you know, it's a bit hard because you're like, I don't need an extra filter today or like, what is this even relevant? Is this important? The biggest trap for me is because I don't really care if other people think it's relevant. But you know, when you see other people on social media, and you're like, ah, that's so good. And then you don't do anything, because someone else is so good.

Melanie 30:43
I like I always look at Suze Chadwick and I'm like, Suze, why do you look like that? Like, I'm gonna need you to ugly it up a bit. And then I might really want to I don't want to be in the same news feed as Suze because she just looks so lovely and fresh all the time. And I look like a crusty old

Unknown Speaker 31:06
that's, you know, that's what we're talking about is not not doing it. Because what other people are doing or what you what are other worried about whatever the I've never watched

Melanie 31:17
Instagram's and thought, Oh, God, I wish you to put some Lippia on she looks like a corpse. I go. I'm not I'm not thinking that. I'm thinking because we're everybody's thinking about themselves first, whether we do or we don't. We're thinking about ourselves. And so I'm thinking, Is this relevant to me? Or am I going to flip past this today?

Unknown Speaker 31:38
That no one's isn't quite as mean, to us the way were mean to us.

Melanie 31:43
Go very, very true. Thanks so much for chatting.

Unknown Speaker 31:48
Again, you're asking me I love this topic. And I love giving people permission to let that I let that idea.

Melanie 31:56
Go. Get on with it.

Unknown Speaker 31:59
Just a unicorn fallacy is bullshit. Oh, had

Melanie 32:02
we call bullshit. Doing have loved every minute. And thanks for all the good ideas on my business. Oh, that's okay. How was that conversation? It was enlightening, right? I have no doubt that you'll have gotten as much from it as I did. It really made me think about how much effort I put into being choosable. And honestly, it was a little bit of a reality check. I have much work to do to improve my usability. It also gave me this, like huge sense of relief that I don't need to be some magical unicorn in the business world. I don't need to top up what I do into some golden formula, some magic pill because I don't want to do that I just want women to focus on creating profit, and then turning that profit into financial security. And this has really alleviated some of my fears around that. So a huge thanks to Belinda for sharing some common freakin sense in this episode. I love it. All her links are in the show notes. So please do go visit her. Even if you're not a copywriter. Her Instagram is just full of great examples of showing up and sharing the really important stuff in your business to help you make yourself more choosable. That's it for this week. Happy profit loving