Create Your Own ‘Unfair Advantage’

By Patricia Fripp

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Before I became a Hall of Fame keynote speaker and in-demand executive speech coach, I started my career as a15-year-old shampoo girl at the Carlton Hotel in England. As I said on 60 Minutes, “I used to work on the outside of peoples’ heads, now I work on the inside, so there’s only half an inch difference.” How did I do it? By preparing for, noticing, and seizing every chance that came my way. Opportunity doesn’t knock just once. It knocks all the time; though you may not recognize the sound. Pay attention. Opportunities are everywhere and often overlooked.

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. An ‘unfair advantage’ is doing everything just a little bit better than your competition. And even if you’ve been in business for many years and you’re at the top of your profession, in today’s competitive world you still need to do everything just a bit better today than you did it yesterday. That’s your ‘unfair advantage.’ It’s not always easy.

Do you remember the movie STAYING ALIVE, the sequel to SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER? It’s about how the John Travolta character pursues a career as a professional dancer, all the highs and lows (with a little romance thrown in.) The last scene is an incredible dance routine. As my friend Kookie and I danced out of the theater afterwards, I had a revelation: the trouble with life is that it’s just too short to be good at very many things! The dedication and discipline that the Travolta character needed to become a great dancer didn’t leave him much time for anything else. That’s the problem with working and being in business today.

The future belongs to those who are competent in many different areas. To be successful in any industry, you need to be a technically adept, charismatic communicator with exceptionally good work habits, good people skills, and an abundance of healthy energy. (And it doesn’t hurt if also you look good and dress well.)

There’s an old saying, ‘If you build a better mouse trap, 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 you success. That’s because:

People do business with people they know.
People do business with the people who do business with them.
People do business with people their friends talk about.
People do business with people they read about.

As my friend David Garfinkel says about every business success, “Do your customers know?”

Start now to develop your own unfair advantage and build your client base.

Here is a FRIPPERCISE for you to try:

What one thing can you do better than your competition? How can you let the world 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?
Are you collecting stories and quotes from your satisfied clients?
If the answer is; Yes; are you using them in your sales presentations, letters, website, emails, sales letters, brochures?

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Clik here to view.About Patricia Fripp: Hall of Fame keynote speaker, executive speech coach, sales presentation skills expert, and author, Patricia Fripp (http://www.fripp.com) simplifies and demystifies the process of preparing and presenting powerful, persuasive presentations. Kiplinger’s Personal Finance identified her presentation training as one of the best investments you can make in your career. Called “one of the 10 most electrifying speakers in North America” by Meetings and Conventions, Patricia delivers high-content, entertaining, dramatically memorable presentations. The first female president of the National Speakers Association, she is now virtually everywhere with FrippVTCE.com (http://www.frippvtce.com). Learn essential new skills and accelerate your career while maintaining your professional accreditation.

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