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"How to Distinguish Yourself in a Crowded Market, Step Number One — How to Answer the Primal Question, "What do you do?"
By Michael Lovas

If you want to become more successful, you have one goal — consistently show yourself as different and better than your competition. And, start doing it today. Who says?

Bruce Wright, the best visionary and strategist in the financial industry slaps the heel of his hand to his forehead asking, "What does it take to get these people to wake up?" Bruce and I often talk about how counter-productive and self-sabotaging it is for advisors not to eagerly jump at high-level learning. I love when Bruce says, "It's not enough to CLAIM you're different and better. You also have to BE different and better!"

Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner explain in their book on Credibility that credible leaders are honest, forward-looking and inspiring. What does it take to gain those qualities? Kouzes and I have discussed credibility and how to get it. The answer is — Lots of training and coaching!

Russ Price wrote a Prudential research report, Strategies for Success, and suggests you:

• Use mentors, coaches and consultants. He says that 82 percent of the survey participants find it difficult to get training assistance. He goes on that it is particularly difficult to find people (consultants/trainers) who have a proven track record in the financial industry. I agree. As I read the financial articles and scrutinize the websites, I see many consultants who can't distinguish themselves. Today's market and economy is completely different from yesterday's. So, hiring someone because he or she WAS a successful advisor is illogical.
  
   
• Invest in training. The majority of independent financial advisors (79.8 percent) believe it is a challenge to afford high-quality training. So? Big deal! You either want it or you don't. And, if you don't want it, then, you are showing (proving) that you are simply not distinguished. Instead, that passive attitude spotlights someone who is common-place, redundant and thus obsolete. Is that you? Not a pretty picture, is it?

Real life implementation. The truth is, lack of essential coaching and training can easily show the advisor as un-inspiring, backward-looking, and maybe even dishonest. How? Consider what you say when someone asks you, "What do you do?"

How do you compare? We put advisors into that situation every time we conduct a seminar. We ask each person to stand up and to tell us who they are and what they do. After two or three people stand up and say virtually the same thing, the message is crystal clear — they are not (yet) distinguished. But they're on their way.

The point. An Elevator Pitch is the most basic and fundamental of distinguishing tools. If you have not yet decided to make the effort to get the right Elevator Pitch, you're inviting ridicule and redundancy. If you use the same Elevator Pitch for everyone you meet, you're showing your lack of initiative and imagination. Again, not distinguished.

The fact is, this industry is over-crowded with advisors who are simply not distinguished. How do I know that? Every day, I talk with advisors from all over the country. I see first-hand what they do not know and are not (yet) capable of.

Are you mediocre? If "good enough" is OK with you, then you've joined the ranks of the Passively Mediocre and don't have to continue reading. But, if you believe that "good enough" stinks — now, you're on your way. Let's step into your future.

The next step. Last month's column explained how to use a visual metaphor in your Elevator Pitch. This month, we look at how to include the single-most important element — your Life Purpose.

Now, I'm not suggesting you shave your head and start counting spotted owls at Walden Pond. Life Purpose is your internal excitement and motivation machine. I am suggesting that you consider including it in your Elevator Pitch. When people ask, "What do you do," shouldn't you get excited and light-up when you answer? Shouldn't you feel passionate about what you say you do? Shouldn't that enthusiasm show in your face and body language?

Psychologically, when you give any answer that doesn't stir the cockles of your loins, you transmit a high score on the Boredom Scale. Picture Woody Allen saying, "I — I'm a financial (ahem) advisor. We (my neurosis and I) try to help some people hold onto some of their money — well, at least for little whine. You don't uh, you don't need any help, do you?"

How passionate is that? Would you trust him with your money? Would you ask him to invest for you?

All over America, people are being laid-off or even fired in middle age. The shock of that rejection is causing many of them to evaluate their self-worth for the first time. All over America, financial advisors are looking at their bank balance and screaming, "Holy "S" word! Where did all the money go?" Then, they too begin the process of evaluating their self-worth, perhaps for the first time.

If you still ask yourself, "Why am I here? What am I really supposed to be doing with my life?" Then, you have not yet defined your Life Purpose. If you don't yet know what it is, then, how do you know that you are working in the right career for you? People who are in the right place take a highly proactive position. That means they proactively seek to become better at every level. They initiate coaching and training activity to learn and improve.

Let's look at that more closely. There are four personality types. Each type has a completely different set of natural skills which are related to their values.

1. The analytical person is proactive in thinking and analyzing information — but not necessarily in going out and meeting people.
    
2. The expressive person is proactive in expressing and making contact — but not necessarily in thinking and analyzing.
    
3. The driver/commander person is proactive in taking charge of situations — but not necessarily in nurturing people.
    
4. The amiable person is proactive in forming relationships and nurturing other people — but not necessarily in taking charge.

The point. Are you uncomfortable making cold calls? Are you anxious about talking with strangers? Does your business require you to make sales — yet, you would much rather analyze data and develop strategies? Are you called a "sales person," but you think of yourself as a "consultant."

If you answer "Yes," then your career will probably sputter and choke. That's because your current career requires skills and passions that you simply don't have. In other words, you're "off purpose," and you will never be happy until you Get On Purpose.

Bruce Wright tells a story about shooting baskets backwards. Heaven help you if you make one, because you'll continue shooting backwards, and miss out on the satisfaction of doing it more effectively. Working "off purpose" is like that. Heaven help you if you make some money making cold calls or selling inappropriate products. That's because you'll continue working "off purpose" and get more unhappy by the day.

The bottom line, when you continue to work "off purpose," you get unhappy. That causes your stress level to rise. Elevated stress causes your immune system to breakdown, inviting disease to develop. It's a straight line; working "off purpose" can kill you.

Your Life Purpose statement contains the most important values of your life. Stop — you're probably reciting: family, love, health, education.... Nonsense. If those words don't make you smile or even giggle when you say them out loud, they're not really your values. So, get real with yourself.

Look at the procedure. There is a proven procedure that we employ in our coaching to help people articulate their Life Purpose. The procedure is a precursor to adding more motivation and passion to their business, and their lives. I'm going to give it to you now.

1. Get out a pad of paper and a pen.
2. Answer this question as completely as you can: Tell me about a specific time when you felt like a winner, a champion, or simply important.
3. Recognize that it might be something very simple like coaching your daughter's T-ball team or babysitting your little brother. It does not have to be a major event.
4. Focus on how you felt at that moment. Recognize what caused you to feel that way?
5. As you're writing, do not edit yourself! Write fast and freely, without regard for structure or correctness. No one other than you will read this.
6. When you're finished, go back over the page and underline the most important words and phrases. Make sure to get them all.
7. Now, ask yourself the same question. Find a different experience when you felt like a winner or a champion or just very special.
8. Go back over the new page and underline all the most important words and phrases.
9. Continue in that way until you get several important experiences.
10. Make a comprehensive list of the important words and phrases. Make note of the ones you repeated. Those probably represent your actual values, and they're very important.
11. Create a statement about you from the words and phrases. It might be a short sentence, or it might be a rambling run-on sentence.
    • For example, my Purpose Statement is: I'm a passionate man using my gifts of wisdom, humor and energy to help other people cross their bridge.
    • Another statement is: I am a guardian angel in training, helping other people make sense of the world.
12. Edit and modify the sentences you come up with. Read each version out loud several times.
13. When you get a version that makes you smile and shiver internally, stop.

In light of your Life Purpose, how does your current career fit? Does it divert your true focus? Or, does it support your purpose? Now, if you believe it fits and supports your purpose, answer the primal question: What do you do?

Sounds simple, doesn't it? Just make a list of a few things you've done. It is simple, and it has the power to change your life. I promise, if you do this, you will get to know yourself much better and very quickly. Your career will improve and so will your satisfaction with your life. Then, you will become more honest, forward-thinking and inspiring. And then, you will have a distinguishing factor — one you can use every day of the rest of your life.

When we guide people through this procedure and help them articulate who they are and what they do, we give them a structure for their Elevator Pitch. Since all people are different, your personal Elevator Pitch must change to be relevant to the person in front of you. You maintain your identity, and you make it fit the other person. In that way, you honor the other person. How do you do that? Perhaps that's our next topic.

Your Reward: If you read all the way to the bottom of this article, you must enjoy the psychological side of life. Send me an email, and I’ll give you a $10 discount on our eBook titled Face Values — how to read people and adjust your presentation to motivate them in less that three minutes. (This offer expires on August 1, 2004.)

MICHAEL LOVAS is the co-founder of AboutPeople in Dallas, Texas. He is the author of five books, three columns, and a thousand articles on Professional Credibility and Psychological Communication in the financial industry. He regularly speaks at conferences on how to read people and connect with them. His programs include: Face Values, Magnetic Marketing, and The Magnetic Connection for Financial Presentations. Most recent presentations have been for: IMCA, Smith Barney’s APIC, American Express Financial Advisors and Bruce Wright’s "Macro Strategic Planning" conference.

Michael has earned two prestigious certifications: Licensed Master Practitioner of Neuro-linguistic Programming and Clinical Hypnotherapist. He uses those skills to coach advisors in how to improve their self image and business relationships.

AboutPeople is the recognized go-to resource for providing Magnetic Marketing and psychological communication in the financial industry.

AboutPeople Books:
Face Values
The Emotional Connection
The 5 Levels of Rapport
Distinguish Yourself Workbook
Beyond Wave Marketing

michael@aboutpeople.com
www.aboutpeople.com
(214) 366-0919