The Dare-to-be-Different Checklist

By Catherine Franz

There is a big payoff in being different. When you accept “what is” you place yourself in the category of “sameness,” and people don’t buy sameness. Why should they? They can do sameness themselves. If your prospects aren't seeing the value you offer, you may be coming across as the same and not daring to be different.

Dare yourself to be different in promoting yourself, your services or your products. It doesn’t matter if you are an employee, independent professional, student, or executive, being different pays off.

Take the challenge and step out of “sameness” today. How you play it doesn't have to be in big, small counts too. Take the dare. Dare yourself too! Begin before getting out of bed with these questions: Who, what, when where and how can I be different today?

Here are some Dare-to-be-Different guidelines for promoting yourself differently:

o Say different things about yourself. Emphasize something only you can do.

o Think differently. Focus on today – the here and now. Forget about yesterday and what did or did not go right or how tomorrow has to be better. Today is all that counts.

o Sound different. Listen to your heart and speak from there.

o Look different. How about a scarf or mismatched socks? A different hairdo? Looking different will make you feel different.

o Sell your services differently. Share a story that increased your wisdom with someone today. Maybe you aren't a writer – then write that story.

o Offer something different. Offer options that others don’t. Present the options differently.

o Guarantee something different. Back up your services in a way that others don’t.

o Target differently. Pursue a different niche in the market. Give yourself space to think about a different market and what you can offer them. Find a solution that links your product/services and their needs.

o Communicate differently. Get your messages across in a unique way. Write your email responses differently. Change your signature line. Write ten new voice mail messages and change the message every day.

o Follow-up differently. Surprise your clients with the way you stay in touch. Write a thank you note to a client. Send a small thinking of you gift. Forward them something fun and unexpected.

o Walk differently. Walk from a place of abundance. Feel abundance radiating from the inside out. Others will notice it immediately.

Dare yourself to be different! Discover how being different makes a difference. See what new things it attracts to you (Law of Deliberate Creation). You will discover the most important secret of self-promotion: your differences are your diamonds. Your differences are your prosperity. Believe in that secret and you will discover the magic of reaching a higher level of personal achievement, income and success than you ever thought possible. You are going to love the experience.