April 21, 2023
The One And Only
If someone asks, “What do you do?” you might reply with your discipline, like so:
- I am a software developer
- I am a web designer
- I am a branding consultant
- I am a UX expert
- I am a speech writer
- I am a portrait photographer
Here’s the thing...
By using the word “a” in your answer, you’re positioning yourself as just one of many!
That’s not good.
You’re abandoning your uniqueness. You’re commoditizing yourself. You’re giving the listener a Google search term to find lower-cost alternatives to you.
Yikes!
Now let’s replace the word “a” with the word “the” in the preceding examples and see if any of the statements still work:
- I am the software developer
- I am the web designer
- I am the branding consultant
- I am the UX expert
- I am the speech writer
- I am the portrait photographer
Nope. Laughable. None of these make sense.
But what can you do about this?
Well, you think of a different answer that does make sense with the word “the” in it.
A position that you absolutely own. Something nobody else can claim. A Google search that will return a page full of nothing but you.
And owning a position makes it a lot easier to justify premium prices. You’re the go-to person. The obvious choice.
The one and only.
Yours,
—J