One of the first friends I made in college was a guy who introduced himself with this fun fact: “My favorite ice cream flavor is vanilla.”

Afterwards, my roommate said to me, “He’s the most boring guy I’ve ever met! Who has vanilla as their favorite flavor?!”

While I do like vanilla ice cream and this guy turned out to be way more interesting than his first impression, my roommate had a great point.

What’s the first impression your potential clients have of you?

Do you blend in with everyone else with your copy and branding? Are you nice and sweet but utterly forgettable?

Or are you that to-die-for chocolate-mocha-chino-caramel-fudge giant sundae for two with a maraschino cherry on top?

I’ll be the first to admit — sometimes I’m so focused on facts and numbers (I do love numbers) that I forget to sound like me.

So first, let me share with you my non-vanilla statement about what I do:

Tired of one-size-fits-none courses and solutions that only leave you more in debt with no clients in sight? I’m the kick-ass Business Architect who’ll help you build that profitable business, beam by digital beam.

Waste more time on self-taught courses or coaches that don’t fit? Not you. You’re smarter than that. Want a business partner who’ll be with you every step of the way, provide that shoulder to cry on when you need one, and who’ll help you bust that b.s. and finally start making money? I’m your woman.

And to be honest, it took me months to come up with those two seemingly simple paragraphs!

If you are where I was, and trying to figure out how to communicate to the world how unique you are and how amazing your clients’ lives are going to be after working with you, try thinking through these 3 questions:

1. What sets you apart?

Don’t overthink this, because it can be as simple as your background, your personality or your offering. Here are a few examples to help you get started:

• Do you combine two unexpected things in your offering?
  • Uber combines taxi-hailing + technology to help make the sometimes-painful process of getting a ride completely seamless
• Do you take a stand against the status quo?
  • Jessica Alba’s Honest company took a stand against existing standards for baby products and
• Does your experience set you apart?
  • Richard Branson started in the record industry, then moved into the airline industry with Virgin Airways, and then into telecommunications with Virgin Mobile
• Does your personality set you apart?
  • Love him or hate him, Donald Trump’s personality has helped him stand out from the sea of real estate developers and elevate him and his brand to celebrity status

2. What makes you better?

The first time someone asked me this question, I felt a lot of resistance to answering it because it’s engrained in us that modesty is a virtue. That may be, but you know what isn’t a virtue? Not letting your client know why you’re the best coach for her!

Here are a couple of questions to help you brainstorm how you’re the best in your industry:

• Do you have more experience?
• Do your clients get the best results?
• Do you provide better service?
• Is your solution faster?

3. What’s your why?

This will help you truly connect with your audience and stand out, because as humans, nothing helps us connect better than our stories. Most of the time when people reach out to ask me about how they can work with me, it’s because they’ve connected with a personal piece of my story and remember me because of it, not because they’ve been dazzled by my brilliance or my experience.

It took me a long time to appreciate this after so many years in the corporate world de-emphasizing it, but now I wouldn’t have it any other way. Because at the end of the day, we just want to work with people who understand us, who we connect to, and who we know, like, and trust.

I can’t wait to see your unique non-vanilla message, because, truthfully, the world is waiting for it!

Warmly,
Luisa