Get Different

Picture this: You've built something amazing. Your product or service truly delivers value, your customers love what you do, and you know you're better than the competition. Yet somehow, you're still struggling to get noticed. Your marketing feels like shouting into the void, and potential customers walk right past you toward mediocre alternatives that somehow seem to grab all the attention.

This frustration isn't unique to you—it's the reality for countless business owners who believe that quality alone will win the day. The harsh truth is that in today's noise-filled marketplace, being better isn't enough. You need to be different. The businesses that thrive aren't necessarily those with the best products or services; they're the ones that know how to cut through the clutter and demand attention in a world where people make decisions in milliseconds. Your responsibility isn't just to create value—it's to ensure the right people actually discover that value exists.

At its core, different marketing isn't about being flashy or outrageous—it's about recognizing your fundamental responsibility to your customers. If you truly offer something better than the alternatives, then you have an obligation to make sure people know about it. When superior solutions remain hidden while inferior ones capture market share, everyone loses.

The story of Gabriel Piña illustrates this perfectly. As a CPA who specialized in serving cigar shop owners, Gabriel had genuine expertise and delivered real results for his clients. Yet for years, he struggled to grow his practice because he relied on the same tired marketing methods every other accountant used. Word-of-mouth referrals and industry networking kept him barely afloat while inferior service providers thrived simply because they were more visible.

Everything changed when Gabriel embraced his responsibility to market differently. Instead of sending generic brochures or cold emails like his competitors, he began mailing carefully selected business books to potential clients. He'd place sticky notes on key pages with personal insights and include his contact information with an offer for free consultation. This approach was unexpected, valuable, and authentically reflected his expertise and generosity.

The transformation was remarkable. Within months, Gabriel had more qualified leads than he could handle, and his revenue increased dramatically. His different approach didn't just help him—it ensured that cigar shop owners found the superior accounting services they needed instead of settling for generic alternatives. When you market differently, you serve your community by making excellence visible and accessible.

Successful marketing in today's environment requires mastering three interconnected elements that work together like a perfectly choreographed dance. The DAD framework provides a simple yet powerful system for creating marketing that actually works: Differentiate to get noticed, Attract to maintain engagement, and Direct to inspire action.

Understanding why this sequence matters requires recognizing how the human brain processes information. Our minds are hardwired to filter out the familiar and only pay attention to what's different or unexpected. This filtering system, called the reticular formation, helped our ancestors survive by focusing on potential threats or opportunities while ignoring routine background noise. Today, this same mechanism determines whether your marketing gets noticed or joins the invisible pile of ignored messages.

Consider the transformation of Anthony Sicari's solar business. After years of ineffective radio advertising that sounded exactly like every other contractor's commercials, Anthony decided to try something radically different. Instead of hiring a professional announcer to read a polished script with background music, he recorded himself leaving what sounded like a personal voicemail message. In this intimate format, he shared his genuine frustrations with industry misinformation and his commitment to helping customers make informed decisions.

The response was immediate and dramatic. The authentic, conversational tone differentiated his message from the sea of generic advertisements. It attracted ideal customers who appreciated his honesty and expertise. And it directed them to take a specific action—visiting a dedicated website where they could learn more and request consultation. By following the DAD sequence, Anthony transformed his marketing from an expense into his most powerful business growth tool.

Rather than casting a wide net and hoping for the best, different marketing requires laser focus on your most valuable potential customers. The concept of targeting one hundred ideal prospects isn't arbitrary—it reflects both the statistical reality of effective testing and the practical limits of personalized attention that creates genuine connection.

This approach begins with honest evaluation of your existing customer base. Who are the clients that not only pay well but also energize you? These relationships provide the template for finding more ideal prospects. By analyzing the characteristics, challenges, and aspirations of your best customers, you can identify where similar people gather and how to reach them effectively.

Linda Weathers discovered this principle after burning through fifty thousand dollars on generic marketing that produced zero results. As an accountant specializing in tax planning, she had been trying to reach "small business owners" through broad-based advertising and lead generation services. The messaging was generic, the audience was undefined, and the results were predictably disappointing.

Working together, we helped Linda identify her ideal client: established business owners who valued proactive tax planning and were frustrated with reactive accounting services. Instead of trying to reach thousands of random prospects, she focused on one hundred specific individuals who fit this profile. She researched their businesses, understood their challenges, and crafted personalized outreach that spoke directly to their needs and aspirations.

The transformation was swift and profound. Within three weeks, Linda had two new clients and several qualified prospects. The focused approach didn't just improve her results—it changed her entire relationship with marketing. Instead of feeling like she was bothering strangers, she was connecting with people who genuinely needed her expertise. When you focus on your one hundred ideal prospects, marketing becomes service rather than interruption.

The path to marketing success requires embracing experimentation over perfection. Most different marketing ideas will fail, but this reality shouldn't discourage you—it should liberate you. When you approach marketing as a series of small experiments rather than major campaigns, failure becomes feedback and iteration becomes improvement.

The key is starting with manageable tests that provide clear data about what works. Each experiment should target a specific segment of your ideal prospects with a focused message and obvious call to action. You measure the response, analyze the results, and either expand successful approaches or quickly move on from unsuccessful ones.

Matt Shoup's painting company provides a powerful example of turning perceived disadvantages into marketing advantages. For years, Matt kept his company's biggest mistake secret—the day his crew accidentally painted a baby along with a door frame. He was convinced that revealing this incident would destroy his reputation and drive away potential customers.

When a skeptical prospect demanded to hear about his company's worst failures, Matt reluctantly shared the painted baby story. He explained exactly what happened, how they handled the situation, and what they learned from the experience. Rather than losing the sale, this honesty won the customer's trust and confidence. If Matt's company could handle such an extraordinary mistake with integrity and care, surely they could be trusted with normal painting projects.

This revelation inspired Matt to completely reimagine his marketing approach. He began featuring the painted baby story prominently in his brochures and advertisements, along with other honest accounts of problems and solutions. The transparent approach differentiated his company from competitors who only shared sanitized success stories. It attracted customers who valued honesty over perfection, and it established trust before the first meeting. By embracing his perceived disadvantage, Matt created one of his most powerful marketing advantages.

True marketing success comes from understanding a fundamental truth: better is not better, different is better. In a world where people make decisions in milliseconds and countless options compete for attention, excellence without visibility becomes irrelevance. Your responsibility extends beyond creating value—you must ensure that value gets discovered by the people who need it most.

Remember that "your weakness is your strength" and that "different doesn't require you to be different—different requires you to be you, full out." The businesses that thrive aren't those that play it safe by following industry standards, but those that have the courage to stand out authentically. When you embrace what makes you unique and present it boldly to the world, you don't just win customers—you serve your community by making better options visible.

Start today by identifying one thing you do differently than your competitors, then find a way to make that difference impossible to ignore. Whether it's your unconventional background, your unique process, or even your past mistakes, turn what you think is a disadvantage into your greatest marketing asset. The world needs what you offer, but first, the world needs to notice you exist.