I’m so over it with Unique Value Propositions.

Being “the only” in B2B is an impossible standard, and I honestly think the obsession with having a “unique value” is a roadblock to scalability for many really solid businesses.

Imagine you are on a first date, and your slightly hapless companion says, “So…what’s your unique value proposition?”

Would you even know how to start to answer that? Of course not! It’s incomprehensible to try and capture all of the subtle nuance and contradiction contained in a human person into a pithy statement — much less one that proffers a totally original and unique characteristic that is shared by not one of the other 7 billion people on the planet.

It’s absurd.

Unique does not exist

Not for people and not for business.

Differentiation is only apparent in relative terms, within a specific frame of reference — other people in your social circle, or other businesses in your industry subset.

You can be better, or faster, or slower, or more intelligent, or quicker to make a joke, or more practical, or any other innumberable characteristics.

It is only when you combine of these things that make you more or less or better or worse that you get something that is unique.

Compound that into a company… and you have people or teams or processes or tools or approaches that ALL have the ability to be relatively better or worse or more or less… and it gets even harder to say “Yes, this is it. This is the ONE thing!”

There is no ONE THING, because having a truly UNIQUE differentiator is impossible.

There are a million firms out there doing exactly what you do, probably the same way, with the same skills, passion, and attention to detail.

The power of relative difference

Differentiation is not talking about what makes you unique, it is about amplifying what makes you RELATIVELY DIFFERENT than others.

– maybe your process is just a little faster
– maybe your service is just a touch more personalized
– maybe you take that one extra step that others like to skip

Differentiation can be found it a lot of places. Your business does not have to be a unicorn. You just have to know and talk about the little things that make you a better fit for your ideal customers.

Let’s figure out what that it.