Is your DSI super?  Wait…let’s step back first.  A DSI is a Dominant Selling Idea – think of it as the modern day version of the Unique Selling Proposition (USP).  Basically it’s THE big idea inside a marketing brand – it’s the selling idea that establishes you as the #1 choice within your category and specialty.  You can learn all about the DSI concept from the book “Why Johnny Can’t Brand” by Bill Schley and Carl Nichols.

When they talk about a DSI, they’re not talking about marketing fluff and being super funny or creative (although that’s not excluded from a DSI).  A DSI is about having a simple (sentence or two) way to communicate the value you bring to your customers that makes you the top of your specialty and category. 

An example of DSIs? 

There are lots of car brands…cars are the category.  A specialty within the car category is safety.  What do you think of when you’re looking for a safe car?  Volvo established their Dominant Selling Idea a long time ago as the safest car brand – they pretty much own that specialty.  Here are some others:

M&Ms – the candy that melts in your mouth, not in your hand.

Enterprise Car Rental – “We’ll pick you up”!  (They created their own specialty of rental cars not at airports).

Halls – with ‘Vapor Action’ (lots of throat lozenges, but only one with ‘vapor action’)

The beauty of an effective Dominant Selling Idea is that it automatically makes you the top choice within your selected specialty (assuming you can live up to your claim).

The Test for a Super DSI

In Why Johnny Can’t Brand, the authors go through a lot of ideas and a process to help you figure out what your DSI should be.  It’s not easy…and not every business is going to be able to legitimately have a DSI, but here’s a test to help you figure out if you’re onto something.

Is your product or business idea:

1. Superlative

Are you as good or better than everyone else within your specialty?  Can you claim #1 in something?  Best in class within your boundaries? (i.e. best pizza in Kansas City).

2. Important

Does your differentiator – your DSI – address something that’s important for decision makers? You may sell cars that have top and bottom windshield wipers…but that’s not likely to sway many decisions.

3. Believable

Is it clear why we should believe your claims?  Do you have credible and important testimonials?  Does it logically follow that you would be good at this product or service? (Think about your favorite steak restaurant offering up an enchilada…probably not believable).

4. Memorable

Does your idea stand out from the crowd?  Does it link to an emotional feeling?  What would cause me to remember your idea if I looked at a dozen similar ideas within your category or specialty?

5. Tangible

This is where the rubber meets the road.  You might have created a great idea that establishes you as a believable #1 within your specialty in a memorable way, but if you don’t actually deliver on that promise you won’t last.  To have a Super DSI, it has to actually perform (and be more than just an idea on paper).

What I really like about the concept of having a DSI is that it’s not just clever marketing and it’s not just for big national players.  Any business or idea will benefit by positioning as a Dominant Selling Idea…and any business or idea will suffer without that positioning.

Think about the last time you told some friends about a great restaurant in your area.  Maybe you said something like; “They have the best fries…you’ve got try them!”  or “I was amazed at their service, I’ve never had an experience like that before!”.  That’s potentially their DSI…something they should build around.

Now think about how your customers describe your business…would they consistently isolate on your important strength?  Are you consistently positioning yourself as #1 in a specialty?

These are tough questions and they take a lot of time and soul searching to answer honestly, but if you can figure this out you will be successful.  A valid DSI can take you to new heights in your business.

What do you think about Dominant Selling Ideas?  Are you comfortable that you know what yours is?  We’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.

Shawn Kinkade   Kansas City Business Coach

Photo by aka Kath

If you’re like a lot of business owners and entrepreneurs that I’ve talked to recently…you’re feeling pretty tired.  One guy described it as feeling stretched thin.  Worn out, dragging, physically and mentally drained…and all for good reasons!  Let’s face it, for most of us the last 2…maybe even 3 years have been challenging in many ways.

However it’s a new year and NOW is the absolute best time to start making great things happen for yourself.  (And if you’re worried…even a little bit…that 2012 is the end of the world, the super smart folks at NASA can reassure you there’s nothing to worry about!).  The way I look at it, you’ve always got two choices, you can stress and fret and let the world beat up on you, or you can choose to go out and build your own future.

Where to start?  Here are a few ideas that will help you kick off the New Year the right way.

Play to your strengths

As a business owner you have to wear a lot of hats, everything from IT support to accounting and customer service.  Early on you didn’t have a choice, you do pretty much everything, but as you grow and find some success you have to find other answers or you will collapse under the work. 

If your goal is to grow your business and get more enjoyment out of it, then you have to start playing to your strengths.  When you’re focusing on things you’re really good at, everything seems easy and time flies.  When you’re spending time on things you’re not particularly good it, it’s a struggle and no fun.

What are the 1 or 2 things about your business that you absolutely love?  The parts where you make a huge difference?  What would it take to have you start spending more time on those aspects of your business?

Conversely, what are the 1 or 2 things about your business that you dread doing or just don’t do very well?  What would it take to delegate or outsource that work?  Yes it might cost you some money, but that will be more than offset by the gains you’ll have from investing that time and effort into your strengths.

Focus – what’s most important right now?

One of the reasons you’re feeling tired is that you’re trying to do too much.  Too many things are at the top of your list as critical items.  You work hard, but because you’re spreading your time and attention across 10…maybe even 20 different activities, you’re not getting anything done.  Which would make anyone feel tired!  It’s time to start thinking about doing less!

Take a hard look at what you want to achieve this year.  Out of all the things you could spend your time on, what are the top 5 things you could do that would make the biggest difference to your business?  That list might include eliminating a constraint (i.e. hiring more help, streamlining processes).  That list might include generating more leads and opportunities (developing a marketing plan, more purposeful networking, emphasizing specific marketing tactics).

Whatever you think it is – write down your top 5 priorities for the year and and focus on getting those 5 things done. 

It can be really difficult to prioritize and narrow down your list, but I guarantee you will see a lot more progress and feel better about it if you can stick with a focused approach.

Give

When you’re trying to make things happen, it’s easy to fall into a taker’s mentality.  To focus on what you need from other people in order to win.  Here’s the thing…it’s completely counter-intuitive, but if you really want to succeed, your best bet (and shortest path) is to focus on how you can help others out first.

You build fans, friends, relationships and referral partners by helping people out.  You should always be giving value.  Find out what someone needs…and then help them get it! 

Try this – identify those people who could be great connections for you and figure out how you can help them.  Don’t ask for anything in return, honestly go in with a giving mentality.  (Read the Go-Giver if you want some inspiration on this idea).  Not only will you feel good about yourself, but you will be surprised at the unexpected doors that open because of your efforts.

Reflect and be grateful for today’s gift…

It can be really difficult to find perspective…the big picture that helps propel you in a positive way through good days and bad.  If you’re just treading water and not looking at the big picture…not consistently thinking about why you do what you do, then it’s going to be exhausting. 

Conversely, if you can get into a mindset of purpose and meaning, a lot of things start falling into place.  Obviously you have to find your own answers, but this short TED video from Louie Schwarzberg might give you some ideas.  Check out Nature. Beauty. Gratitude. for a lift.

There are plenty of days when things are going wrong that you’re not likely to feel grateful, but imagine if you could carry that feeling around all the time…pretty powerful stuff.

Challenge

Here’s my challenge to you – give the 4 ideas above a real shot in the next few weeks.  Spend time thinking about and implementing them into your life and business.  Then let me know if you can sense a difference in your progress and how you feel about it.

What other ideas would you recommend for getting off to a great start in a new year?  I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.  Seriously – let us know what you think.

Shawn Kinkade  Kansas City Business Coach

Photo by Stuck in Customs

  photo by remuz

It didn’t start out this way. 

When you first started your business you had a dream, it was exciting…maybe even fun!  Sure there was a lot of hard work, but you can still remember the thrill of your first clients, cashing your first check and the quiet satisfaction of delivering on a job well done.  Unfortunately that seems like a long time ago.  Now you feel more like a caged animal…trapped by a business that demands all of your time and energy and doesn’t give much back in return.

You’re not alone – according to a recent study, only 40% of small business owners took a vacation last year – some because of lack of money, but many of them because they can’t physically be away from their business for any length of time!  You’re past the point when running harder means you go farther and faster – now running faster only makes the wheel in the cage spin harder!

Are you a slave to your business?  Here are some surefire ways to tell and more importantly what it takes to escape that slavery.

Read More…

The holy grail of business is coming up with a competitive advantage that can’t be reasonably matched by your competitors.  If you can pull it off, you essentially don’t have competitors.  When you think of creating competitive advantage, you typically think of innovation, maybe technology, barriers of entry of some sort, maybe even some sort of geographic advantage (think oil fields).

However there is another way to develop a competitive advantage and although he doesn’t expressly lay it out that way, that’s what Guy Kawasaki’s latest book Enchantment (The Art of Changing Hearts, Minds and Actions) made me think about.  (Full Disclosure:  I received a free review copy of the book – thanks Guy!).

Quick – think about the coolest restaurant you’ve ever been to.  Maybe it’s an elaborately themed place in Vegas…or that hole in the wall diner where everyone knows your name and just fits you.  Or maybe it’s the place that got everything right and you walked out feeling like you had more than a meal, you had an experience.

That’s what Kawasaki means when he talks about Enchantment!  It’s about creating a genuine feeling of delight in your customers and prospective customers.

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  photo by Cameron Cassan

Sometimes the whole ‘wisdom’ thing is overblown – do a search on quotes and you’ll find more deep thoughts than you can shake a stick at, but sometimes those pithy ideas really have something to say!  I ran across this quote the other day and I was struck with how much it addresses a lot of things I see people struggling with:

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.”    – Aristotle

There are a few things that really stand out to me on this particular quote.

First of all, Aristotle is a pretty influential guy in the grand scheme of things…student of Plato (who was a student of Socrates), and the teacher of Alexander the Great and responsible for all sorts of big ideas in western philosophy.

But from a more practical standpoint (as it applies to business) there are a couple of really important ideas here…

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