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The Estherpreneur is a weekly chat about doing business and life God’s way. Join your host, Edna Harding as she offers biblical strategies and practical applications to improve your mind, business, spirit, relationships, and finances. Listen along as she talks with guests on how to thrive in all areas of life. Edna is a Wife, Mother, Growth Strategist, Author, Minister, Certified Maxwell Business Consultant and Executive Coach, an accredited Master Mindset Coach, and Speaker whose message of hope, truth, and wisdom reaches people all around the world. FavorandWealth.com Estherpreneur.com
Edna Harding [00:00:02]:
Well, hello. Thank you for tuning in for another episode of The EstaPreneur Podcast. My name is Edna. And if you're new here, I just wanted to say welcome to all my returning family members. Thank you guys for joining in this week, where we dive into the heart of growing your business with a blend of biblical wisdom and unconventional or what I call innovative strategies. I'm your host. My name is Edna. And today we're going to shine a light on how to distinguish your business in a crowded marketplace.
Edna Harding [00:00:37]:
Now how many of you guys are dealing with, oh my gosh, there's so many realtors out there. Oh my gosh, there's so many business coaches out there. Oh my gosh, there's so many lawyers out there. Oh my gosh, there's so many, personal trainers out there. Oh my gosh, there's so many, speakers out there. Right? How do you stand out in the sea with a service or product that seems to be the same exact thing like everyone else? So today's episode is just that. We're gonna focus on how to, distinguish yourself in a crowded market. Alright? So first of all, I just wanna open up in prayer, father God.
Edna Harding [00:01:22]:
We welcome you here today. We ask for my brothers and sisters who are listening on this episode, oh, God, that you will give them ideas, that you will speak to their spirit, oh, God, that you will ignite some creativity for them, that you will help them see things from your perspective, god. And I pray, oh god, that you will open doors that no man can shut in Jesus' name. Alright. So I wanna start well with a scripture. It's found in Matthew 514, which reminds us that you are the light of the world, like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. So let's explore how you can illuminate your business's unique light. Now I do have to say this episode is not that long.
Edna Harding [00:02:08]:
It's pretty short. I am in a middle still of, moving, not moving, but unpacking from the move. And so I have a few rooms left, and I have a client meeting I gotta prepare for tomorrow. My daughter's soccer, practice is coming up. So my hours are a little bit limited, but I'm here being consistent, trying to stay faithful to the work that God has called me. And so, with that being said, let's go back to the topic. So in a sea of competitors, how do you ensure that your business doesn't just survive, but thrive? Right? Now I wanna say that thriving in the world standards versus thriving in the standards of the bible are completely different. Okay? Because a lot of times when people look at thriving, they look at just the money aspect, the financial aspects.
Edna Harding [00:03:10]:
But I want you to look at your business as a whole, meaning your business should involve God's business. Did you hear what I just said? Your business isn't just about your financial revenue, which I know in the world's standards, that's what it is. But God wants holistic prosperity, meaning he wants to prosper you in every area of your life. And what does that look like? That means your physical, your financial, your relational, your spiritual, especially, your mental, your emotional, like, all these part of yourself because let's think about it this way. You are your business. What does that mean? It means especially if you're starting out, if you're a start up, a small business, without you, the business won't run. Right? Because you're not a multibillion dollar conglomerate. Yeah.
Edna Harding [00:04:10]:
You're not a big major corporation, especially if you're a solopreneur. You're a service provider, maybe you have a small team, they need you. And so in order for you to be able to sustain your energy levels, to sustain your mental capacity, your to sustain your sharpness, you have to take care of your well-being, which includes your soul, which is why, as I mentioned before, for those of you guys who have never heard, my focus as a business coach, as a growth strategist, as an executive life coach is to focus on your soul as well, not just the sales, but also your soul, which involves your mind, will, emotions, right, and your imagination as well. Right? Because all those things make up the soul. Okay? And and then also stewardship. So that's what I do is I help you grow your sales, right, your stewardship, and I also help you with your soul. Right? I'm help you master that. Sorry.
Edna Harding [00:05:17]:
My brain is going blank. So, anyhoo, I'm saying this by helping you shift your perspective. I want you to look through the eyes of the spirit. I want you to look to the to look through the lens of the Bible and look at the success of your business from his perspective. He wants your business to be thriving, but he also wants your family to be thriving. He wants your marriage to be thriving. He wants to make sure that you have joy in your heart. He wants to make sure that no matter what comes along your business, it's not gonna steal your joy.
Edna Harding [00:05:56]:
Right? He wants to make sure that you have time for friends. He wants to make sure he has you have time for your family. He wants to make sure you have time to serve in the church. He wants to make sure that you're not burned out, that you're not spread too thin. And it's a process. It's something that I fight with on a regular basis because I'm such a go all in type of person, and it frustrates me when I can't do at be everywhere and do everything at a 100%. And these are some of the challenges that I face even when speaking with, you know, my husband, my children, sometimes my friends. Like, when I'm gung ho doing something, I wanna just get it done.
Edna Harding [00:06:37]:
And sometimes I have to step back and be like, okay. There's always tomorrow, which is why my husband is here, meaning he god sent me my husband to help balance that about me. But, also, at the same time, I like the fact that I am a go getter, and I get stuff done. Right? It's one of those things. There's been a ongoing joke for people who have worked with me. They're like, if you wanna get stuff done, give it to Edna because she'll get it done on time with limited resources. And I'm I'm a doer. Right? I'm not a talker.
Edna Harding [00:07:11]:
I'm a doer. I just get it done. I finished what I started. And so which is why I don't quit either. So why why am I saying this? I'm saying this that I want you as you listen to this episode, I want you to shift your your mindset and shift your listening ears into the mindset and the ears of the spirit, not your flesh. Alright? So let's get started. So, we're gonna talk about 3 different tips that will help you define your unique selling proposition. How can you distinguish yourself in an oversaturated market? Number 1.
Edna Harding [00:07:51]:
Tip number 1. Let's get to it. Identify yourself. In Colossians 46, Paul advises that your conversation be always for the brace, seasoned with salt so that you may know how to answer everyone. So just like salt enhances flavor, your business should enhance the marketplace. Right? Meaning, it's supposed to add some joy, add some peace, relieve some pain. It's supposed to do something. It's not supposed to be dull.
Edna Harding [00:08:23]:
Like, when your business is there, it should do something for your customer. It should it shouldn't be the same way as it was. There has to be some sort of change. Otherwise, it's not a business. Right? So I want you to ask yourself, do you know your salt? Do you know your salt? Right? So for those of you guys who don't know your salt, I want you to ask I I I want you to ask I'm asking you, how do you find your salt? Right? So the first thing I want you guys to do, remember this is a practical episode, is start by listing everything your product or service offers and pinpoint what's most unique. Right? So write down every product or service offering and identify what makes it most unique. So for me, it's the blend of being the timeless wisdom and the timely method. So I'm a mix of, legacy stuff, right, timeless things, and modern things.
Edna Harding [00:09:34]:
I know how to take the wisdom from back then, ancient wisdom, and apply it to modern strategies, right, and utilizes utilize the resources and the tools that we have in this day of age and, and basically blend them together. I'm hoping that makes sense. Right? And that's one of the things that differentiates me. Another thing that differentiates me from the other coaches out there is systems. I have I'm a I've I've been a project manager for 4 years out of my entire career. And when I say a project manager, I'm not talking about small projects. I'm talking about multi 100 of 1,000,000 of dollars type of projects that that encompasses many countries all over the world, many some of them even 7 continent not 7 continents, like, 5 continents. I work with people from all demographics, all different languages, all different professional level from the dockworker to the c suite people.
Edna Harding [00:10:46]:
I know how to interact with every aspect of your business from finance to IT to marketing to operations. I dealt with all types of individuals for 4 years straight, and I would manage, like, at the most, I think I had, like, 15 projects, 15 global projects at a time. So I'm very task oriented, and I know how to simplify and systemize complex things. And so I'm able to get stuff done regardless of how much stuff is on my plate. That is one of my giftings, and not everybody can do that. Most of the time, there are people who are strictly operational, but they don't have any vision. They don't have any creativity. They're not innovative.
Edna Harding [00:11:37]:
And some of the people who are innovative and creative and vision and and knows how to think big picture, they don't know all the small details. They don't know how to get stuff done. You know, they're thinkers, but they don't know how to actually do the thing. They're constantly thinking, thinking, thinking instead of doing, doing, doing. The good thing about one of my skill sets and one of the gifts that I've had because of my background background is I'm able to utilize both giftings and utilize both of them to full capacity. In fact, I don't know if you guys ever done a personality test. I'm right there in the middle between a driver and analytical. So I know how to cast vision, how to motivate, how to do all that stuff, but I also know how to be in a day to day operational side because I because of the nature of my business, the nature of the career that I've been in logistics, especially, you have to be detail oriented.
Edna Harding [00:12:38]:
You can't just be big big idea. Like, it has to be like, okay. I've done my research, but a lot of times, the things that I have is the the research that I've not isn't like the full analytical where you go every single detail detail detail detail. You just get the basics, get a few things, look at the pros and cons, and then make a decision. So my point is that's one of my strengths, and that's one of my salts. Does that make sense? So your responsibility as a business owner, as an idea generator for your company, is to identify what makes you and your talent, your giftings, on top of your talent, your people's gifting's unique. What makes your services unique? You have to identify that because let me tell you this. You will not stand out in a oversaturated market.
Edna Harding [00:13:29]:
You will not be able to sell yourselves, right, to people if you don't know what that is. You can't just say I'm a business coach. I help businesses grow. Like, that's not gonna work. You have to have a signature framework, some sort of method, some sort of program that makes you unique, and you also have to have different tools, different systems, different things that maybe the market hasn't tapped into yet or the market's not very familiar with, because that's what they need. They don't just need ideas. They need actual, let's get stuff done. Let's do it.
Edna Harding [00:14:07]:
Right? Let's how are you gonna make this happen? So I'm a be I'm a strategic thinker. I could put things into a project plan or a ta an action plan, and I'm also a finisher, I get stuff done. Right? So you need to find what that is, and you need to list that out. Find out what makes you unique. So identify yourself. One approach that you could do, especially if this is something that you're not good at, is, like, you know, coming up with, that because that's what I do is I help my clients do that. I help them identify what their strong points are. If you cannot hire someone like me, what I would do is I would, set up a customer advisory board.
Edna Harding [00:14:51]:
And what that is is you will identify key customers that you already worked with before and help them I mean, recruit them to advise you. So you get regular feedback from them and how to help, you keep your saltiness distinct and desirable. Right? Because there's nothing better than hearing from your customer's mouth what makes you unique. And this is why I like to hear testimonials from my clients, whether if it's written or verbal. It's not so much, you know, you know, what people say in the market, when marketing is like social proof, social proof. No. I wanna know their experience. So if it's positive, I can do it more.
Edna Harding [00:15:35]:
If it's negative, I could fix it. But most importantly, I wanna know what in their mind and their experience makes me different and makes me unique. Alright? Number 2, leverage biblical storytelling. No. The Bible captivates us with its stories, and your business should too. Right? So Jesus, what did he use? He used parables because he knew stories stick. So you need to ask yourself, what's your business story? Right? It's not about your product or service. In fact, if you're a start up or a small business, get that fixed.
Edna Harding [00:16:11]:
Get that, like, streamlined. Understand what your company's story is. My company story is about the ugly side of sales. I started my business in 2014 after I wrote a book, The Ugly Side of Sales, got published and started speaking at different conferences, and people started coming up to me wanting to hire me. That's how I started my business. That's my company story. I saw the ugly side of business, and I started a business to to to counter the ugly side of business and teach people how to win and grow business the right way. You see, I said that in, like, what? 30 seconds? If that, you need to have a a story, whether you could say it in 1 sentence, 2 sentences, 3 sentences, or a 10 minute or to 30 minute.
Edna Harding [00:16:58]:
I wouldn't say 30 minutes. Maybe 15 minute, story. Right? And you need to craft a narrative that in that basically shows people your mission, the challenges, and the triumphs. Okay? I have the untold story of Aetna in a a video that I created on my website. I talk about my battle to booming origin story. Like, these are things that will help you connect with your clients or future clients. So here's a practical tip. I want you to run storytelling workshops with your team.
Edna Harding [00:17:33]:
Not only will this help in creating a compelling brand story, but it'll also ensure that everyone in your company can share this story passionately and consistently. So if you have a team, ask them, do you know your comp our company's story? You wanna be able to because when they speak with people, especially your salespeople, you need to and I'm not telling you I'm not telling you guys. Like, I just gotta get like, I remember when I first this is a funny story. When I first started in sales, I would go into, like, our company was founded in 1970, whatever it was, 1984, and you don't they don't care about that stuff. Okay? They don't care about that stuff. What they care about is why should I trust you? How do I know that I that how do I know that you get me, that you see me? What is do you understand my problem, and how can you solve it? Right? So these are things that thank you, holy spirit. Okay. This is what I remember.
Edna Harding [00:18:33]:
I I used to but back then, I used to speak a lot at different conferences. And I always tell people, first, you need to connect with them in their mind intellectually. You need to let them assure them that you know what you're talking about. Right? Then you need to connect with them, through their hearts. They need to feel like you care. They need to feel like you see them, and then they'll connect with you via pocket, then they'll pay you. Right? People need to know that you know your stuff. They need to know that you care about them, that you see them, and then they'll pay you.
Edna Harding [00:19:02]:
It's really simple. It's a 3 step formula. It's not that complicated. Alright? But in order for you to do that, you need to be able to tell your stories that the other person or the audience can understand, can relate, can feel your heart. They will feel like it's authentic. It's not scripted. This is a skill set in itself. If you're not a good naturally natural story seller a story seller storyteller, this is definitely a skill set that you wanna invest in and learn.
Edna Harding [00:19:32]:
You could do this by reading books online. You could maybe watch a podcast, or you could hire me, and I'll teach you how to tell a story without selling. Right? You could share I'll teach you all of this. This is all part of my group coaching program. If you're, I'm I'm I'm not gonna pitch it right now, but at the end, I will give you guys an opportunity to sign up for a future program, coming up. I still have to figure out when because I still have a few things I gotta get done. Well, I gotta record the videos, but, I do have a a few people already signed up for it. So I just don't know when the live launch is.
Edna Harding [00:20:06]:
But, anyway, my point is you need to be able to share stories. Alright? And number 3, adopt reverse positioning. Okay. In John 12 24, it says, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. I want you to hear this next sentence very clearly, and I want you guys to listen to me slowly. Sometimes, growth comes from subtraction. Did you hear me? Sometimes, growth comes from subtraction.
Edna Harding [00:20:47]:
I want you to ask yourself, what can your business stop doing to better stand out? Simplifying your offer can lead to innovation. I remember I used to have all types of, you know, bells and whistles get I I used I wanted my program to be the best of the best. I wanted to give everything everything I could offer in in in in a bag. Right? In a box. You can't do that. You're gonna be spread out too thin. It's just gonna be overwhelming for the client and for you. So the best thing to do is simplify your offer.
Edna Harding [00:21:23]:
You need to identify what are the essentials. What are the 3 to 5 essential things that you need to provide and get good at that? And that's what you focus on. That's what you stand on. Right? And so if you have 500 services, if you're just starting out, that's probably not a good idea. Maybe you should start with 1 or 2 offerings, and then you add another one as you get good at that. Keep it simple. So here's a tip I want you guys to initiate a quarterly business pruning session. Assess what products or features you could eliminate to streamline operations or enhance your core offerings.
Edna Harding [00:22:02]:
Be intentional about this. Every quarter, get with your advisors, get with your team, get with yourself. I always get with the holy spirit, Jesus, and the father. And I we have our our business meeting, and I ask him, what products or services do you want me to get rid of? What products or service do you want me to stop selling for now? What do you want me to put in a back burner? What do you want me to focus on? Which one thing do you want me to do? Right? And so that's what I did. In initially, like, last last year, I just focused on group coaching and 1 on 1. This year, I'm still kinda figuring out. I think I'm gonna be speaking again. I think that's where the Lord is leading me, in my group coaching.
Edna Harding [00:22:40]:
Right? Online group coaching and my 1 on ones to my special customers. Right? And so, anyway, I want you to think about that. Right? Identify, ways for you to streamline your operations and identify your core offerings. Again, if you're starting out 1 to 3 only, get good at that and enhance it. Alright? So remember guys that your business is like a city on the hill. It cannot be hidden, but it must be distinctly visible. Did you hear me? Your business is like a city on a hill, but it and it cannot be hidden, but it must be distinctly visible. These strategies aren't just surviving in a crowded market.
Edna Harding [00:23:21]:
Okay? They're about thriving. Alright? So as we wrap up today's episode, I encourage you to take these tips and think about how you can apply them to your business. Okay? For more insights and resources, head over to my website, favorandwealth.com. And if you're looking to really dive and transform your business, consider joining my business unlimited group coaching program. Okay? This is I'm gonna put the link. Actually, if you go to favorandwealth.com, click on services, click on group coaching, that's where you'll find it. K? If you have any questions at all, you can always reach me at hello at favorandwealth.com. Again, I'm sorry for the rushing, but I do have to get off of this so I can continue to unpack and prepare for my client meeting tomorrow.
Edna Harding [00:24:09]:
So until next time, keep shining your light and making a difference, guys. God bless you. Thank you for tuning us tuning us tuning in on the SFinner podcast. Don't forget to subscribe, leave a review, and keep an eye. For our next episode, we'll explore more ways to align your business practices with God's words. Until next time, my friends. Keep shining.