The Problem with Penguins

Introduction The Problem With Penguins Not long ago, I saw a fascinating movie called March of The Penguins. Perhaps you’ve seen it. The movie is about penguins in Antarctica. Every few years, they march 75 miles to the same breeding ground their ancestors have been using for millions of years. Watching the movie, I was intrigued by one particular scene showing thousands of penguins huddling together for warmth. I was struck by the fact that all of the penguins look exactly the same. You can’t tell one from the other. In fact, the penguins have a difficult time telling each other apart. The penguins even look the same to other penguins! Watching the movie, it occurred to me that most business people have the same problem. They look just like their competitors. They sell the same kinds of products and services. They tell the same stories. They do the same things. Sure, there might be a few subtle differences, but from the perspective of the marketplace, through the eyes of their prospects, they all look like a bunch of penguins. Dealing with this penguin problem is important because you need to do something big and dramatic if you want to stand out in today’s over-crowded and competitive marketplace. Everyday, there are more and more penguins entering your industry, and they all look like you. Go on the Internet and enter the name of your product or service into Google. How many search results did you get? I tried it for the words “financial advisor” and I got 28,700,000 results. 28,700,000! And that’s just the financial advisors who have a web site. If you want to make more money, the penguin problem is a big obstacle. If your prospects view you and your competitors as exactly the same, they will choose the supplier with the lowest possible price. That means: even if you get the business, you won’t make much of a profit. If you want to attract more great prospects, the penguin problem is also a big obstacle. If you look and sound like everyone else, why would your prospects want to meet with you? They don’t want to hear the same old thing they’ve heard a hundred times before. They want to hear something new, better, and different. The penguin problem is also a roadblock if you want to grow your business. If you sell essentially the same things as your competitors, and do basically the same things, it will be very difficult to make a quantum leap in growth. That’s because, with little barriers to entry, your industry will keep getting more crowded with penguins. Supply will become greater than demand, and your growth will stall or even fall. That’s why the penguin problem is something you need to deal with. It’s also important to realize that the penguin problem is new. In the old days, you could be a penguin and still make a good living. Years ago, nobody had a lot of competition. In the 1960’s for example, my mom and dad ran a public relations company. They only had a handful of competitors, and there was more than enough business to go around. They didn’t have to worry about standing out. There was more demand than supply. But today things are much different. Your industry has become jam packed with penguins. They’re marching into your marketplace across international borders and over the Internet. They’re also converging on you from other industries. Lawyers are becoming financial advisors. Computer makers are becoming entertainment companies. Coffee shops are selling music CDs. Every day, your cozy little ice flow is getting more and more crowded with other penguins all chasing the same customers. Reading this, you might be thinking: We’re not penguins. We’re completely different from our competition. That’s probably true. But the question is: Can your prospects tell you apart from the other penguins? Can they see quickly that you’re not the same as all the rest? After all, every penguin is a unique creature, with different thoughts, feelings, and abilities. But no one can see it. That’s because their packaging is the same as the other penguins. That’s why I wrote this book. I want to help you stand out from the other penguins. Otherwise, you could waste hundreds of hours, spend thousands or millions of dollars, and expend lots of energy doing sales and marketing activities that don’t work because you haven’t addressed the penguin problem. In this book, I’ll explain why you need to develop a BIG Idea; something new, better, and different, that will dramatically differentiate you from the other penguins. I’ll teach you how to come up with your BIG Idea, and then show you how to brand, package, and promote it. I’ll also tell you about dozens of BIG Ideas that have been packaged and sold successfully by our clients over the past 20 years. One important note: This book is for business people who want to take action, and get things done. You might have read books on this subject such as Blue Ocean Strategy or Purple Cow or worked with a coach who talked conceptually about branding and packaging, but this book is different. It explains step-by-step exactly what you need to do to get your BIG Idea to market quickly so you can start making more money, meeting more great customers, and growing your business as soon as possible. So if you’re finally ready to break away from all those other pesky penguins, read on.