If your content sounds like everyone else’s and your offers aren’t converting the way they should, your unique selling point might be the missing piece. Many service-based entrepreneurs unintentionally blend in by using generic titles and messaging, which makes it harder for buyers to see why they should choose you. Let’s break down why standing out is the key to increasing sales and how to actually own what makes you different.
If you’re struggling to articulate what makes you stand out, start with the Business Growth Quiz to uncover where your positioning needs clarity.
Suddenly you’re looking at your own business thinking… Wait a second.
I’ve been downplaying the very thing that makes me different.
You simplify what you do.
You use titles that feel safe.
You explain your work in a way that people “understand.”
But in doing that… You strip away the thing that actually makes people choose you.
Why Fitting In Is Costing You Sales
There’s this pressure in business to sound familiar.
To use language people recognize.
To fit into a category that makes sense.
“Business coach.”
“Content strategist.”
“Marketing expert.”
And while those labels might feel easier… They’re also making you invisible.
When you downplay your skills to fit into a box, you lose the very differentiation that attracts clients.
Because if you sound like everyone else…
Why would anyone choose you?
The Real Problem: You’re Downplaying Your Expertise
This is the part that hits.
You’re not lacking value.
You’re hiding it.
You’ve convinced yourself that:
- “Everyone already knows this”
- “This isn’t that special”
- “This doesn’t matter that much”
But it does.
In fact, it’s probably the reason your best clients get the results they do.
The Moment Everything Clicks
Instead of just being a “business coach,” the real differentiation was this:
A deep background in accounting.
A focus on profit, not just growth.
A lens that always ties strategy back to revenue and profitability.
That’s not small.
That’s everything.
And yet, it was being glossed over.
Until someone else pointed it out.
That’s usually how it happens.
Why Your Unique Selling Point Matters More Than Ever
We’re in a space where everything sounds the same.
Content is repetitive.
Messaging is recycled.
AI is amplifying sameness.
So the only thing that actually cuts through?
Your perspective.
As highlighted in the episode , your lived experience, your background, and how you think are what make people trust you.
Not just what you do.
But how you do it.
What a Real Unique Selling Point Actually Looks Like
Let’s make this practical.
A generic version sounds like:
- “I help people with content strategy”
A differentiated version sounds like:
- “I help influencers turn their existing content into multiple revenue streams”
Same category. Completely different positioning.
Why Most People Get This Wrong
Because they focus on:
- Deliverables
- Features
- What’s included
Instead of:
- Perspective
- Process
- Results
People are not buying your checklist. They are buying how you think.
Stop Selling the “What” and Start Selling the “Why You”
This is where everything shifts.
Instead of saying: “Here’s what you get…”
You start saying:
“Here’s how I see things differently.”
“Here’s why my clients get results faster.”
“Here’s the lens I bring that others don’t.”
Because that’s what creates connection. That’s what builds trust. That’s what drives decisions.
Why Generic Messaging Is Slowing Your Sales
If your messaging sounds like everyone else’s, your buyer has to work harder.
They have to:
- Compare you to others
- Figure out what’s different
- Decide who feels right
And when that feels unclear…
They don’t decide at all.
Clarity speeds up sales. Sameness slows them down.
How Do You Identify Your Unique Selling Point?
- Look at your background and past experience
- Identify what you naturally prioritize in your work
- Pay attention to what clients say about you
- Notice what you do differently without thinking about it
- Ask: what lens do I bring that others don’t?
The Shift That Changes Everything
You don’t need to fit into a box. You need to stand out of one.
Because the goal is not to be understood immediately.
The goal is to make people lean in and say: “Wait… tell me more.”
What to Do Next
Take a step back and look at your current messaging.
Ask yourself:
- Where am I simplifying too much?
- What am I leaving out that actually matters?
- What am I downplaying that makes me different?
Then choose just one thing to amplify.
And if you want help identifying your unique selling point and positioning it in a way that actually drives sales, book a CEO Strategy Call. We’ll pull out what makes you different and build your messaging around it.
Resources Mentioned in This Episode:
- Business Growth Quiz
- Book a CEO Strategy Call
- Focused Visionary Accelerator
- Lead and Conversion Tracker
Full Episode Transcript
Today’s episode’s a little bit like just kind of this impromptu. I’ve had this thought, I haven’t done one of these in a while.
I really have been trying to, like, really structure these podcast episodes, but once in a while, I just have these thoughts that I got to get out to you.
And this one is about downplaying your skills, downplaying the things that you bring to the table and trying to fit in when, like, you literally were not designed to fit in, and really utilizing that, like, unique value proposition or like that unique selling point in your content that really draws people into you. All right, so this is kind of my own personal realization. Conversations I’ve been having with clients a lot lately.
Conversation, post, discovery, call. You know, I love when people reflect back to us what we are not seeing. And that’s what this episode is for.
So hopefully this is going to reflect something back to you that you are not seeing in yourself. All right, so that’s what we’re talking about today. Let’s dive in. All right, we’re back. My name is Michelle Denial.
If you’re new here, I’m so happy you are here. You’re listening to the Real Truth About Business.
And I want to just real quick remind you that Back Pocket Insights, the free private podcast, is now free. I said free private podcast. It didn’t used to be free, but now it is.
And I’m having so much fun with that, where I’m just sharing these, like, little voice memo stuff style coaching nuggets in there. I’m also sharing, like, pieces of actual live coaching episode or coaching calls that we’ve done. So anyway, if you haven’t.
If you have not opted into Back Pocket Insights yet, please do so. All right, so let’s talk about, like, downplaying yourself, downplaying your skills.
And I’m going to give you a personal example because I literally had this call. I had this conversation with a client, and I, like, I had to catch myself after it. I was like, this is exactly what you’ve been doing, right?
So I sent an email out about how I often get called a business coach, right? And I reply to posts where people say, I’m looking for a business coach, right?
And for the longest time, I have always said, like, I need to call myself a business coach because that’s what people are hiring, right? And so I did. And then I was like, actually, the reality is I’m not.
And so I sent out an email a while back reintroducing myself and telling everybody, like, the True role that I am playing is like, strategic growth consultant, right? And that felt really good, and I still feel really good about it. But here’s where I downplay things. And like, literally this.
This just happened because a client literally said to me, she was like, the one thing I love about Michelle is that she literally always makes sure every single thing drives back to revenue and profit. And here’s the reality of it. I have literally been in the world of accounting since I was 15, okay? I have an accounting degree.
I bring the accounting knowledge to the strategy. And so really, what I am doing is more profit strategy, right? It’s not just growth strategy, it’s profit strategy.
How are we taking what you are doing and increasing the profit on every single thing that. Every single dollar that’s coming in. That was. That was how I was raised.
That is what my background is in, is like, how can we make this more profitable? Because revenue means nothing without profit. And I never wanted to be a bookkeeper. I did not want to stay in the accounting world.
I always, like, even though that was the role I held in corporate, I always was in, like, another department as well. So in the last role, I was in the operations. I was in the sales department. I was in the production business development side of it.
I had my hand in all the pots. But at the end. End of the day, I always came back to accounting. And that’s what I bring to the table when it comes to business as well.
And somebody just said to me, she was like, I don’t understand why you don’t talk about that. Because that’s such a differentiator for you, right? Most business coaches don’t have the accounting knowledge, right?
So, like, the fact that you understand and know and like, you’re bringing that to the table. And I honestly think that is why when people work with me, they’re like, oh, my gosh, why is number. Why have I never heard this before?
Why have I never had anybody tell me it from this angle? Because, again, they likely don’t have the background in the accounting that I do, and so they’re just not speaking from that same lens, right?
And again, right, wrong or indifferent, it doesn’t matter. It’s not about that. Every single person brings their own unique lens to it.
And I was having this conversation with a client as well, because she calls herself a content strategist, all right? And she was asking somebody for some feedback, and he literally was like, this guy was like, such a douchebag.
And he was like, yeah, I wouldn’t even I think it’s time for you to, like, bring new skills to the table. Because as a content strategist, AI is replacing everything, which.
That’s a topic for another day in a rant that I could go on, and I likely will go on that rant in Back Pocket Insights. Like, that’s the type of episode I would release in Back Pocket Insights.
But we had this conversation because she was like, I just don’t understand it. Like, this is what I’m doing. This is, you know, I don’t just create content. I’m looking at it from.
She works a lot with influencers and in the, like, travel industry. And she’s like, I’m looking at it through the lens of, like, how is their content actually bringing more money to them?
How can they diversify what they’re doing with their content and repurpose it so that it actually drives more revenue into them and to their business? And so really I was like, you’re not a content strategist. Like, you are a revenue and content strategist.
Because again, everything for her comes back to revenue. Same. Like, for me it’s profit, and for her it was revenue of, like, how is what you are currently doing?
She looks at it through the lens of like, you’re already doing all of these things. How can we take what you’re already doing from a content perspective and turn that into revenue?
How can we build out this entire revenue suite that diversifies where your revenue is coming in from so you’re not waiting on the next brand deal or in her world, right? Because it’s influencers. Like, they’re not just sitting around waiting for brand deals. They’ve got people coming to them.
They’re selling digital products, affiliate marketing, all kinds of things. And I was like, that is like, such a unique selling point. And that’s what I tried to tell her is like, you’re not just bringing and talking revenue.
You’re talking a whole entire revenue strategy that involves their content. That’s not just the content strategist. Right. And so, again, that’s completely different than somebody that’s just writing content for.
For a influencer. Right? Which, yes, in to some extent, AI will and can replace some of that. Again, topic for another day. I’m not going there today.
But I want you to really think about, like, what is the one thing that you are sitting on because you feel like you need to give yourself a title that everybod knows? Like, here’s the thing. It doesn’t freaking matter what the fuck you call yourself okay, like, do people know what a profit strategist is?
No, probably not. Is it different if I showed up to a networking call and said, like, hey, my name is Michelle Denio. I’m a profit strategist for small business owners.
Like, and I then dive into it, right? And what that means, again, it differentiates you. It really allows you to own that unique selling point that you bring to the table.
And so many of you are downplaying your expertise, you’re downplaying your knowledge, you’re downplaying how you show up. Because we feel like we need to fit in a box of what everybody else calls themselves and what everybody else does.
And I’m here to say stop freaking doing that. I have so many clients that are so freaking ridiculously talented and bring so much to the table. I was talking to another client.
This is going to be like an episode where I give you an example, because that’s the best way to learn is just through stories from this one. But she. So she’s a podcast manager, but she also runs this freaking kick ass community. It’s called Cocktails and Clothes. Shout out. Marie.
I really love this community. Don’t stand behind a lot. And I do stand behind this one. So I will make sure that the link is in the show notes.
If you’re looking for a community that is like, hype girl strategy, like all the things.
Okay, so anyways, we were talking about the community and she was leading with like this super generic stuff of by about, like, you get this and you get this and all these, like, deliverables. And at the end of the day, like, what makes the community so good is Marie? Like, it’s her. It’s her ability to connect people.
She has this incredible way of connecting people, of getting people hyped up. She has an incredible way of getting people to support one another. She creates a lot of engagement very easily inside of the community.
So it’s a very active community. And people are joining because they just freaking love her, right?
And so I told her, I was like, stop selling all the tangibles and start selling yourself, right? Like, start selling the results that are coming from it because of the way you lead and run this community.
And so again, so many people are downplaying all of these amazing things that they are doing. And here’s the reality of it. We are living in 2026, where AI is taking over. Everybody freaking sounds the same. Everybody’s content sounds the same.
Everybody’s offers sound the same, right?
Like, because there is so much AI and so like, call yourself something different, Talk about yourself differently, Share exactly what makes you freaking unique. Because that is what’s going to show your audience that you’re human, right? That you are coming through the lens of freaking experience.
You’re not just copying and pasting something that I spit out and said, here’s how you go and make $10,000, right? Like, you’re bringing this knowledge and experience to the table. So freaking stand out, right? Do something, show people, like, no, I am this person.
This is what I bring to the table.
And again, I’m saying this for my own expert, like, my own challenges of, like, why am I sitting here downplaying the level of accounting knowledge that I bring to the table when it is truly the one thing that differentiates me?
Because there are not a lot of business strategists and growth consultants out there that have an accounting degree, right, that understand the numbers, that can read a P and L very accurately. Right? They. That is what I look at. That is why, like, step one is know the facts.
And people always say, like, I’ve never actually looked at the facts in this way because I present them through the lens of profit. How can we do more of what’s working? When we do more of what’s working, we increase profit.
So, yeah, you’re going to start hearing me talk about my accounting background. You’re going to start hearing me talk about how I really look at everything through the lens of profit. Because that is a differentiator for me.
And yes, I look at the growth strategy. I am. I understand business development. I understand marketing and sales. That’s. I bring all of that to the table too.
But truly the differentiator for me is that profit piece. Okay?
That’s what I want you to think about is like, what knowledge, what experience do you have from previous work that you’re bringing to the table that you’re just kind of like, yeah, but everybody knows this, or you’re downplaying it because you don’t think it’s important or you don’t think it’s playing a role in it, and it is playing a significant role in the work that you do for your clients. Okay? So again, if you need somebody to mirror that back to you, I would be happy to do that. That we can absolutely do that.
On a CEO strategy call, they’re completely free. But, like, I just want to see everybody stand in their power and freaking own their knowledge and expertise because to the world needs good people.
And there were. There’s tons of amazing good people out there. But we are being overlooked and overshadowed by the people that are being loud, Right?
And we need to do the thing that we need to do do to stand out. Right? And that’s how you’re going to stand out, by differentiating yourself by owning, like, yeah, I bring this to the freaking table.
Yes, I’m proud of this. Yes, I’m going to own this. No, I’m not just talking to you about content strategy.
I’m talking to you about how that’s going to impact your entire revenue system as a whole. Right?
Like, that’s what we want to hear from you, and that’s how you’re going to grow and literally catapult your business, especially in 2026, where everything sounds the freaking same. Like, let’s just get over and, like, be done with all this vanilla copy paste shit, because I’m sick of reading it. You’re sick of reading it.
Everybody’s sick of reading it. And it’s causing sales to slow down simply because we’re over here trying to fit in. No, don’t fit in. Like, I don’t know. No, we’re not doing that.
We’re not fitting in. I don’t really care. Like, give yourself a title that feels freaking amazing to you that requires an explanation, Right?
Because the explanation is what’s going to get people to lean in and be like, holy. I never heard of that before. Tell me more. Right? So don’t be afraid to, like, get creative and really own your genius. Okay? I love you.
I believe in you, and I will talk to you soon.
