Best known beats best
If a tree falls in a forest, would anybody hear it?
Back in my studio days, I've met seriously talented musicians.
They play well.
Have stupid, mad skills that would make me feel inferior.
But many of them would struggle to make a full-time living as musicians. They'd end up doing random hotel gigs, become a music teacher, or find a day job.
A lot of them would also criticise musicians like Ed Sheeran.
"Haha, his songs are only four chords."
For real though...
The guys I met can play better than Ed Sheeran. They'd beat Ed Sheeran on a one-to-one guitar skills fight.
So why are they not as big as Ed Sheeran?
Because Ed Sheeran is better known.
And that brings us to a fundamental business lesson.
Best known beats best
The better product loses to the more visible one.
It will keep happening whether you agree with it or not.
- Is Coca-Cola the best drink?
- Is McDonald's the best burger?
I'm sure you can cook a tastier, higher-quality burger than the cholesterol-chugging food they serve at McD.
But it doesn't matter.
McDonald's is still serving more burgers.
And even then, have not stopped promoting their burgers on billboards, videos, and ads.
Better known beats best.
You have to promote yourself.
But promoting myself feels cringy
Reframe it.
Stop thinking of promoting as a way to take something, but as a way to reach one person.
Somewhere out there is a business owner stuck on the thing you solved years ago. They're getting wrong advice. They're about to waste another 6 months. Your promotion is the only reason they find you.
See it that way, and promoting yourself will feel less icky.
Creating content is one of the best ways to promote yourself and build a brand.
I'm bringing Claudia Ng of My Franchise Guide again to an online webinar this Thursday, 10th Sept. We'll show you behind-the-scenes of our content systems and show you how to build a content system to get clients through social media.
It's free.