Stop being 1 of 10 competitors.

Ever had a potential client ask you why they should choose your company over the three other companies they're talking to?

Yeah, I know you have.

It's that sinking feeling when you realize you're just another option on their spreadsheet.

They start asking about your process. Your team size. Your case studies. All the same questions they're asking everyone else.

And you find yourself listing features like you're reading from a brochure.

If this is something that has happened to you, then you have your positioning backwards.

The goal isn't to be the best in your category. It's to be the only one in your category.

When you're "1 of 10," you're still fighting for market share within established rules. But when you're "the only one," you've redefined the game entirely.

Think about it.

Tesla didn't just make a better car. They made the car that represented a lifestyle shift. They weren't competing with other electric vehicles - they created a new category that traditional automakers had to follow.

Netflix didn't position itself as "better video rental." They became "the future of entertainment consumption." Blockbuster couldn't compete because they were playing a different game entirely.

Apple with the iPhone didn't make a "better smartphone." They created the pocket computer that happened to make calls.

When you own a problem or aspiration so completely that customers can't imagine solving it any other way.

You're not competing on features or price. You're competing on relevance to how people want to live or work.

So how do you get there?

Stop asking, "How can we be better than our competitors?"

Start asking, "What problem do we solve that nobody else is even talking about?"

Look deeper than what people buy. Ask why they buy it.

What's the real transformation they're after?

What's the outcome they're desperately trying to achieve?

Then build your entire positioning around that ‘why’ in a way no one else can replicate.

Because when you're the only one who solves their specific problem, price comparisons become irrelevant. Feature lists become pointless. And that question about why they should choose you?

It never comes up.

You know what to do next.

Take one problem your business solves and dig deeper. Find the angle nobody else is talking about. Own it completely.

Stop being one of many.

Start being the only one.

— Shashank

P.S. I’ve been having so much fun writing the for the 21 day brand engine email cohort. Probably after a very long time I’m feeling so much fun.

I feel like email courses are gonna be my thing.