The Desert of Arizona
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Specializing is a tricky situation.
There are ways to specialize that open up opportunity and possibility and there are ways to specialize that close that opportunity down.
If business is, at its core, about problem solving, then that’s something you want to keep in mind as you put your specialization puzzle together.
Problems solved is the valuable part, NOT the method used to solve the problem. That’s not where the value is hiding.
So let’s say you’re a writer and you specialize in writing sales copy for classified ads to sell things.
That’s specialization, certainly. And it’s specializing in a method that does technically solve a problem. But it’s NOT specializing in solving the problem, it’s specializing in one way to solve the problem.
The problem becomes clear when there are two of you offering the same service. The prospective client shows up with the thing they want to sell.
The method has already been chosen, they are going to use classified ads.
So the diagnosis of the problem and the prescription have already been set by the client.
YOU, the classified ad writer, are simply executing the plan.
This type of specialization leaves the client with two primary factors to make a decision, assuming each provider is competent:
Price and speed.
This is how specializing in a METHOD gets you backed into a corner.
Specializing in solving a problem where you are consulted to not only diagnose the problem but also prescribe the specific solution… THIS type of specializing opens up enormous possibilities for everyone.
If you are not diagnosing and prescribing a solution, you are leaving opportunity unrealized.
If you are a specialist, have you painted yourself into a vendor corner where you’re a hired hand to execute other people’s plans?
Think about whether or not DIAGNOSIS is part of your practice or not. If it’s not, you’ve cut yourself out of being an advisor and you lose all the benefits that come with that position.