clean the lights: short story on finding your unique selling point

Dear you,

I want to tell you a story of a woman I love sharing. This story has inspired me and so many members of my Instagram community, email tribe, and even my clients. It has helped many of my clients and community members find their unique selling point in a more creative yet tactical way. So, I want to share it with you too.

There was once a woman who was a cleaner. She was a very young woman with responsibilities, so she became a cleaner to make ends meet. Every day after cleaning, she’ll ask women who looked like her target audience on her bus ride home one simple question - "What can I do to clean better?"

Different women gave her different kinds of advice – "use a different soap, use this mop, use a thicker sponge, scrub it like this, stand like this, do like this, etc." She always jotted the feedback down and the next day, she'll implement the advice that resonated the most with her to see how her clients reacted.

One day, she noticed a woman at the corner of the bus, who never really spoke. She approached her and asked her for her opinion, and she said,

“Clean the lights. When you have swept, washed, scrubbed, dusted, and wiped the house, don’t forget the lights. No one ever remembers the lights.”

This advice sounded pretty different from what she was used to. Different women had given her different answers, but no one had ever told her to clean the lights. Finally, It dawned on her that no one really pays attention to the lights, not to think of cleaning it. So, she took the advice in her usual fashion. When she was done dusting, sweeping, and mopping, she cleaned the chandeliers, the bulb covers, and all the lights. The reactions from her clients were different! They were shocked, everything looked brighter, and they exclaimed,"Wow! what did you do? It looks so beautiful and bright in here."

This story made me think so deeply. I’m sure it looked and felt like magic. This was so obvious yet so neglected and it made all the difference. This was her USP! Unique Selling Point! Nothing grand like a new soap or so. Just the power of paying attention to what everyone else ignores, yet it makes all the difference! It is obvious yet, not so obvious.

*mind-blowing*

Five things I learned from this story:

1. Know your target audience: Think of it like this, as an employee, your target audience is people like your employer or hiring manager. What are they looking for? Where are they? Who are they? What do they like? What do they need? What frustrates them? How can you help them? Why will they doubt you? I have a whole article on why knowing your target audience is essential here. I also share the difference between your audience, consumer, and customer here.
2. Get feedback from this target audience through conversations: You don't have to be in business with that person to get their feedback or scope of need. Go to where they are and engage in meaningful conversations to understand better what they expect of you. If someone like your employer complains about something, chances are, your employer is probably complaining about that thing too. You will only find out if you ask the right questions. Ask about their experience what they think you can do better. Truly listen to what is said and unsaid. What they are saying is just as important as what they are not saying.
3. Take action: Don't just ask for feedback and keep it in your mind. Execute with speed. Execute immediately! Test it and extract the lessons from it.
4. It's the little things that make you THE BEST: Everybody wants the best doctor, the best staff, the best everything. What if it is the attention to the little things, the extras that everyone else ignores, that makes you the best? It could be the fact that you listen more intently, that you ask the right questions, that you break down tough concepts into simple analogies, that you follow up, that you remember their birthdays, that you do something that the others do not.
5. Your unique selling point does not have to be part of the product: It doesn't have to be your hard skill or job description. It could be your process, your approach, your personality, your energy, the way you do it; it could be so many other things. It might be paying attention to what everyone else ignores but could make all the difference. These things are often so obvious yet no one does them.

So, ask yourself:

What are the lights in my business? In my career? In my industry? In my life? In my target market’s life? What are the lights, the things people are not looking at but could make all the difference?

Ps: I now physically clean the lights in my house, and it makes all the difference. Now I have to apply it in everything else I do. You should try it too.

Share this with someone if you had a light bulb moment reading this story.

With love,

Blessing Abeng.