The ‘Generalist Trap’: How Overly Broad Messaging Kills Your Authority

"Hi, I'm Jon Cook...and I'm a recovering Generalist."

"Hiiii, Jonnnn..."

When I started my business, Keynote Content, I knew I was made to help craft people's stories, inspire audiences, and create meaningful change beyond my circles.

The problem was I had zero business education, entrepreneurial experience (besides swindling fellow second-grade neighbor kids out of Ken Griffey Jr. rookie cards), and few business connections.

What I did have was a pregnant wife who was ready to welcome our firstborn.

I took on any and all somewhat-related projects based on what I could do.

Social media posts? Check. Blog articles? Check. Best man's speeches? I wrote five in my first year of business.

I was stacking projects with a five-star effort but a three-star average quality rating across everything I did.

Then, a client asked me to help with their overall brand message for the first time ever.

"Is that something you do, too? Because it seems like you do a lot of things..."

(Spoiler alert: That wasn't a compliment, but I took it as one because I'm an aspiring optimist.)

I realized I was a Generalist by default and not a Specialist by design.

That's the two-part Generalist Trap I see financial advisors, health and wellness practitioners, corporate consultants, and other highly skilled experts fall into when positioning their expertise.

You're trained in an enviable stack of skills, but what's your specialty?

What do you want to be best known for in your space?

That's the first part of the Generalist Trap: You're unsure of your exact specialty.

The second part? You're not clearly articulating that desired specialty with how you talk about what you do.

If you're struggling to stand out as a preeminent expert in your space, it's likely because your message is overly broad.

Overly broad messaging sounds like this:

• "I can help this group, this second distinct group that has little to no similarity to the first group, and even this third group, which is about as odd of an audience trio as you can imagine."
• "I offer this package of services that have random correlation. Very little of what I offer makes logical sense on the same menu of services."
• "I can speak on building your retirement portfolio, being a stepdad who donated a kidney and suffered in the traditional medical system, or my dreams of starting my own landscaping business. Yes, I know that none of those topics are even related to each other..."

Even if all of those details are true, it serves no one audience well.

If you want to be paid more for your expertise, become more attractive to event planners, and create your own 'Category of One' niche in your space, tighten up your messaging by focusing on your specialty.

What is the one hyper-specific outcome, skillset, or area of focus that you want to be best known for in your industry?

• If you're a financial advisor, retirement advisor, investment advisor, or whatever your OSJ allows you to call yourself, what specialty can you offer investors that's rare in your area?
• If you're a corporate consultant, what is the exact highly challenging problem you solve for the highest-ranked leaders in a company?
• If you're a health and wellness expert, what specialized solution do you offer that the average practitioner can't match?

Direct all of your business's messaging and effort, from your offers to your social media content, Signature Talk content, business development, and conversations, toward that specific focus.

Remove anything else that isn't closely tied to that specialty. Everything outside that focus is just noise—get rid of it.

That's your escape route from the Generalist Trap into a higher-paid, better-known, and more recognized status as a true Specialist.