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Stand out from the crowd – using ANTS

Tags: Be interesting | Meetings | Impact | Influencing

19th April

Here are four ways to help you stand out from the crowd (useful in interviews, meetings, sales… anywhere, really):

#1 AFTERs

Focus on why you’ll make the other person’s life better AFTER you’ve done your work.

Why? Because they’re more interested in how you can improve their future, than they are in hearing all about your past.

So, will you help them have an easier life? Achieve their goals? Look good to the boss? What’s the value-add you’re providing?

(An added bonus: most people sell themselves by talking about themselves and their past. So you stand out by doing the opposite)

#2 Newness

What have you got that’s new or different? What are your new ideas, experiences, processes?

These are great differentiators. After all, if they’re new, that means other people haven’t seen them before.

#3 Teaching

Teach people something they didn’t know. Ideally, you want them to look at you and say “I’d never thought of it like that” or “I never knew that”.

Teaching’s great. It adds value to them. And it also means you’re different to previous people they’ve seen, since you’ve taught them a new thing.

So, do some research. Find things they didn’t know they didn’t know. And then focus on those.

#4 Stories

Final one: the best way to prove that you can deliver AFTER ‘X’ is to tell a story where you’ve delivered AFTER ‘X’ for someone else.

So, prepare your best story ‘proof point’ – “You want to export into Belgium? I can help you – I’ve done it before. In fact, I helped one company gain 15% of the Belgian market. What happened was…”

And of course, nobody can copy your stories – they are your stories.

(Btw, an easy way to remember all four: the initial letters spell ANTS).

You don’t have to do all four of ANTS, of course.

But, to stand out, you’ll have to do more than none.

Action Point

In your next interview, sales meeting, opportunity to impress…

… Use ANTS to help you stand out as different to – and better than – their other alternatives. And also watch these!