If your content sounds like everyone else’s and your sales feel slower than they should, this episode is going to call out exactly why. In this episode of The Real Truth About Business podcast, I’m breaking down how downplaying your unique selling point is quietly hurting your business strategy and revenue growth. This is for service-based entrepreneurs who are blending in, using generic titles, and wondering why their offers aren’t standing out in a crowded market. After 9 years of experience, I can tell you this isn’t about needing better tactics. It’s about owning what actually makes you different. Inside this episode, I walk you through how your background, experience, and perspective are the key drivers of your sales process, and why trying to “fit in” is costing you clients.

What You'll Learn:

• Why your unique selling point is critical for business growth
• How downplaying your experience impacts your conversion rate
• The difference between generic positioning and differentiated messaging
• How to use your background to strengthen your pricing strategy
• Why sounding like everyone else is slowing your sales process
• How to stand out in a saturated, AI-driven market

Episode Highlights:

[00:00] Introduction: The problem with trying to fit in

[02:00] Michelle’s realization about her true positioning

[05:00] Why your background is your biggest differentiator

[07:30] Client example: content strategist vs. revenue strategist

[09:30] Selling yourself vs. selling deliverables

[11:00] Why generic messaging is hurting your sales

Key Takeaways:

Fitting In Is Costing You Sales

Here’s what I see constantly. Service-based entrepreneurs trying to label themselves in a way that feels familiar, safe, and easy to understand.

After 9 years of working with business owners, I can tell you this is one of the fastest ways to blend into the noise.

When you call yourself the same thing as everyone else, your audience has no reason to choose you. Your business strategy becomes interchangeable. And when that happens, your pricing strategy and sales process both get harder.

Because now the only thing left to compete on is price or personality.

Your Background Is Your Biggest Advantage

The thing that makes you different is not something you need to create. It already exists.

Your past experience. Your previous career. The way you think. The lens you bring into your work.

That is your unique selling point.

Inside the Focused Visionary Framework, this directly impacts all three pillars. Your positioning affects your pricing, your pipeline, and your sales process. If you’re not clearly communicating what makes you different, your entire system weakens.

Stop Selling Deliverables. Start Selling Perspective

One of the biggest mistakes I see is people listing what they do instead of how they think.

Features. Deliverables. Packages.

That’s not what people buy.

People buy the way you solve problems. They buy your perspective. They buy how you approach business strategy and revenue growth.

When you lead with that, your messaging becomes stronger. Your audience connects faster. Your conversion rate improves because they understand why you specifically are the right fit.

Generic Messaging Is Slowing Down Your Growth

We are in a market where everything sounds the same.

AI-generated content. Recycled strategies. Copy-paste messaging.

And it’s creating hesitation in buyers.

When your content sounds like everyone else’s, buyers take longer to decide. Your buyer journey gets longer. Your pipeline slows down.

Differentiation is what speeds that up.

You Don’t Need a Better Title. You Need Better Positioning

It’s not about finding the perfect title. It’s about owning what makes you different and being willing to explain it.

When you use language that actually reflects your expertise, people lean in. They get curious. They want to understand more.

That’s what drives conversations. That’s what drives sales.

And that’s what creates real business growth.

Resources Mentioned

• Subscribe to Back Pocket Insights for FREE
• Book a CEO Strategy Call
• Learn more about The Missing Piece Intensive
• Learn more about The Focused Visionary Accelerator
• Download the FREE Lead and Conversion Tracker
• Subscribe to the Sunday Morning Brew Newsletter

About the Host:

Michelle DeNio is a business strategist based in Sarasota, Florida, specializing in helping service-based entrepreneurs break through revenue plateaus using her Focused Visionary Framework. With over 300 podcast episodes and 9 years running her consulting business, she helps coaches, consultants, and service providers scale sustainably through strategic planning, pricing optimization, and sales process development.

Connect with Michelle

1. Website
2. Threads
3. Instagram
4. LinkedIn
5. Facebook

Today's episode's a little bit like just kind of this impromptu.

I've had this thought, I haven't done one of these in a while.

I really have been trying to, like, really structure these podcast episodes, but once in a while, I just have these thoughts that I got to get out to you.

And this one is about downplaying your skills, downplaying the things that you bring to the table and trying to fit in when, like, you literally were not designed to fit in, and really utilizing that, like, unique value proposition or like that unique selling point in your content that really draws people into you.

All right, so this is kind of my own personal realization.

Conversations I've been having with clients a lot lately.

Conversation, post, discovery, call.

You know, I love when people reflect back to us what we are not seeing.

And that's what this episode is for.

So hopefully this is going to reflect something back to you that you are not seeing in yourself.

All right, so that's what we're talking about today.

Let's dive in.

All right, we're back.

My name is Michelle Denial.

If you're new here, I'm so happy you are here.

You're listening to the Real Truth About Business.

And I want to just real quick remind you that Back Pocket Insights, the free private podcast, is now free.

I said free private podcast.

It didn't used to be free, but now it is.

And I'm having so much fun with that, where I'm just sharing these, like, little voice memo stuff style coaching nuggets in there.

I'm also sharing, like, pieces of actual live coaching episode or coaching calls that we've done.

So anyway, if you haven't.

If you have not opted into Back Pocket Insights yet, please do so.

All right, so let's talk about, like, downplaying yourself, downplaying your skills.

And I'm going to give you a personal example because I literally had this call.

I had this conversation with a client, and I, like, I had to catch myself after it.

I was like, this is exactly what you've been doing, right?

So I sent an email out about how I often get called a business coach, right?

And I reply to posts where people say, I'm looking for a business coach, right?

And for the longest time, I have always said, like, I need to call myself a business coach because that's what people are hiring, right?

And so I did.

And then I was like, actually, the reality is I'm not.

And so I sent out an email a while back reintroducing myself and telling everybody, like, the True role that I am playing is like, strategic growth consultant, right?

And that felt really good, and I still feel really good about it.

But here's where I downplay things.

And like, literally this.

This just happened because a client literally said to me, she was like, the one thing I love about Michelle is that she literally always makes sure every single thing drives back to revenue and profit.

And here's the reality of it.

I have literally been in the world of accounting since I was 15, okay?

I have an accounting degree.

I bring the accounting knowledge to the strategy.

And so really, what I am doing is more profit strategy, right?

It's not just growth strategy, it's profit strategy.

How are we taking what you are doing and increasing the profit on every single thing that.

Every single dollar that's coming in.

That was.

That was how I was raised.

That is what my background is in, is like, how can we make this more profitable?

Because revenue means nothing without profit.

And I never wanted to be a bookkeeper.

I did not want to stay in the accounting world.

I always, like, even though that was the role I held in corporate, I always was in, like, another department as well.

So in the last role, I was in the operations.

I was in the sales department.

I was in the production business development side of it.

I had my hand in all the pots.

But at the end.

End of the day, I always came back to accounting.

And that's what I bring to the table when it comes to business as well.

And somebody just said to me, she was like, I don't understand why you don't talk about that.

Because that's such a differentiator for you, right?

Most business coaches don't have the accounting knowledge, right?

So, like, the fact that you understand and know and like, you're bringing that to the table.

And I honestly think that is why when people work with me, they're like, oh, my gosh, why is number.

Why have I never heard this before?

Why have I never had anybody tell me it from this angle?

Because, again, they likely don't have the background in the accounting that I do, and so they're just not speaking from that same lens, right?

And again, right, wrong or indifferent, it doesn't matter.

It's not about that.

Every single person brings their own unique lens to it.

And I was having this conversation with a client as well, because she calls herself a content strategist, all right?

And she was asking somebody for some feedback, and he literally was like, this guy was like, such a douchebag.

And he was like, yeah, I wouldn't even I think it's time for you to, like, bring new skills to the table.

Because as a content strategist, AI is replacing everything, which.

That's a topic for another day in a rant that I could go on, and I likely will go on that rant in Back Pocket Insights.

Like, that's the type of episode I would release in Back Pocket Insights.

But we had this conversation because she was like, I just don't understand it.

Like, this is what I'm doing.

This is, you know, I don't just create content.

I'm looking at it from.

She works a lot with influencers and in the, like, travel industry.

And she's like, I'm looking at it through the lens of, like, how is their content actually bringing more money to them?

How can they diversify what they're doing with their content and repurpose it so that it actually drives more revenue into them and to their business?

And so really I was like, you're not a content strategist.

Like, you are a revenue and content strategist.

Because again, everything for her comes back to revenue.

Same.

Like, for me it's profit, and for her it was revenue of, like, how is what you are currently doing?

She looks at it through the lens of like, you're already doing all of these things.

How can we take what you're already doing from a content perspective and turn that into revenue?

How can we build out this entire revenue suite that diversifies where your revenue is coming in from so you're not waiting on the next brand deal or in her world, right?

Because it's influencers.

Like, they're not just sitting around waiting for brand deals.

They've got people coming to them.

They're selling digital products, affiliate marketing, all kinds of things.

And I was like, that is like, such a unique selling point.

And that's what I tried to tell her is like, you're not just bringing and talking revenue.

You're talking a whole entire revenue strategy that involves their content.

That's not just the content strategist.

Right.

And so, again, that's completely different than somebody that's just writing content for.

For a influencer.

Right?

Which, yes, in to some extent, AI will and can replace some of that.

Again, topic for another day.

I'm not going there today.

But I want you to really think about, like, what is the one thing that you are sitting on because you feel like you need to give yourself a title that everybod knows?

Like, here's the thing.

It doesn't freaking matter what the fuck you call yourself okay, like, do people know what a profit strategist is?

No, probably not.

Is it different if I showed up to a networking call and said, like, hey, my name is Michelle Denio.

I'm a profit strategist for small business owners.

Like, and I then dive into it, right?

And what that means, again, it differentiates you.

It really allows you to own that unique selling point that you bring to the table.

And so many of you are downplaying your expertise, you're downplaying your knowledge, you're downplaying how you show up.

Because we feel like we need to fit in a box of what everybody else calls themselves and what everybody else does.

And I'm here to say stop freaking doing that.

I have so many clients that are so freaking ridiculously talented and bring so much to the table.

I was talking to another client.

This is going to be like an episode where I give you an example, because that's the best way to learn is just through stories from this one.

But she.

So she's a podcast manager, but she also runs this freaking kick ass community.

It's called Cocktails and Clothes.

Shout out.

Marie.

I really love this community.

Don't stand behind a lot.

And I do stand behind this one.

So I will make sure that the link is in the show notes.

If you're looking for a community that is like, hype girl strategy, like all the things.

Okay, so anyways, we were talking about the community and she was leading with like this super generic stuff of by about, like, you get this and you get this and all these, like, deliverables.

And at the end of the day, like, what makes the community so good is Marie?

Like, it's her.

It's her ability to connect people.

She has this incredible way of connecting people, of getting people hyped up.

She has an incredible way of getting people to support one another.

She creates a lot of engagement very easily inside of the community.

So it's a very active community.

And people are joining because they just freaking love her, right?

And so I told her, I was like, stop selling all the tangibles and start selling yourself, right?

Like, start selling the results that are coming from it because of the way you lead and run this community.

And so again, so many people are downplaying all of these amazing things that they are doing.

And here's the reality of it.

Everybody freaking sounds the same.

Everybody's content sounds the same.

Everybody's offers sound the same, right?

Like, because there is so much AI and so like, call yourself something different, Talk about yourself differently, Share exactly what makes you freaking unique.

Because that is what's going to show your audience that you're human, right?

That you are coming through the lens of freaking experience.

You're not just copying and pasting something that I spit out and said, here's how you go and make $10,000, right?

Like, you're bringing this knowledge and experience to the table.

So freaking stand out, right?

Do something, show people, like, no, I am this person.

This is what I bring to the table.

And again, I'm saying this for my own expert, like, my own challenges of, like, why am I sitting here downplaying the level of accounting knowledge that I bring to the table when it is truly the one thing that differentiates me?

Because there are not a lot of business strategists and growth consultants out there that have an accounting degree, right, that understand the numbers, that can read a P and L very accurately.

Right?

They.

That is what I look at.

That is why, like, step one is know the facts.

And people always say, like, I've never actually looked at the facts in this way because I present them through the lens of profit.

How can we do more of what's working?

When we do more of what's working, we increase profit.

So, yeah, you're going to start hearing me talk about my accounting background.

You're going to start hearing me talk about how I really look at everything through the lens of profit.

Because that is a differentiator for me.

And yes, I look at the growth strategy.

I am.

I understand business development.

I understand marketing and sales.

That's.

I bring all of that to the table too.

But truly the differentiator for me is that profit piece.

Okay?

That's what I want you to think about is like, what knowledge, what experience do you have from previous work that you're bringing to the table that you're just kind of like, yeah, but everybody knows this, or you're downplaying it because you don't think it's important or you don't think it's playing a role in it, and it is playing a significant role in the work that you do for your clients.

Okay?

So again, if you need somebody to mirror that back to you, I would be happy to do that.

That we can absolutely do that.

On a CEO strategy call, they're completely free.

But, like, I just want to see everybody stand in their power and freaking own their knowledge and expertise because to the world needs good people.

And there were.

There's tons of amazing good people out there.

But we are being overlooked and overshadowed by the people that are being loud, Right?

And we need to do the thing that we need to do do to stand out.

Right?

And that's how you're going to stand out, by differentiating yourself by owning, like, yeah, I bring this to the freaking table.

Yes, I'm proud of this.

Yes, I'm going to own this.

No, I'm not just talking to you about content strategy.

I'm talking to you about how that's going to impact your entire revenue system as a whole.

Right?

Like, let's just get over and, like, be done with all this vanilla copy paste shit, because I'm sick of reading it.

You're sick of reading it.

Everybody's sick of reading it.

And it's causing sales to slow down simply because we're over here trying to fit in.

No, don't fit in.

Like, I don't know.

No, we're not doing that.

We're not fitting in.

I don't really care.

Like, give yourself a title that feels freaking amazing to you that requires an explanation, Right?

Because the explanation is what's going to get people to lean in and be like, holy.

I never heard of that before.

Tell me more.

Right?

So don't be afraid to, like, get creative and really own your genius.

Okay?

I love you.

I believe in you, and I will talk to you soon.