Distinguishing yourself from the crowd of competitors

There are two key elements in distinguishing yourself from the crowd of competitors.

The first is to build and maintain such a good reputation for high quality, good work and integrity that it becomes a natural topic of conversation when people talk about you and your business. Your business is almost characterised by your good reputation. The reason word of mouth works is because people trust the judgement of friends and colleagues so much more readily than they will believe claims made on the basis of paid advertising.

The other key element is to make it as easy as possible for people to remember your name. This is why memory hooks are so useful.

Good memory hooks are brief, memorable self-introductions that engage the other party's interest positively and create an unbreakable connection between you and your product or service. They are about enabling people to picture you and your business in the "mind's eye".

So think about putting together a memory hook for use at the end of your 60-second. A good memory hook can also be used outside of the BNI environment when you meet new business people. Here are some examples:

• For a gem of a job, call Purll - Dave Purll, Plumber, Mona Vale.
• I may not have the looks, but I can certainly do your books-Tony Ward, Bookkeeping.
• I make it my business to tell you where to go - Marion Taylor, Travel Agent, Dural.
• We do door to door or drawer to drawer - Melicia Weitz, Removalist, North Sydney.

"Minds are like parachutes, They only function when open" - Thomas Dewar