Unfair advantages are what separate high performers from everybody else in our industry. Our companies may have a product or pricing that could be an unfair advantage, but high performers have developed their own unfair advantage.

If you aren’t familiar with unfair advantages they are the skills and attributes you have that put you so far ahead of your competition, there is no catching up.  They are qualities you have that make you and your customer successful.  So, I am not referring to dishonest practices, breaking the rules, or being unethical.

Let me share a story with you of an unfair advantage that made a huge difference in my life.

I had to travel soon after moving to a new town and two dear friends came take care of my daughter and our dog. When I left, empty boxes filled the garage, we hadn’t met our neighbors and my daughter was feeling displaced.  However, by the time I got back I had a list of neighbor’s names and phone numbers, names of teenagers who could babysit, and my daughter had already attended a birthday party of a new “friend”. Oh, and my garage was clear of boxes. To put this in context, I was away for only three days.

While I was away my friends: knocked on doors, talked to neighbors when walking our puppy and took my daughter to the play area to help her find friends. I won’t lie, these women are charming, have lovely southern accents you can listen to for hours and personalities that you are naturally drawn too. They have an unfair advantage.

When you can identify your unfair advantage and make it work for you, you begin to outstrip your competition and create tremendous advantages for coworkers, customers and your company .  Knowing and executing on your unfair advantage puts you in charge of your business and your future. This is crucial in the mortgage industry because when the advantage on pricing is lost, when services change, when the market shrinks, you are still driving business because you have created your own advantage.

If you can’t figure out what your unfair advantage is, neither can your customers.

If you are trying to determine what your unfair advantage is, think about the last five people that worked with you. I’m specifically saying “worked” because it isn’t just a salesperson that needs to create this advantage, it is all of us. Now eliminate pricing, services or anything that is specific to your company – this is all about you darlin’.  Then ask yourself, “Why do people decide to work with me?”  The answer will probably fall into one of these categories:

• A specialized niche
• Creating trust and an amazing experience
• In depth knowledge of your job and/or the mortgage industry
• Connections
• A personal trait

This advantage has to be authentic to who you are and it must benefit your customers, coworkers and company.

Often when we get an advantage our instincts are to keep it secret so that others don’t try to emulate. That’s the wrong approach for an unfair advantage. You don’t hide your unfair advantage, you exploit for it you and for your customers. A true unfair advantage is a differentiator that makes you standout from your competition and makes people want to work with you and nobody else.

Have you uncovered your unfair advantage or do you have a story where somebody created an unfair advantage for your benefit?  Share by leaving a reply or comment!

Here is the reality, the unfair advantage my friends have, created an unfair advantage for me and a sense of loyalty that is impossible to break. But that’s the beauty of having an unfair advantage it not only makes you unique, it also makes your customer unique.