Today’s guest, Thaddeus Rex, is a Brand Strategist and Charisma Trainer. Before he was a brand expert, he learned about communication and storytelling as a musical artist, cast member of an Emmy Award winning PBS show, and motivational performer.

As a career musician, Thaddeus quickly learned that there are hundreds of people with the same service or expertise you have to offer (and some will do it for free). Audiences wouldn’t come to hear guitar – but audiences might come to hear Thaddeus Rex… if he offers something unique.

That’s why Thaddeus started developing stage shows to promote reading and motivate kids, and that gig highlighted his branding chops.

People with products wanted Thaddeus’ help. They see him making a living off of nothing but stories – well they had products that people needed, but they didn’t have any good stories to help people understand why.

Brands are made of three components: Stuff, Stories, and Audiences. A really good brand is a collection of stories pointing in the same direction to help your employees and audience understand what your stuff is, and why they want to be part of it

Thaddeus has broken down the Five Factors that every competitor looks for in your stuff before they make a choice, and these are the factors that will give your business a competitive edge. He calls the training Checkmate Your Competitors.

By understanding the Five Factors of Competitive Edge, you will be able to align your stories and stuff with your greatest strengths.

1. Low Cost - The easiest way to differentiate your stuff, but it’s not usually sustainable. (That’s why we usually FLEE Cost, a useful mnemonic device for this list).
2. Features - Whatever your stuff can do that the competitors can’t. In professional services, it's hard to build any features that your competitors can't do.
3. Location - You’re in a place that your competitors can’t be.
4. Experience - Most businesses spend a lot of time trying to create a good experience for their audience. We’re really proud of the experience that we’ve worked so hard to build, but it’s really just par for the course at this point. Experience is not typically a great way to distinguish yourself (unless you’re Disney).
5. Esteem - Often overlooked, this is when your stuff builds an audience’s self-esteem. How can your business make someone feel good because they use your stuff?

When you differentiate on cost, they can always find someone who is lower cost. When you differentiate on features, they can always find someone who has different expertise... But when you differentiate on esteem, and you have a cause that you believe in and your story communicates that to the customer, that's really hard for someone to copy.

You can learn more about The Science of Charisma and improving your brand at ThaddeuxRex.com.

Resources:

• Connect with Thaddeus: ThaddeusRex.com | Facebook | Twitter | LinkedIn
• Get a competitive edge with Checkmate Your Competitors
• Talk Like TED: The 9 Public-Speaking Secrets of the World's Top Minds by Carmine Gallo
• The Experience Economy: Work Is Theater & Every Business a Stage by B. Joseph Pine II & James H. Gilmore

Production & Development for Improv Is No Joke by Podcast Masters

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