Have you ever seen a purple cow? (“In his book Purple Cow: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable, Seth Godin says that the key to success is to find a way to stand out–to be the purple cow in a field of monochrome Holsteins.)

On a recent trip to Las Vegas, I felt somewhat like a purple cow. There was a convention in town of the Red Hat Society – and they were everywhere. Much as I love the color red, I was not wearing it on this particular trip and I did stick out like a sore thumb as I mingled and mixed with these charming ladies. And that was perfectly fine since I was on vacation and preferred to wear green, blue and even brown!

In my business, however, which is the coaching and speaking industry, I do want to stick out like a purple cow. Seems like everyone and their dog, these days, are hanging out a ‘coaching’ shingle so it is critical to find some way to be unique – to stand out – to be the purple cow in the midst of the crowd.I’ve been giving this a lot of thought since my return and wanted to share a few ideas with you from the whole Las Vegas experience.

One of the other experiences I had in Vegas was at the gelato stand – the woman behind the counter was offering free samples (we bought! She was totally charismatic and committed to the experience she was providing)–reminds me of Baskins-Robbins and their ‘pink spoon’ offerings. What is the pink spoon in your business? How could you make more money by way of the equivalent of a simple, colorful, tiny spoon?

Then there was the Donny and Marie live performance: What stood out for me there was the fact the show was held in the showroom of the Flamingo Hotel – it was so small and intimate – I was shocked and delighted at the same time! I had visions of being in a huge room with large crowds – this was much better – and, in my opinion, caused them to ‘stand out from the crowd’. How can you stand out from the crowd with your products and/or services? In what small and intimate way can you attract more clients?

Touring the Grand Canyon by helicopter had me thinking about all the brochures we flipped through – and all the offerings that were ‘same old, same old’ – buses, walking tours, etc. We decided to do something special – get up above the ground – see this nat ural wonder of the world from a different perspective. What kind of opportunity do you offer to your clients to help them see and/or experience your service from a different perspective? What could you do to get up and above the crowds?

Attracting new clients, making more money – providing stellar customer service to your current clients – takes innovation and attention. We all have the ability and the capacity to be the purple cow in our industry – oftentimes it is just our lazy mental state that gets in the way of that happening.

“The only thing all successful people have in common is that they’re successful, so don’t waste your time copying “the successful strategies” of others.” –Seth Godin

What makes you stand out in a crowd in your field?

Tell me about it……

Please share your thoughts!