What makes your ‘water’ better than anyone else’s?

Ask anyone in New York City why their bagels are the best in the world and they’ll say, “It's the water!”

Ask anyone in Philadelphia why their cheese steaks are the best in the world, and they will say, “It's the bread.” Ask “Why is the bread so different?” and they will say, “It's the water!”

Water? Really? Yes, water! The unique water that’s added to the standard ingredients makes the food the best.

So I’m going to ask you two questions:

What's in your water?

What makes your water different — better — than anyone else’s water?

There are 7.5 elements of your “water” that, I will challenge you, make it no different than anybody else’s water on the planet, and further, if you decide to improve those elements, your “water” can become the best in the world. Or at least the best in your marketplace.

1. Your attitude water.

If you know and understand that the classic definition of a positive attitude is “the way you dedicate yourself to the way you think,” then it's obvious you can change and improve your attitude water by changing your morning routine.

Wake up and start reading instead of watching television. Reading a positive attitude book for 10 minutes while highlighting and taking notes about your thoughts can begin a whole new attitude mindset that will separate and differentiate you from all of your peers, prospects and customers.

2. Your belief water.

While I have talked about belief for years, I've never said what it would take to build and strengthen your existing belief process. Invest 30 minutes of your time and make a list of the five parts of belief.

You must believe you are the best person for the job, have the best business and products, that you can differentiate from your competitors, and that the customer is better off having purchased from you. If you don't believe that your water is the best, how will you be able to transfer that message to anyone else?

3. Your compelling message and enthusiasm's water.

Present a compelling message and you will immediately differentiate yourself from 99.9 percent of all the salespeople on the planet. These are people who communicate poorly or simply talk in terms of themselves.

By becoming a prepared and enthusiastic presenter, you will be perceived as sparkling water. The opposite of sparkling water is flat water. In France it’s “with gas” or “without gas.” Starting to get the message?

4. Your innovative ideas water.

When you bring an idea to a customer, it shows you have prepared in terms of them. Your idea is about them and how they win, or how they profit.

Once you get in the groove of innovation in creating ideas, it will spill over to everything you do. That's hot water.

5. Your follow-through water.

This water is the fulcrum point in the sale. Even if you have already made the sale, your customers expect both delivery and service in order to complete the sale in their mind.

You will solve nothing until the customer receives your product or service, loves your product or service, and is completely impressed by the way you stay in touch and follow through.

6. Your relationship-building water.

Solid value-based relationships lead to repeat business and referrals. Do I need to say anything else about the importance and the value of this water?

7. Your trustworthiness water.

This is slowly aged water. Trustworthiness comes from positive, favorable, consistent and truthful actions taken over time. Trust is not built in a day; it’s built day-by-day.

7.5 Your reputation water.

Reputation water is the most valuable of them all. It means the rest of your water has all been given and received positively. It means you have consistently performed to the delight of your customer. And it means that anyone can find you on the Internet and see your positive postings and results. It means you have proven yourself to your customers and in your marketplace.

You can never have too much reputation water. It's my hope that your cup of reputation water runneth over.

Best part: When someone asks you why your sales are better that anyone else’s, your response can now be: “It’s the water!”

Keep ’em guessing, baby. Keep ’em guessing.

Jeffrey Gitomer is the author of 12 best-selling books. His real-world ideas and content also are available as online courses at GitomerVT.com. For information about training and seminars, visit gitomer.com or gitomercertifiedadvisors.com, or email Jeffrey personally at salesman@gitomer.com.