IDEAS / POST
The Hidden Brilliance Inside Your Business
What customers are really buying is rarely what you think you’re selling. The distance between the two is The Translation Gap.
I’ve spent my career studying it, first as an ad agency writer and creative director, now as a revenue architect.
In the overwhelming number of cases, there’s a discrepancy between the two. Usually a dramatic one.
I started recording The Translation Gap podcast to hear how other people deal with it.
My first guest was Karley Cunningham of Surefire Method. Karley helps small to medium-sized businesses, (mostly professional service firms) get clear on their superpowers – and how to position that to their buyers.
We’ve known each other for years, having met as ‘green’ ad agency founders in the early days of the business sustainability movement.
What caught my ear, (and led to Karley’s invitation to The Translation Gap podcast) though, was the term she used to describe the source of the Gap.
Hidden Brilliance: What Customers Are Really Buying
There’s a line in The Little Prince: what is essential is invisible to the eye.
The fox was talking about love. He could have been talking about your business.
Karley calls it hidden brilliance. It’s the most valuable thing your company does, and you can’t see it.
Maybe it’s a step you baked into your process years ago. Maybe you do it by instinct. Whatever it is, it arrived gradually.
Karley compares it to a puppy growing into a dog. Everyone else notices, except you – you see the same dog you saw yesterday.
Now for the non-metaphor: a client asks what you do. You boil it down to what you see today, completely missing the magic you built along the way.
Why We Chase What We Can See
You can’t value what you can’t see. So your eye strays to the awesomeness of others, and you decide to abandon your magic in order to get some of their magic.
I do this all the time, and I should know better. Because, invariably, it just muddies the water.
The clients who came for my original magic can’t find it anymore. The new ones get something I’m second-best at. After a few frustrating efforts, I invariably reorient around the thing that made me valuable in the first place. Until the next time.
Karley cited it in website projects she’s worked on. Clients tell her to take the best bits from competitors. But what if all the competitors did the same (they probably did)? Pretty soon you’re in what she calls a homogenous circle.
It’s Invisible to The People Closest to You, Too.
Karley’s advice is to rewind the tape. Why did we start doing it this way? Did a client praise it? Did a client complain?
Then get outside eyes. A facilitator. A new employee who hasn’t had time to stop noticing.
Don’t count on the people who’ve been around forever. I recently did 15 interviews for one client. One was a vendor of 20 years. He couldn’t name what the company did differently.
Karley’s explanation: You can’t see the ingredients in your own soup. And after 20 years, your vendor is in the soup with you.
The Airport Bar Test
You’re at an airport bar. The stranger beside you asks what you do. You explain it. They repeat it back, and seem to miss the best parts. Sound familiar?
As Karley recounted, the one she always gets is Oh, so you’re a marketer. And she rolls her eyes. No, no. It’s more than that.
She used to push back. Then she noticed that her resistance only led to more resistance from her listener. So now she says Yes, sure, it’s a bit like marketing. And a little bit more.
When someone tells you what they heard, they aren’t getting you wrong. They’re showing you what they see, and it’s the one thing you can’t see for yourself.
We’re so adamant that we AREN’T a marketer (or an electronics company, or a banker, or…) that we walk right past it.
Marketer is where their understanding starts. It’s a foundation. So say yes, then add the plus.
Ask What Customers Are Really Buying
Here’s something you can do this week.
Have someone on your team call five to ten clients. Ask why they hired you over anybody else. Ask what in your process surprised them or gave them confidence.
Record the calls. Hand the transcripts to AI and ask it to pull out what you do, how you do it, and the value you deliver.
One caution from Karley. Everyone has the same AI tools now, so the noise gets louder. Without the strategy underneath, AI is like an eager intern: just making sh** up.
Karley’s Five Fires Audit
Karley has built an audit that finds which of five fires are blocking your growth. It’s about 18 multiple-choice questions, takes eight to ten minutes, and is free while in beta.
What’s essential about your business isn’t invisible to everyone. It’s invisible to you. Your customers see it fine.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Translation Gap?
The Translation Gap is the distance between what a company thinks it’s selling and what its customers think they’re buying. Most businesses have one, and it’s often dramatic. It shows up as sales that feel harder than they should and a pitch that never quite lands.
Why can’t founders see what makes their own company valuable?
Because the value arrived gradually. A step added to the process years ago or a skill that came with a hire becomes routine, and routine stops being noticed. Karley Cunningham of Surefire Method calls this hidden brilliance. Her line: “You can’t see the ingredients in your own soup.”
How do I know if my company has a translation gap?
Try the airport bar test. Explain what you do to a stranger. If they repeat it back and you find yourself saying “no, not like that,” you have a gap. A second sign is when long-time customers or vendors can’t name what you do differently.
What should I do when people describe my business the wrong way?
Don’t correct them. Their description shows you what they see, which is the thing you can’t see for yourself. Agree with the label they give you, then build on it. Arguing only creates resistance, and it throws away the one piece of understanding they already have.
What’s the fastest way to find out what customers think they’re buying?
Have someone on your team call five to ten clients. Ask why they hired you over anybody else, and what in your process surprised them or gave them confidence. Record the calls, then use AI to pull out what you do, how you do it and the value you deliver.